WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State and Texas A&M International battled in a rowdy match on Saturday night that pushed into two overtimes and ended in a one all draw. Seven cards between the two teams demonstrates the heated atmosphere.

"We had to play to win the game," Head Coach Michael Meachum stated. "That is just the way we are. We were going to get a result out of this game."

The match was intense from the first whistle with Juan Galindo driving the first shot of the game. The freshman put up total three shots with one on goal during the 19th minute of the first period. Faus Natxo made the save for International.

The first booking went the Dustdevil's Aaron Rich at 10:53 in the first. Not too long after, MSU recorded three back to back to back corner kicks. The team registered 11 corners in the game versus TAMIU's one. Unfortunately, nothing became of the three corner opportunities for the Mustangs.

Midwestern State received their first yellow in the 32nd minute to Rory O'Keeffe. The defender grabbed his second yellow after a challenge with Hector Arreola. O'Keeffe was shown the red card and MSU dropped to ten men with less than three minutes in the half.

"It was a red card," Meachum said. "When you put your foot that high, you don't give the referee any other decision."

Back luck pursued for the Mustangs as International put one past Marc-Antoine Huzen on their one of three shots for the first half. Kristian Colaci received the ball just outside of the penalty arc. The senior flicked it over one defender, brought the ball to the right side of the box and slotted it into the far left corner of the goal.

The visitors had the lead going into halftime. MSU put up nine shots and seven corners in the first period while TAMIU had three shots and zero corners.

 With some changes in the line-up, the Mustangs were ready to fight for the equalizer in the second half. 

"We needed to keep pressing and keep going forward," Meachum explained. "We had successful first half even if it wasn't on the score sheet. I thought we were good for 43 minutes."

Victor Rubio Lopez rocked a shot off the woodwork at 52:05 that shook the visitors. Shortly after, Colaci tallied a yellow card and later forced a save by Huzen.

The game continued with the Mustangs breathing down the Dustdevils neck at every available chance. A giveaway by TAMIU in the midfield opened things up for MSU. Erwin Regules made a quick pass to Julian Barajas who cut to the left side of the 18 yard box. Three defenders trailed the midfielder as he slipped the ball into the lower right side and past Nils Landen.

The night was electric was the team celebrated the goal and the International players hung their heads. Midwestern State pushed to find the game winner. The ref gave Trevor Amann a yellow card in the three minutes following Barjas' goal.

Regulation and two overtime periods ended with neither team finding the back of the net again. Yogi Vargas and Arreola added their names to the bookings list with a yellow each. Texas A&M International finished with six shots, three saves, 15 fouls, and one corner. Midwestern State concluded the game with 19 shots, 2 saves, 24 fouls, and 11 corners.

"I thought in the second half and overtime, we were better than we were in the first," Meachum said. "For us to come back and get a point, still puts us in a good spot for the season."
 
Now at 3-1-1 for the year, the Mustangs continue their spring quest of games. The team will head down to San Antonio, Texas, for a Lone Star face-off against St. Mary's University. The Tuesday, March 16, match will kick off at 5:30 p.m. at Sigma Beta Chi Field.