WICHITA FALLS, Texas – No. 4-ranked and top-seeded Midwestern State is seeking a sixth consecutive Lone Star Conference Men's Soccer Championship title as it hosts third-seeded St. Mary's in the final on Saturday night at Stang Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Mustangs have lifted the tournament trophy six times in the seven-year history of the event. They reached the title match in the spring of 2021 after defeating St. Mary's in the semifinals, 2-0, but lost to West Texas A&M at The Pitch in Canyon, Texas, 1-0.

Midwestern State (14-0-5 8-0-2) extended its unbeaten streak to 30 games with a 1-1 draw against UT Dallas in the semifinals at Stang Park on Wednesday night, and advanced to the final by prevailing in the penalty-kick shootout, 4-3. Jake Morris made three stops during the shootout, and Christian Castaneda beat UTD goalkeeper Ryder Claborn in the sixth round of the shootout to advance in the LSC postseason tournament.

UT Dallas took a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute of the semifinal as Avery Brazzell scored his 11th goal of the season for the Comets. Just 30 seconds later the Mustangs scored the equalizer as Angel Escobar hit the back of the net for the first time this season. In a fiercely fought match, the Mustangs outshot UTD, 16-14, and put four shots on goal.  UTD only managed two shots on goal through 110 minutes of action.

St. Mary's (12-5-2, 6-2-2) advanced to the final with a 3-2 victory at Oklahoma Christian on Wednesday night. The two sides erupted for five second-half goals. Freshman goalkeeper Nichita Misac made a save in the waning seconds to preserve the victory. He also made a late save in the quarterfinals to secure the 1-0 victory over Dallas Baptist. Misac, the LSC Freshman of the Year, made three saves in the victory at Oklahoma Christian. 

Ryan Guillaume opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 47th minute, and the Rattlers held the lead until Kenzo Shabazz-Edwards scored in the 77th minute for the Eagles. St. Mary's reclaimed the lead in the 82nd minute with a Sean Borland goal and extend its advantage when Mekhi Carwise scored in the 84th minute. Tyler Ackah-Wheatcroft made it a one-goal game in the 87th minute with his fifth goal of the year for the third-seeded Eagles.

The Rattlers return to Stang Park where they visited for the regular season finale and fell to the Mustangs, 1-0. Parker Plaxco scored his conference-leading 15th goal of the year in the 63rd minute, flicking in a cross from Liam Kervick. It proved to be the seventh game-winning goal of the season for the LSC Player of the Year.

Midwestern State and St. Mary's are meeting in the LSC final for the third time since 2019, and the Mustangs won the two previous matches, defeating the Rattlers in 2019, 1-0, and overcoming a one-goal deficit in 2024 to win 2-1. Johan Juarez and Josh Milla scored for MSU in the 76th and 81st minute to secure the title for the Stangs.

Last year, the Mustangs edged Lubbock Christian for the conference tournament title, 1-0, as Kervick scored in the 33rd minute. The Mustangs outshot the Chaparrals 14-5, putting five shots on goal while Morris made three saves to the get the clean sheet for Midwestern State.

Morris has made 58 saves this season, which is sixth-most in the LSC, and he is making three saves per game, which is 10th in the LSC. Morris has posted the third-most clean sheets in the conference this season with six, and he leads the league with an .806 save percentage. Morris has the best goals-against average in the LSC 0.75. The junior from Parker, Colorado, has played all but 55 minutes in goal this season.

Midwestern State has outscored opponents this season, 50-14. Only two Division II programs have scored more goals than MSU this season. Southern New Hampshire leads the country with 52 goals, while Charleston has 51 and Chowan has scored 50 goals this season.

The Mustangs are averaging a conference-best 2.6 goals per game, which is sixth in the nation. MSU also leads the LSC and is second in the nation with 18.6 shots per game. The Stangs put 8.3 shots on goal per outing, which leads the conference and is fourth-most in the nation.

Midwestern State is averaging 2.4 assists and 7.6 points per game, which both lead the LSC. The Mustangs are sixth in the nation in assists per game and fourth in points per game.

Escobar became the 14th different Mustang to score a goal this season with his effort against UT Dallas on Wednesday. Jose Ortiz is third in the LSC with eight goals this season, and he has three game-winning goals for the Mustangs, who boast the best goal-differential in the conference and third best in the nation at plus-36.

Ethan Krchnak leads MSU and is second in the conference with eight assists, while Oscar Nunez and Cooper Tea both have six assists this season. Davis Mays has five assists, and Alan Rivera has assisted on four goals for the Mustangs.

Midwestern State is 42-5-0 in the all-time series with St. Mary's and has won the last eight meetings. The Rattlers are their 20th appearance at Stang Park, where they are 4-15 all-time and have lost their last six visits. St. Mary's last win at MSU came in 2019, Carlos Blasco scored off a free kick with 53 seconds remaining in overtime. The win snapped a 27-game home unbeaten streak for the Mustangs.

Kai Louviere and Eduardo Fernandez each have six goals for the Rattlers this season, but their leading goal scorer is Sebastian Poblete, who has eight goals and three assists in 19 games. Louviere, Ricky Alvarez and Guillamume all have five assists for St. Mary's, which is outscoring opponents this season, 37-17. The plus-20 goal differential is third best in the LSC.

The Rattlers average 6.05 points per game, which is second in the LSC. 

Misac has the third-best goals-against average in the LSC at 0.85, and he boasts the second-best save percentage at .789. Misac has made 60 saves this season, which is 3.2 saves per game. Misac made six saves against the Mustangs during their regular season encounter at Stang Park on Oct. 28.

The winner receives an automatic bid to the 2026 Division II Men's Soccer Championship. The selection show is scheduled for Monday at 5:30 p.m. CT.