No. 8 Midwestern State at Lubbock Christian
Saturday, Oct. 16 – 7 p.m.
LCU Soccer Field (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 6-0-2
Video | Live Stats 
 
LUBBOCK, Texas -- After gaining their first Lone Star Conference win of the season, No. 8 Midwestern State (9-1, 1-0 LSC) sets their sights on number two against Lubbock Christian (4-4-1, 1-0-1 LSC). The two teams will face-off at LCU Soccer Field in Lubbock, Texas, on Oct. 16. The conference contest kicks off at 7 p.m.

FIVE STORY LINES

1 |  Trevor Amann leads the Mustangs with 21 points and sits in a close second in the Lone Star Conference. He also earns 15th in the NCAA Division II in the same category. The senior has a second-place finish in the conference and top 20 rank in the NCAA in three other categories, including: goals per game (0.90), shots on goal per game (1.90) and total goals (9). Amann leads the LSC in three categories: shots per game (4.50) for fourth-highest in DII, game-winning goals (3) earns seventh in the NCAA and points per game (2.10) to gain 13th in the nation. In total the forward amounted 41 shots with 17 on frame to lead MSU offensively. Amann tallied two-goal matches against Missouri S&T (9/02) and Rogers State (9/11) and clutched the game-winners in both games. He also added the game-winning goal against Lubbock Christian (9/29). Amann collected at least one point in his last four matches and has a goal in the past three.The forward has only two games without any points this year. For his career, the Westminster, Colo. native accumulated 21 goals and eight helpers for 50 points. In addition, he launched 120 shots with 54 on goal and five game winners in his 2,494 minutes.

Luciano Rodriguez tops Lubbock Christian with three goals for six points. The freshman put up 11 shots with nine landing on frame for a 0.818 shot on goal percent. In 565 minutes, Rodriguez is 1-2 in penalty kicks.

2 |  Carlos Flores continues to pace Midwestern State with five assists on the season and adds four tallies for 13 total points. His average points per game (1.44), total points and total goals earn fourth in the Lone Star Conference. The midfielder's five helpers leads the LSC and ranks 35th in NCAA Division II while his average of 0.50 per match is second for the conference and 41st in DII. Flores notched 13 shots with four coming against Northeastern State (9/09). Six of the attempts landed on frame for a 0.462 shot on goal percent. In 842 minutes, the senior has one game winner against Westminster (9/16). In his career, Flores collected 27 assists to earn seventh in the Mustangs' all-time record book, to tie Jack Joy's 27 helpers from 1994-96. With his 112 career shots, Flores inks his name on the career shots record books and ties Anthony Ramirez (2001-04) and Ahmad Ihmeidan's (2004-08) attempts.

Fernando Flores earns two goals and three assists for seven points. The senior tallied 11 attempts with six on goal. In five starts and 460 minutes, Flores is 1-2 in penalty kicks.

3 |  On the defensive side of the pitch, Marc-Antoine Huzen has been a force for MSU with his ten starts on the season. In his 915 minutes on the pitch, the senior allowed ten goals for a 0.98 goals against average, earning third in the Lone Star Conference and 38th in NCAA Division II. Huzen hasa LSC fourth-highest 21 saves against 64 shots. He earns a 0.724 save percent to rank fifth in the conference and 47th in DII. The goalkeeper is 9-1 on the season with five shutouts to lead the Lone Star Conference and sit ninth in the NCAA. Huzen claims a 15-2-1 record for his career with ten shutouts. While at Midwestern State, the Parisian collected 37 saves, a 0.733 save percent and a 0.72 GAA.

Braxton Thorne has made seven starts in goal for LCU to total 660 minutes. The senior completed 24 saves in 93 shots faced for a 0.774 save percent. For 2021, Thorne has allowed seven goals and earned a 0.95 GAA.

4 |  In the Mustangs' 8-1 season, the team leads the Lone Star Conference in nine statistical categories. MSU racked up a conference best 2.50 assists per game and earns tenth in NCAA Division II. In addition, the squad is first with 8.90 points per game, a fourth best ranking in DII. The Mustangs' scoring offense sits at 3.20 to lead the LSC and gain third in the nation. Huzen and the team collected a 0.500 shutout percent to gain 13th in the NCAA and a 0.983 team goals against average for 43rd in DII. The final four categories are: total assists (25) for 12th in NCAA Division II, total goals (32) for eighth in the NCAA, total points (89) sits tenth in the nation and won-loss-tied percent (0.900) gets seventh in DII.

5 |  In the most recent release of the United Soccer Coaches College Rankings, Midwestern State was named No. 10 in the polls. In the first poll of the season, the Mustangs claimed the 23rd spot and quickly moved up the ranks from there. With defeats over No. 25 Northeastern State and No. 9 Rogers State, MSU were selected to No. 18 for the second poll of 2021. The team continued the climb after claiming victories against Westminster and No. 19 Simon Fraser in the MSU Classic. After dropping to No. 3 West Texas A&M (9/22), Midwestern State fell to the twelfth spot and picked up to 11 with wins over Lubbock Christian (9/29) and Oklahoma Christian (10/02). With a defeat over Oklahoma Christian in the first conference match, MSU broke the top ten of the polls for the first time this season.

HEAD COACH MICHAEL MEACHUM is in the midst of his fourth season as head coach at Midwestern State and his 10th overall in Wichita Falls. He served the first seven years as top assistant for Doug Elder. During that time, Meachum helped the Mustangs reach two NCAA Division II South Central Region finals and to the national quarterfinals. Meachum boasts a 47-10-4 record (.831) since taking the reins of the program prior to the 2018 season. He has led the Mustangs to the 2018 Heartland Conference title, the 2019 Lone Star Conference postseason tournament crown and to two NCAA Division II postseason appearances in 2018 and 2019. Prior to MSU, Meachum served as an assistant at NAIA Bethany College (Kan.) and Hastings (Neb.), at Division I Oral Roberts and Division II Northeastern State.

SERIES WITH THE CHAPARRALS

The series between Midwestern State and Lubbock Christian is fairly new with a start date of 9/15/2014. The Mustangs have never lost against the Chaparrals, going 6-0-2 in eight meetings. When on the road, MSU is 3-0-1. The two teams played to a draw in 2017 in Wichita Falls, Texas. The last time the Mustangs played in Lubbock, the team completed a 4-2 win in 2019 with Carlos Flores and Julian Barajas each earning a goal. Sergio Lara and current assistant coach, Ross Fitzpatrick, also found the back of the net. In late Sept. of 2021, the Mustangs collected the sixth win of the series going 3-0 at home. Amann, Mere Escobar and Brandon Martinez-Trelles each registered a tally.
  

--MSUMustangs.com--