WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State is expected to finish second in the Lone Star Conference — behind St. Mary's — according to a preseason poll of coaches, sports information directors and selected members of the media.

The Mustangs were 13-6-3 overall last season and finished the conference campaign with a 4-5-0 record. MSU was seeded No. 5 in the Lone Star Conference Tournament but defeated West Texas A&M, 3-2, in the quarterfinals before eliminating Dallas Baptist on PKs in the semifinals. Midwestern State earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after shutting out Oklahoma Christian in the final, 2-0. The Mustangs reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight time.

"Congratulations to St. Mary's," Midwestern State head coach Michael Meachum said. "We've won the conference before, and in a highly competitive league, other teams are trying to win it this season."

Meachum is entering his sixth season as the head coach and has won nearly 77 percent of his games since taking the reins for the Mustangs with an impressive 68-18-8 record.

Senior forward Mere Escobar was an All-American last season after leading the conference with 11 goals. Escobar assisted on six other goals and led the league with 28 points. The Austin, Texas, native is among the offensive players to watch in the LSC entering the 2023 campaign.

Tristian Adams was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-South Central Region first team and was selected as a first-team defender on the All-LSC team last year. Adams started 19 of the 20 games in which he appeared last season. The senior scored three goals and six of his 11 shots were on goal in 2022. The product of San Diego is one of the LSC defenders to watch during the upcoming season.

Adam Braman was the 24 Strong Teammate of the Year last season and earned a spot on the LSC Postseason All-Tournament Team. The junior goalkeeper was 10-6-2 with a 0.87 goals against average and finished the 2022 campaign with a .750 save percentage. The junior from Mercer Island, Washington, is a goalkeeper to watch in the LSC this year.

Midwestern State travels to Salt Lake City to open the season, facing Westminster at 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 31. The Mustangs return to Dumke Field two nights later for a showdown with Colorado Mesa at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 2.

 

2023 Lone Star Conference Preseason Men's Soccer Poll

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year | Peyton Voelker (F), Dallas Baptist
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year | Andrick Ferrer (D), St. Mary's
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year | Andre Schlaefli (GK), St. Mary's

Place	Team (1st-place votes)	Points
1	St. Mary's (22)	283
2	Midwestern State (3)	242
3	West Texas A&M (3)	237
4	Dallas Baptist (2)	207
5	Oklahoma Christian	192
6	Lubbock Christian	155
7	UT Tyler	114
8	Texas A&M International	88
9	St. Edward's	75
10	Eastern New Mexico	57

  

2023 Lone Star Conference Preseason Awards

Offensive Players to Watch

Student-Athlete	School	Position	Class	Major	Hometown
Peyton Voelker	Dallas Baptist	F	Jr.	Business Administration	Timnath, Colo.
Alexandre Meres	Eastern New Mexico	F	So.	Undecided	Le Bourget, France
Pablo Galietero Diez	Lubbock Christian	F	Sr.	Masters of Education	Madrid, Spain
Mere Escobar	Midwestern State	F	Sr.	Business Management	Austin, Texas
Isaias Silva	Oklahoma Christian	F	Jr.	Criminal Justice	Mustang, Okla.
Dani Gimena	St. Mary's	MF	Sr.	International Business	Ondara, Spain
Felipe Garcia	Texas A&M International	F	Jr.	Undecided	Irving, Texas
Lukas Paulun	UT Tyler	MF	Sr.	Business Administration	Essen, Germany
Chris Palomino	West Texas A&M	F	Jr.	Business	Houston, Texas

Defensive Players to Watch

Student-Athlete	School	Position	Class	Major	Hometown
Tis Sula	Eastern New Mexico	D	So.	Undecided	Parma, Italy
Jelle Born	Lubbock Christian	D	Sr.	Business	Eindhoven, Netherlands
Tristian Adams	Midwestern State	D	Sr.	Sport & Leisure Studies	San Diego, Calif.
Elliott Forestier	Oklahoma Christian	D	So.	Exercise Science	Rozelle, Australia
Andrick Ferrer	St. Mary's	D	Jr.	Management	Buffalo, N.Y.
Magnus Poulsen	Texas A&M International	D	Sr.	Undecided	Silkeborg, Denmark
Nori Ito	UT Tyler	D	Sr.	Business Administration	Tokyo, Japan
Bryan Martinez	West Texas A&M	D	Sr.	Business	Houston, Texas

Goalkeepers to Watch

Student-Athlete	School	Position	Class	Major	Hometown
Alexander Knepper	Dallas Baptist	GK	Sr.	Masters of Business Management	Tulsa, Okla.
Paul Waschkau	Eastern New Mexico	GK	So.	Undecided	Dusseldorf, Germany
Tom Miles	Lubbock Christian	GK	Jr.	Psychology	Epsom, England
Adam Braman	Midwestern State	GK	Jr.	Applied Arts & Sciences	Mercer Island, Wash.
Daniel Hosier	Oklahoma Christian	GK	So.	Exercise Science	Hemel Hempstead, England
Andre Schlaefli	St. Mary's	GK	Sr.	Accounting	Katy, Texas
Gal Grodeski	Texas A&M International	GK	Fr.	Undecided	Holon, Israel
Asaf Kristal	West Texas A&M	GK	So.	Psychology	Tel Aviv, Israel