WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Junior forward Mere Escobar became the fourth player in the history of Midwestern State Men's Soccer to earn D2CCA South Central Region Player of the Year honors on Tuesday. Escobar was one of seven Mustangs to receive recognition on the All-South Central Region Team.

Escobar joins Daniel Brown (2007), Raul Herrera (2010) and Trevor Amann (2021) as Midwestern State players to be named D2CCA South Central Region Player of the Year.

Escobar, who was named to the All-South Central Region first team for the third time in his career, was joined on the first team by junior goalkeeper Adam Braman, senior midfielder Maycol Reyes, senior defender Juan Galindo and senior defender Anthony Perea.

Junior forward Liam Pritchard and senior midfielder Jack Larkin received second-team honors.

Escobar leads the unbeaten Mustangs with 17 goals and 13 assists this season. The native of Austin, Texas, led the conference in goals, assists and points. He is fifth in the nation in goals scored and sixth in assists. Escobar is second in the nation with 47 points.

His 17 goals this season have him tied for fifth all-time in MSU history, and tied for second with Brandon Swartzendruber (2006), Craig Sutherland (2008) and Albert Rodriguez (2015) for MSU players in the Division II era.

He is two assists shy of the school record and is tied for third with Britt Harder (1990) and Ahmad Ihemidan (2008). Harder had 15 assists in 1991.

The veteran forward has 44 goals, 24 assists and 112 points in three seasons at MSU. Escobar is the Division II leader in MSU history and sixth overall in career goals. He is 10th in career assists at MSU and tied for second among players in the Division II era. He is first among Division II players in points at MSU and sixth overall.

Adam Braman has set the school record for wins in a season as a goalkeeper. With Braman between the pipes, the Mustangs are 20-0-1 this season. Braman currently has 0.60 goals-against average, which would be seventh-best in MSU history. It is the best goals-against average in the LSC this season, and 11th-best in the nation.

Braman's save percentage of .793 is best in the LSC this season and 24th in the nation. He has nine shutouts, which is best in the LSC this season and ninth in the country. He is two shutouts shy of the MSU school record, which is shared by Kevin Payne (1986), Raul Herrera (2009), and Noah Fazekas (2016).

Maycol Reyes is fifth in the LSC and 63rd in the nation with 23 points this season. Reyes has nine goals and five assists for the Mustangs. He is fourth in the conference among goal scorers and 10th among league leaders in assists.

The transfer from North Carolina-Greensboro had two goals and two assists in a 5-1 victory at Lubbock Christian. He netted a hat trick in a 4-0 win over St. Edward's as Midwestern State clinched the regular season title in the Lone Star Conference. In the championship game of the LSC Tournament, Reyes scored twice as MSU routed Dallas Baptist, 5-0.

Juan Galindo was the LSC Defensive Player of the Year, and the senior from Dripping Springs, Texas, anchored a defense that has only conceded 12 goals in 21 matches this season. Rogers State, Texas A&M – International, and West Texas A&M are the only schools to score more than one goal in a match against the Mustangs this season. Galindo has two goals and an assist.

Anthony Perea transferred to MSU from West Texas A&M and was named to the D2CCA All-South Central Region first team for the second time in his career. He also received the honor as a Buffalo in 2021, when he had two goals and three assists in 18 appearances with 14 starts for West Texas A&M. Perea, a product of Lone Star High School in Frisco, Texas, has made 17 starts and 19 appearances this season, and he has a goal and three assists for the Mustangs.

Liam Pritchard from Hartlepool, England, has six goals and six assists this season and has six multi-point matches for the Mustangs. He has at least one point in seven of his last nine appearances for the Mustangs. Pritchard had a goal in the LSC Tournament Championship match and an assist in the 2-1 victory over Fort Lewis in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Stang Park on Nov. 19.

Jack Larkin scored his fifth goal of the season in the win over Fort Lewis and also has four assists. Larkin, the team captain, has started 20 matches this season and played 90 minutes in nine of those contests for the Mustangs. The fifth-year senior from Waterford, Ireland, has been an ever-present force in the midfield for MSU this season.

The Mustangs are hosting the NCAA Regional at Stang Park on Friday and Sunday. MSU faces Colorado State-Pueblo in the 3 p.m. match on Friday, and the winner will meet either Cal State – LA or Cal Poly Pomona in the Regional Final on Sunday at 3 p.m. The two schools from the CCAA will battle at Stang Park for a berth in the Regional Final. Kickoff for that match is set for noon on Friday.

  

2023 D2CCA Men's Soccer All-South Central Region Team

First Team

Position	Student-Athlete	School	Year	Hometown
GK	Adam Braman	Midwestern State	Jr.	Mercer Island, Washington
F	Mere Escobar	Midwestern State	Jr.	Austin, Texas
F	Gabriel Campora	Colorado State-Pueblo	Sr.	Saltilla, Mexico
F	Anton Hjalmarsson	Fort Lewis	Fr.	Smalandsstenar, Sweden
F	Peyton Voelker	Dallas Baptist	Jr.	Timnath, Colo.
MF	Maycol Reyes	Midwestern State	Sr.	Midlothian, Texas
MF	Caio Oliveira	Colorado State-Pueblo	Sr.	Espigao d'Oeste, Brazil
MF	Matteo Landais	West Texas A&M	So.	Vitre, France
MF	Loic Jean-Baptiste	Fort Lewis	Sr.	Martinique, France
D	Shjon Andrews	Colorado State-Pueblo	Sr.	Longmont, Colo.
D	Juan Galindo	Midwestern State	Sr.	Dripping Springs, Texas
D	Ellis Jones	Oklahoma Christian	Fr.	Wednesbury, England
D	Anthony Perea	Midwestern State	Sr.	Frisco, Texas

Second Team

Position	Student-Athlete	School	Year	Hometown
GK	Diego Chavez	Colorado Mesa	So.	Longmont, Colo.
F	Gabriel Legendre	Fort Lewis	Jr.	Rio Rancho, N.M.
F	Cian Foley	St. Mary's	Sr.	Wexford, Ireland
F	Liam Pritchard	Midwestern State	Jr.	Hartlepool, England
F	Alex Andersson	UC Colorado Springs	Sr.	Helsingborg, Sweden
MF	Jack Larkin	Midwestern State	Sr.	Waterford, Ireland
MF	Adan Perez	MSU Denver	Jr.	Denver, Colo.
MF	Kenshin Uneo	Colorado State-Pueblo	Sr.	Hyogo, Japan
MF	Lars Walczyk	UC Colorado Springs	Sr.	Bavaria, Germany
D	Raymond Jackson	Colorado Mesa	Sr.	Denver, Colo.
D	Kaden Schufft	Fort Lewis	So.	Rio Rancho, N.M.
D	Dylan Zavatini	Colorado State-Pueblo	Jr.	Santa Catarina, Brazil
D	Jackson Vander Ven	MSU Denver	Jr.	Lone Tree, Colo.