SAN DIEGO – No. 8-ranked Midwestern State makes its eighth appearance in the national quarterfinals as it visits No. 16-ranked Point Loma in the Super Region IV final. Kickoff at PLNU Soccer Field is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. CST.

No. 4-seeded Midwestern State (16-3-3) has an eight-game winning streak, and the Mustangs have not conceded a goal in the postseason.  MSU has recorded 13 clean sheets this season, including seven of their last eight games.

Gabriel Gacovicaj scored his first goal of the season in the 43rd minute, and Dereck Espinal added a goal in the 90th minute as the Mustangs eliminated top-seeded Stanislaus State with a 2-0 victory at Warrior Stadum in Turlock, Calif., last week. 

The Mustangs only allowed the Warriors to put one shot on goal and outshot Stanislaus State overall, 13-7. 

Parker Plaxco, a junior forward from Stephenville, is the leading goal scorer for the Mustangs with 12 goals, and he leads the team with 29 points this season. Plaxco scored his fifth game-winning goal of the season with 15 seconds remaining in overtime to defeat Seattle Pacific in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship at Stang Park.

Plaxco scored a school-record four goals in a 4-2 win over Northwest Nazarene.

Senior Liam Pritchard, the LSC Midfielder of the Year, is tied with Plaxco for the team lead and second in the conference with five assists. Pritchard has scored two goals this season, including the game-winning goal in a 2-0 win over Lubbock Christian on Oct. 29.

Senior defender Jaime Villagomez has two goals and four assists this season. He assisted Plaxco on a game-winning strike in the 63rd minute of a 1-0 victory over Westminster in the second game of the season. He scored the only goal in a non-conference win over St. Mary's on Sept. 17. He scored again in the next game at Southern Nazarene, which finished as a 2-2 draw.  He added three assists during the conference campaign.

Junior forward Alan Rivera was named the LSC Newcomer of the Year and is tied for seventh in the LSC with five goals this season, including two game-winning strikes. His first goal of the season was the game-winning tally in a 2-0 win over Western Oregon, and he also scored the game-winner in a 2-0 triumph at Oklahoma Christian. Rivera has three assists this season, including one against UT Tyler in the LSC Men's Soccer Championship semifinals at Stang Park on Nov. 12.

Sophomore midfielder Cooper Tea has scored five goals, including game-winning strikes against West Texas A&M and UT Tyler in the semifinals of the LSC Men's Soccer Championship. Tea completed a comeback against Newman in the home opener. MSU fell behind 3-0, but Tea scored the equalizer in the 85th minute for the Mustangs. He scored early in a 2-1 loss to St. Edward's and scored the third goal in a 3-0 win at Dallas Baptist. He also assisted on one of four goals scored by Plaxco in the 4-2 victory over Northwest Nazarene at Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco, Texas, on Sept. 25.

Defender Davis Mays, who also had an assist in Plaxco's four-goal outburst, is a fifth-year senior from Wichita Falls who returned home after starting his collegiate career at UT Tyler.  Mays was the LSC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 13 after the Mustangs shut out UT Tyler and Oklahoma Christian in back-to-back games. Mays scored the first goal of the season for MSU in a 1-1 draw at Colorado Mesa. Mays played the full 90 minutes in 14 matches this season and logged 1,809 minutes for MSU, including 110 minutes in the overtime win against Seattle Pacific.

Head coach Michael Meachum is in his eighth season at the helm of the program and has a 119-25-15 (.796) record at Midwestern State. Meachum has led the team to the NCAA Tournament seven times and moved past the third round for the first time this season.

Midwestern State is meeting Point Loma for the first time in the history of the program. The Sea Lions are the No. 3 seed in the region and have eliminated sixth-seeded Cal State San Bernardino and No. 10-seed UC Colorado Springs en route to the Super Region IV final. 

Point Loma (16-3-2) has a nine-game unbeaten streak and is 8-2-0 at home this season.

In its second-round matchup with CSUSB, Point Loma got goals from Cole Friesen and Emmett Layman but finished in a 2-2 draw. The Sea Lions advanced on PKs, winning 3-2 on spot kicks. Point Loma was hosting an NCAA Tournament match for the second time in its history and reached the third round for the first time in program history.

Gael Ruiz and Elijah Langford scored goals, and Point Loma outshot UCCS, 20-11, in a 2-1 victory at PLNU Soccer Field last week.

Point Loma has outscored its opponents this season, 63-24, and has three players that have scored at least 12 goals this season. 

Layman is the leading goal scorer for the Sea Lions with 15, and the junior forward netted a hat trick in a 4-1 victory over Fresno Pacific in the PacWest Championships semifinals.

Friesen has scored five goals in the last five games and has 14 goals this season. The senior midfielder also has nine assists and leads the team with 37 points.

Langford, a junior from Edmond, Oklahoma, has scored 12 goals, including six game-winning goals for the Sea Lions. 

The winner advances to the national semifinals and will play at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Dec. 12.