SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Sixth-seeded Midwestern State advanced to the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference 2022 Men's Soccer Championship and faces No. 2-seed Dallas Baptist on Friday at 5 p.m. The semifinals are scheduled to be played at Sigma Beta Chi Field on the campus of St. Mary's.
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (11-5-2, 4-5-0) vs. (3) DALLAS BAPTIST (7-6-4, 6-3-0)

Friday | 5 p.m.
Sigma Beta Chi Field | San Antonio

Series History | Midwestern State leads, 21-0-2

LAST MEETING | Midwestern State senior Brandon Martinez-Trelles scored a goal and assisted on another to lift the Mustangs to a 2-1 win over Dallas Baptist at Stang Park on Oct. 22. The win snapped a two-game slide for MSU, which improved to 9-4-2 on the season and to 3-4 in Lone Star Conference play. Martinez-Trelles opened scoring in the 11th minute finishing off of an opportunity created by Adam Robinson, who worked the ball deep into the attacking third then received the ball back off of passes from Mere Escobar and Conner Lewis. Robinson then sent a cross through the middle of the box that glanced off of Omar Boutari's right boot and rolled back to toward the penalty spot. There, Martinez-Trelles smoked a ball to the left corner of the net for his third goal of the season. The Mustangs owned the better share of possession time throughout the first 75 minutes of the match, and finally opened the lead further midway through the second half. Once again, Martinez-Trelles played a major role when he served a ball off of a free kick from 30 yards out on the far post. This time, junior defender Tristian Adams finished off the cross with a clean header to the opposite corner of the goal to give the Mustangs a two-goal advantage in the 70th minute. But the Mustangs faced adversity when Adams was sent off for an apparent head butt with just over 16 minutes to play. The San Diego native had received a first booking in the 39th minute in the first half. Dallas Baptist cut the lead in half when Gavyn Rosales ran on to a loose ball in the 6-yard box in the 86th minute in an opportunity resulting off of a free kick from 30 yards out. But the Mustangs managed to maintain a good share of possession in the closing minutes to come away with the victory.

LAST TIME OUT |  It was nearly an hour into the Lone Star Conference 2022 Men's Soccer Championship quarterfinal match before Midwestern State came to life at The Pitch. Trailing 2-0, Adam Robinson scored the first of three MSU goals in a span of four minutes and 21 seconds as the Mustangs rallied to defeat West Texas A&M, 3-2, and advanced to the semifinals. Nearly 15 minutes into the second half, Giancarlo Saldana pushed down Brandon Martinez-Trelles, giving Midwestern State a free kick from 25 yards out on the right wing. Robinson, a senior defenseman that won a national championship at Charleston (W. Va.) before transferring to Midwestern State, drove the ball directly into the far-side netting with a left-footed shot. Robinson's first goal of the season ignited the comeback. Less than 30 seconds after the initial goal, the Mustangs scored on a counter attack to tie the game. Juan Galindo sent a ball over the top that bounced on the turf field just outside the penalty box. Sulahmana Bah followed the ball into the area on the right side while being marked by Arturo Barrera. Bah struck a half volley that caught goalkeeper Asaf Kristal out of position and the ball settled in the lower back left corner of the net. Galindo earned his second assist, and Bah's third goal of the year was one of the biggest of the campaign. Three minutes and 54 seconds later, Midwestern State stunned the partisan crowd in Canyon. Midwestern State had a beautiful build up to the attacking third when Bah was fouled by Denis Herrera. The always dangerous Mere Escobar delivered the free kick from 40 yards away. The perfectly struck ball found Tristian Adams cutting in front of the goal from the left side, and the junior defender scored with a lunging header. Kristal was caught flat footed and looked to his right as the eventual game-winner went into the lower corner of the goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Adam Braman faced eight shots and made six saves in the victory.

TRACKING THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 2-0-0 in neutral site matches this season…MSU has won its last 11 matches played at a neutral site…Mustangs have an eight-game winning streak in the all-time series with the Patriots…MSU has 95 goals all-time against DBU…. MSU is facing DBU in the conference tournament for the first time…Midwestern State head coach Michael Meachum is 66-17-7 in five seasons… Midwestern State is fourth in the conference with 1.67 goals per game…Mustangs are third in the conference with 30 goals… MSU has outscored its opponents, 30-16…+14 is the second-best goal differential in the LSC…Mere Escobar leads the Mustangs and is third in the LSC with eight goals this season…MSU is second in the league with 26 total assists…Rory Doyle has six assists, which is second in the LSC and 40th in the nation…Midwestern State is third in the LSC with 4.78 points per game… Escobar has three game-winning goals, which is the second-best total in the LSC and 31st in the nation…103 of 228 (.452) shots have been on goal, making MSU third in the conference in shot accuracy…21 of 45 (.467) shots have been on goal for Escobar, who is third in the LSC in shot accuracy…Escobar is second in the conference with 22 total points, and Doyle is 14th in the LSC with 12 total points…Mustangs average 5.17 corner kicks per game, which is fourth most in the LSC…MSU is third in the conference with a team goals against average of 0.889, which is 28th in the nation… Goalkeeper Adam Braman is third in the league with a 0.917 goals against average, which is 32nd best in the nation… Braman is seventh in the LSC with a .741 save percentage…

SCOUTING DALLAS BAPTIST | DBU finished the regular season with a winning record for the first time in program history…Jess Jobe is in his second season as head coach and has a record of 12-14-4…DBU is 3-2-0 over its last five matches…Patriots were 0-0-1 in neutral site games, earning a 0-0 draw with Colorado Christian in Bethany, Okla., to start the season…Patriots were 0-1-3 through the first four matches of the campaign…DBU has not allowed a goal in its last three wins…Patriots closed the season with a 3-0 win over Lubbock Christian and a 1-0 victory at UT Tyler, following a 2-1 loss at Midwestern State…DBU has outscored opponents 27-21…+6 goal differential is fifth best in the LSC…Peyton Voelker leads the conference with 11 goals scored this season, including the game-winner against UT Tyler in the regular-season finale…Voelker is second in the conference with three game-winning goals this season…Voelker leads the LSC with 23 total points and averages 1.35 points per game, which is second in the LSC…Ethan Unger is second in the LSC with six assists, and he is sixth in the league with 14 total points…Unger is second in the LSC with 2.94 shots per game and third with 1.29 shots on goal per game…Alexander Knepper leads the LSC with 1520:30 minutes played in goal…Knepper has five shutouts this season, which is third-most in the LSC…Knepper is fourth in the league with a 1.24 GAA and .779 save percentage…Knepper makes 4.35 saves per outing, which ranks third-most in the LSC…Dallas Baptist has put 100-of-238 shots on goal (.420) and is seventh in the league in shot accuracy… Dallas Baptist commits the fewest fouls in the LSC with 149 total fouls over 17 matches —8.76 per game …DBU has only been issued 24 yellow cards, which is the lowest total in the league…

UP NEXT | The championship match of the Lone Star Conference Postseason will be played Sunday at Sigma Beta Chi Field in San Antonio. The winner of the MSU/DBU semifinal faces Oklahoma Christian/St. Mary's winner at 1 p.m.