AUSTIN, Texas – No. 6-ranked Midwestern State completed the non-conference schedule with a 6-0-2 record after posting a 1-0 victory over Western Oregon and a 4-1 triumph against Simon Fraser in Salem, Oregon, last week. The conference campaign begins this week at St. Edwards on Wednesday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Mustangs are playing their first-ever night game at Lewis-Chen Family Field. 

Midwestern State, the defending national champion, has a 19-game unbeaten streak, dating back to last season.
  
The Mustangs have the best goal differential in the conference, and they are fourth in NCAA Division II at plus-17, outscoring the opposition through the first eight games this season, 24-7.

Parker Plaxco, the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week, has scored four goals in the last three games for the Mustangs, including two game-winning goals against Cal Poly Pomona and Western Oregon. Plaxco is the second leading goal scorer in the Lone Star Conference with five goals this season. 

Jose Ortiz is the leading goal scorer in the LSC with seven, including a four-goal outburst in the season-opening 5-0 win over Cal State East Bay in Richardson, Texas. Ortiz scored the game-winning goal against Simon Fraser on Saturday. The senior transfer from SMU is ninth in NCAA Division II among goal scorers. 

Ten Mustangs have scored goals this season. Cooper Tea, Juan David Valencia Vacca, Lawrence Doe, Jr. and Italo Rodriguez have all scored twice this season. Alan Rivera, Victor Hernandez III, Cristopher Guevara and Liam Kervick have all found the back of the net once this season.

Ethan Krchnak leads the Mustangs with four assists, and MSU is fifth in the nation with 20 assists, which leads the LSC. Cooper Tea, and Oscar Nunez have each accounted for three assists. Davis Mays and Tanner Tea have two assists apiece. Valencia, Hernandez and Eduardo Cerna each have one assist for the Stang Gang.

Midwestern State leads the league with 8.5 points per game, which is sixth in the nation, and the Mustangs are second in the LSC with 2.5 assists per game.

Midwestern State is outshooting opponents 137-90, and the Mustangs are putting 46 percent of their shots on frame, while opponents are putting 42.2 percent of their shots on goal.

Jake Morris, the LSC Goalkeeper of the Week, has played 720 minutes and has a save percentage of .816 with a 0.88 goals-against average. Morris made a critical save late in the game against Western Oregon on the recent road trip and made a season-high six saves in a 6-1 win over Colorado Mesa earlier this season. The junior from Parker, Colorado, has made five saves twice this season. He made three saves for the fourth time this year in the win over Simon Fraser.

Midwestern State leads the all-time series with St. Edward's 36-8-5, but the Hilltoppers have won two of the last three meetings with the Mustangs.

Last season, Christian Mezas scored six seconds from full time, and St. Edward's picked up their fourth all-time win at Stang Park in its 25th visit, 2-1.

The last time Midwestern State visited the Hilltoppers in 2024, St. Edward's scored three goals in a 63 second span of the first half after netting its first goal in the fifth minute. The Hilltoppers added another goal in the 77th minute to hand MSU one of its most lopsided defeats, 5-0.

The two sides met In the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament semifinals later that year, and the Mustangs scored three goals in the second half and got their revenge with a 3-1 victory.

St. Edward's (1-3-2) has a two-game losing streak following a 3-1 loss to Seattle Pacific on Saturday, and the Hilltoppers are still seeking their first home win of the season.  St. Edward's is 0-2-2 as the hosts this season, including a 2-0 loss to Western Washington last week.

The Hilltoppers have been outscored this season 10-7 and are averaging 1.2 goals per game. St. Edward's only win this season was a 3-0 victory at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Aug. 30. The team has played a pair of 1-1 draws, including the season opener against Texas A&M International. The Hilltoppers played Cal Poly Pomona to a 1-1 draw — two days before the Broncos lost at Midwestern State, 2-1.

Misael Rangel and Bartek Zabek have each scored twice for St. Edward's, while Nemanja Pavicevic, Shunji Watanabe and Jake Ciccarello have all scored once this season. Izaiah Garza leads the team with three assists. Rangel and Zabek lead the Hilltoppers with four points apiece.

Eddie Alonzi and Kaleo Perez-Francis have alternated time in goal this season. Alonzi is 0-2-1 in his three starts, and Perez-Francis is 1-1-1 in three outings. Alonzi has 18 saves with a 2.00 goals-against average, and Perez-Francis has 12 saves with a 1.33 goals-against average. Both goalkeepers have a .750 save percentage.

St. Edward's has been outshot this season, 96-78, and the goalkeepers are second in the conference with 5.5 saves per game.

Midwestern State returns to Stang Park for a noon kickoff on Saturday as Texas A&M International visits the Mustangs.