ODESSA, Texas -- Mere Escobar took it upon himself to make sure Midwestern State clinched a berth in the upcoming Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament with a 4-1 victory over UT Permian Basin at UTPB Turf Field on Wednesday night.
Escobar recorded his second career hat trick, and both have been against the Falcons in Odessa. It was the fifth time that a Mustang scored three goals in a match against UTPB — the fourth time on the Falcons' home pitch.
Escobar's night began with an assist.
Jack Larkin won the ball at midfield in the 19th minute and delivered the ball into the path of a streaking Escobar on the left flank. The junior forward took the ball in deep and centered the pass for an unmarked
Brandon Martinez-Trelles, who scored his fourth goal of the year and gave MSU a 1-0 lead.
Midwestern State applied high pressure on UTPB in the 41st minute.
Rory Doyle stepped into the passing lane for a steal and directed a one-touch pass to the feet of Escobar 30 yards from goal. Escobar moved forward to the top of the box and his left-footed blast gave the Mustangs a two-goal lead at halftime.
In the 54th minute, Escobar took a free kick from 25 yards and went directly to goal. His right-footed shot scraped the underside of the crossbar before wrinkling the net as Midwestern State took a comfortable 3-0 lead early in the second half.
UTPB got a chance to score from the penalty spot with a little more than a half hour remaining.
The referee made an indecisive call as Matias Pereira sent an in-swinger into the box from the right corner. Eventually a hand ball was called against the Mustangs, and senior forward Gustavo Barroso took a penalty kick for the Falcons.
After a lengthy discussion among the officials, Barroso took a stutter step and scored his seventh goal of the season —his fourth from the penalty spot.
In the 88th minute, Escobar got another free kick from 25 yards out, and once again he went directly to goal and hit the crossbar, but the ball bounced inside the goal to give Midwestern State a 4-1 lead.
Midwestern State improved to 10-4-2 overall with a 4-4-0 record in the Lone Star Conference. This is the 23rd consecutive full season that the Mustangs have won at least 10 games. MSU is 7-0-0 all-time against UTPB in Odessa.
Chris Dwyer (2011), Thomas Parides (2014) and Trevor Amman (2021) are the other three Mustangs that have scored hat tricks against UTPB. Amman's three-goal performance came in a 5-1 victory at Stang Park last season.
UT Permian Basin fell to 4-5-5 overall and 2-3-3 in conference play. The Falcons remain winless in 12 all-time meetings with the Mustangs and have been outscored 51-2 in the series.
--MSU Mustangs.com--
