SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- No. 7-seeded Midwestern State meets 10th-seeded Biola – Bible Institute of Los Angeles – in the first round of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship. Kickoff at Sigma Beta Chi Field in San Antonio has been move to Friday at 6 p.m. due to impending inclement weather. The winner faces No. 2-seeded St. Mary's in a second-round match Sunday at 3 p.m.
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (12-5-3) vs. BIOLA (8-3-6)

Friday | 6 p.m.
Sigma Beta Chi Field | San Antonio

Series History | Biola leads, 2-0

LAST MEETING | Biola won the last meeting in Wichita Falls on Nov. 23, 1987. The Eagles prevailed, 1-0, in the NAIA National Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT | Midwestern State scored two goals in the second half to beat upstart Oklahoma Christian 2-0 and claim its third Lone Star Conference Postseason title in four years Sunday afternoon at Sigma Beta Chi Field. Oklahoma Christian controlled a 6-2 edge in shots in the opening and ended up controlled possession for 55 percent of the match, but was unable to add to the score line. However, Midwestern State used a long throw-in by Juan Galindo into the box in the 48th which was headed down before Eduardo Cerna flicked the ball to an open Gavin Scott just a little more than 5 yards from goal. The fifth-year senior from Ayr, Scotland, placed his third goal of the season into the upper right corner of the net to give the Mustangs control. The MSU back line stood up to Oklahoma Christian's persistent pressure and sophomore goalkeeper Adam Braman made three saves to secure fifth shutout of the season. Junior striker Mere Escobar polished off the Eagles in the 89th minute when he beat a defender one-on-one to his right then slotted his 10th goal of the season to the lower left corner of the net to give the Mustangs an insurmountable two-goal advantage.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 3-0-1 in neutral site matches this season…MSU is unbeaten in its last 13 matches played at a neutral site…Midwestern is appearing in the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship for the 17th time…MSU also made 17 appearances in the NAIA Men's Soccer Championship…MSU appears in the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship for the ninth consecutive full season… Midwestern State head coach Michael Meachum is 67-17-8 in five seasons… Midwestern State is third in the Lone Star Conference with 1.70 goals per game…Mustangs lead the Lone Star Conference with 34 total goals in its 20 matches overall, which ranks 54th in the nation… MSU has outscored its opponents, 34-18…+16 is the second-best goal differential in the LSC and 38th in the nation…Mere Escobar leads the Mustangs and is second in the LSC with 10 goals this season…MSU is second in the conference and 47th in the nation with 28 total assists…Mustangs are second in the LSC and 68th in the nation with 1.40 assists per game…Rory Doyle and Mere Escobar each have six assists, which is second in the LSC and 47th in the nation…Midwestern State is third in the LSC and 79th in the nation with 4.80 points per game…MSU is second in the conference and 51st in the nation with 96 total points… Escobar leads the LSC and is 38th in the nation with 31 total points, and Sulahmana Bah is ninth in the LSC with 13 total points…Escobar has three game-winning goals, which is the second-best total in the LSC and 34th in the nation…116 of 258 (.450) shots have been on goal, making MSU third in the conference and 110th nationally in shot accuracy…23 of 50 (.460) shots have been on goal for Escobar, who is third in the LSC in shot accuracy and 121st in the nation… Mustangs average 5.15 corner kicks per game, which is third most in the LSC and 58th in the nation…MSU is fourth in the conference with a team goals against average of 0.890, which is 29th in the nation…Goalkeeper Adam Braman is third in the LSC with a 0.915 goals against average, which is 32nd best in the nation… Braman is seventh in the LSC and 101st in the nation with a .733 save percentage…Braman has five shutouts…Braman has made 44 saves this season, sixth most in the LSC and 141st in the nation…MSU is second in the LSC and ninth in the nation with 54 yellow cards.

SCOUTING BIOLA | Biola head coach Joey O'Keefe is in his second season with the Eagles and has a record of 19-10-6…Biola has a four-match winning streak and is unbeaten in its last 13 matches…The Eagles last loss was at No. 1-ranked CSU Los Angeles, 4-3, on Sept. 7…Biola defeated Holy Names, 1-0, in their last match to clinch a share of the PacWest title for the first time in program history…Biola was 7-0-3 in conference play and tied with Dominican (8-2-0) with 24 points… Biola received the automatic bid from the PacWest by virtue of a 3-2 win at Dominican on Oct. 8…O'Keefe was a team captain the last time Biola won a conference championship in 2015, when the Eagles claimed the Golden State Athletic Conference title in NAIA…Biola leads the PacWest and is 18th in the nation with 2.35 goals per game…Eagles have scored 40 goals, which leads the conference and is 23rd in the nation…Kristen Colaci leads the PacWest and is ninth in the nation with 15 goals…Colaci has 38 of 69 (.551) shots on goal and is fourth in the conference — 51st in the nation — in shot accuracy …Colaci leads the conference and is sixth in the nation with 4.06 shots per game…Colacci has two game-winning goals for the Eagles…Colaci leads the conference and is 13th in the nation with 33 points… Biola leads the conference and is seventh in the nation with 7.53 points per game…Onesimus Bonat and Moritz Riegel are third in the conference and 87th in the nation with five assists…Eagles average 2.82 assists per game, which leads the PacWest and is fifth in the nation…Eagles are seventh in the nation and lead the conference with 48 total assists…. Goalkeeper JD Gunn is second in the PacWest and 64th in the nation with .760 save percentage….Gunn averages 3.35 saves per game, which is fourth-most in PacWest…Gunn has the second-most saves in the PacWest with 57, which is 81st in the nation…Gunn has shut out seven opponents, which is second-most in PacWest and 19th most in the nation…Biola averages 4.82 corner kicks, which is third-most in PacWest and 81st in the nation…

UP NEXT | The winner faces No. 2-seeded St. Mary's at Sigma Beta Chi Field in a second-round match Sunday at 3 p.m. in San Antonio.