No. 8 Midwestern State vs Lubbock Christian
Lone Star Conference Championship
Sunday, Nov. 14 -- 1 p.m.
Stang Park (Wichita Falls, Texas)
ALL-TIME SERIES: 7-0-2
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WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- After Midwestern State (16-2, LSC 7-1) posted a 2-1 win over St. Mary's and Lubbock Christian (10-6-1, 5-2-1 LSC) gained a 3-0 victory against West Texas, the two teams meet in the Lone Star Conference Championship match. The Mustangs and the Chaps meet for the third time in the 2021 season with a trophy riding on the line. Stang Park hosts the championship match on Sunday afternoon with kick-off slated for 1 p.m.

FIVE STORY LINES

1 |  Trevor Amann continues to top the Mustangs and the LSC in scores, sitting at 16 for the season. Four of the goals counted as game-winners, which is tied for first in the conference with teammate Mere Escobar. Amann's average of 0.889 goals per game also leads the Lone Star Conference and sits seventh in the nation. With six assists, the forward earned a conference best 38 points, putting him sixth in the NCAA. His average of 2.06 points per game also leads the LSC. Amann is the top shooter in the nation with 4.94 attempts per game and adds 2.17 average shots on goal. His total of 89 shots on the season sits seventh in MSU' all-time record books. For his career at Midwestern State, the Westminster, Colo., native accumulated 28 goals and 11 assists for 67 points. In addition, he notched six game-winners in over 3,000 minutes.

Luciano Rodriguez is a force for Lubbock Christian, especially after completing a brace in the team's semifinal match against West Texas. The freshman has seven goals and five assists to land a team-best 19 points. The Maldonado, Uruguay, native attempted 21 shots and put 18 on frame in 14 starts.
 
2 |  Julian Barajas is the top assister for Midwestern State with nine helpers on the season. The senior leads the Lone Star Conference as does his 0.529 assists per game average. Barajas turned in two game-winning goals against Oklahoma Christian (10/02) and UT Tyler (10/20). The midfielder adds four goals for 17 total points, which earns eighth in the conference. Carlos Flores is second in the LSC behind Barajas with seven assists on the season. His average of 0.39 helpers per match is also second in the conference. Flores notched six goals to total a team third-highest 19 points and rank fifth in the Lone Star Conference. The midfielder also completed two game-winners against Westminster (9/16) and UT Permian Basin (11/03).

Kevin Mejias was the other goal scorer in the semifinal match against West Texas. On the year, the freshman notched six goals and three assists to sit second on the team with 15 points.

3 |  Mere Escobar's 27 points lands second on the team and in the conference after he notched the opening goal in the semifinal match against St. Mary's. His 11 total goals earns third for the LSC and while his five helpers sits ninth in the Lone Star. The midfielder possesses a conference fourth-highest 1.39 shots on goal average and 2.67 shots per game. He attempted 48 shots with 25 finding the goal frame in 1,342 minutes. Escobar claimed 17 starts in 18 appearances this season while making 20 starts in 29 games for his career. In two years, he notched 16 goals, five assists and 37 points. The Austin, Texas native saw 69 shots with 41 on goal and five game-clinchers.
 
4 |  After gaining just their second loss of the season, Midwestern State dropped down the United Soccer Coaches' poll to the eighth spot. MSU was placed at No. 22 in the Sept. 7 poll and climbed to No. 18 and 10 in the following weeks. After Sept. 28, Midwestern State dropped to No. 12 after falling to West Texas A&M, but quickly bounced back up to No. 11 and No. 8. The Mustangs stood two weeks at the seventh place before taking their highest rank of the season at No. 6 on Nov. 3.

5 |  Midwestern State slipped to No. 2 in the third edition of the Super Region Four Rankings released Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Committee. The release is the final ranking of the regular season and will be followed by the unveiling of the tournament field via a selection show on NCAA.com set for 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16. The full rankings are below.
 

Rank	School	In-Region Record	D2 Record
1	California State, Los Angeles	12-2-2	12-2-2
2	Midwestern State	13-2	15-2
3	Colorado School of Mines	14-4-1	14-4-1
4	West Texas A&M	12-3	13-3
5	Cal Poly Pomona	11-3-3	11-3-3
6	Azusa Pacific (Calif.)	10-2-2	10-2-2
7	Colorado Mesa	15-3-1	15-3-1
8	Colorado State-Pueblo	14-4-2	14-4-2
9	Seattle Pacific (Wash.)	11-2-2	11-2-2
10	Biola (Calif.)	11-5	11-5
11	California State, San Bernardino	10-4-3	10-4-3
12	California State, Dominguez Hills	10-5-1	10-5-1

 

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 55-11-4 record (.814) 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 CHAPS

The series between Midwestern State and Lubbock Christian is fairly new with a start date of 9/15/2014 though the championship match will be the third match up between the two teams this season. The Mustangs have never lost against the Chaparrals, going 7-0-2 in nine meetings. MSU collected a 3-0 road win last time out on Oct. 16 with Trevor Amann, Julian Barajas and James Doyle each tallying finishes. Midwestern State defeated Lubbock Christian on their home turf with another 3-0 shutout on Sept. 29. In the non-conference match, Amann, Mere Escobar and Brandon Martinez-Trelles found the back of the net.