No. 7 Midwestern State vs UT Tyler
Wednesday, Oct. 20 – 7 p.m.
Stang Park (Wichita Falls, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 3-0
Video | Live Stats | Tickets
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Now sitting at a 2-0 Lone Star Conference record, No. 7 Midwestern State (10-1, 2-0 LSC) takes on UT Tyler (6-4-1, 2-1-0 LSC) to gain their third conference win of the 2021 season and retain their first place sitting. The Wednesday, Oct. 20 match kicks off at 7 p.m. at Stang Park.

FIVE STORY LINES

1 |  Trevor Amann tops the Mustangs with 23 points to earn first in the Lone Star Conference and 15th in the NCAA Division II. The senior also leads the conference and team in six other categories including: game-winning goals (4), goals per game (0.91), points per game (2.09),  shots per game (4.27), shots on goal per game (1.82) and total goals (10). Amann clinches 4th, 12th, 13th, 5th, 27th and 12th for each statistic, respectively. The forward leads MSU with 47 shots and landed a team-best 20 on target for a 0.426 shot on goal percent. Amann collected at least one point in his last five matches and has a goal in the past four with only two games this year without any points. For his career, the Westminster, Colo., native accumulated 22 goals and eight assists for 52 points. In addition, he put up 122 attempts with 56 on goal and notched six game-winners in 2,562 minutes.

Sergia Sola tops UT Tyler with nine points, split into four goals and one assist. The junior has one game-winner and is 1-1 in penalty kicks in 754 minutes. Sola leads with 19 shots, putting eight on target.

2 |  Mere Escobar has had a breakout sophomore season, tallying six goals and two assists for a MSU second best 14 points. His full points and total goals both sit third in the Lone Star Conference. When broken down per game, 0.55 goals and 1.27 points gain third in the conference and top 100 in NCAA Division II. Escobar has a LSC third-highest two game-winning goals, collected against Rockhurst (9/04) and Oklahoma Christian (10/09). The midfielder took 23 shots throughout his ten starts and put 12 on frame for a 0.522 shot on goal percent. In 752 minutes, Escobar is 3-3 on penalty kicks. In the Austin, Texas, native's two years at Midwestern State, he posted 11 goals and two assists for 24 points. He adds 44 attempts with 27 on goal in 1,191 minutes on the pitch. Escobar earned three game-clinching goals in 22 total matches.

Soren Wald is next up for the Patriots with three tallies and one helper for seven points. The graduate senior took 18 shots and landed eight on goal in six starts. Wald registers one game-winning goal in 645 minutes.

3 |  Between the posts, Marc-Antoine Huzen has 11 starts and 1,005 minutes for Midwestern State. The senior allowed ten goals for a Lone Star Conference second best 0.895 goals against average, which sits 32nd in NCAA Division II. Huzen collected 27 saves in 97 shots faced to earn a 0.730 save percent, which ranks third in the conference and 77th in the nation. His last ranked stat is his six shutouts to lead the LSC and clinch 44th in DII. The goalkeeper faced a season-high 21 shots against Oklahoma Christian (10/09) and made a season-high five saves versus Northeastern State (9/09). Huzen is 10-1 on the season and 16-2-1 in his Mustangs career. In three years, the Parisian accumulated 39 saves versus 119 shots for a 0.736 save percent. His overall goals against average records at 0.74 while he maintains 11 shutouts.

Mathias Eriksen started all 11 matches for UTT and registered a 5-4-1 record. The junior allowed 13 goals and marked a 1.26 GAA. Eriksen notched 31 saves in 120 shots faced for a 0.705 save percent.

4 | In the Mustangs' 10-1 season, the team leads the Lone Star Conference in nine statistical categories. MSU racked up a conference best 2.45 assists per game and earns 11th in NCAA Division II. In addition, the squad is first with 8.82 points per game, a third best ranking in DII. The Mustangs' scoring offense sits at 3.18 to lead the LSC and gain third in the nation. Huzen and the team collected a 0.545 shutout percent to gain 11th in the NCAA and a 0.983 team goals against average for 35th in DII. The final four categories are: total assists (27) for 15th in NCAA Division II, total goals (35) for eighth in the NCAA, total points (97) sits 11th in the nation and won-loss-tied percent (0.909) gets sixth in DII.

5 |  In the most recent release of the United Soccer Coaches College Rankings, Midwestern State was named No. 7 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. The full rankings are listed below.

Poll No. 7 -- October 19, 2021
Records are shown through games of Oct. 17, 2021

Rank	School	Record	Previous
1	Franklin Pierce University	13-0-0	1
2	University of Indianapolis	10-0-1	2
3	Davis & Elkins College	11-0-1	4
4	Young Harris College	12-0-1	5
5	Palm Beach Atlantic University	9-1-0	10
6	University of Charleston	11-1-0	6
7	Midwestern State University	10-1-0	8
8	California State University-Los Angeles	8-2-1	13
9	University of Tampa	9-2-0	16
10	Maryville University of St. Louis	10-2-1	11
11	Limestone University	9-2-0	9
12	Colorado Mesa University	12-2-0	12
13	California State University-Dominguez Hills	8-1-1	20
14	Wilmington University	11-1-1	17
15	West Texas A&M University	9-2-0	18
16	University of Montevallo	10-2-1	24
17	Seattle Pacific University	10-2-0	7
18	Gannon University	10-1-1	15
19	Lynn University	9-3-0	3
20	Anderson University (S.C.)	9-2-1	RV
21	Georgian Court University	9-0-2	RV
22	Colorado School of Mines	11-3-0	25
23	Azusa Pacific University	8-2-2	23
24	Lake Erie College	8-3-1	21
25	Rogers State University	9-3-1	RV

Others Receiving Votes: Chowan University, Auburn University Montgomery, Cedarville University, American International College, St. Mary's University (Texas).
 

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 49-10-4 record (.801) 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 PATRIOTS

Still in the early stages, the series between Midwestern State and UT Tyler contains three matches in the run since 2018. MSU took home all three games to clinch a 2-0 Lone Star Conference record against UTT. The Mustangs collected two wins at Stang Park, including a 2-0 victory in 2018 and 3-0 W in 2019. The last match-up saw Midwestern State take a 4-0 win on the road against the Patriots. Toi Yamaoka, Trevor Amann and Yogi Vargas each tallied goals in the victory.
  

--MSUMustangs.com--