Honors
Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year (1): 2021
Former Midwestern State standout Ryan Spence was named head coach of the women’s soccer program in May of 2018.
Midwestern State was 11-3-6 in 2025 and extended its home unbeaten streak to 20 games with a 7-0-1 record at Stang Park. The Mustangs closed the season by defeating No. 1 ranked Dallas Baptist at Patriot Soccer Field and tied the school record for conference wins with 10. MSU was 10-0-4 in conference play, and 34 points in a conference campaign set the school record.
The Mustangs defeated St. Edward’s in the LSC quarterfinals, 2-0, to extend their unbeaten streak to 16 games, but they were upended by Texas Woman’s in the semifinals, 1-0.
Midwestern State earned the No. 6 seed in the South Central Region but was narrowly defeated by the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, 1-0, in the first round.
Midwestern State had seven players named to the 2025 All- Lone Star Conference team, including Lillia Besedin and Nyxalee Munoz who were selected to the first team.
Mable Pruter and Bella Rose received second-team All-Conference honors, while Morgan Countryman, Sloane Sullivan and Lauren Short were selected to the third team.
Besedin, a senior midfielder, led Midwestern State with nine goals, scoring in five of the final six regular season games, including the game-winning goal in the Mustangs' 2-0 win over top-ranked Dallas Baptist in the regular season finale. Besedin put 16 of her 33 shots on goal in her 20 appearances for the Mustangs.
Munoz, a senior midfielder, scored her seventh goal of the campaign in the quarterfinals of the LSC Women's Soccer Championship as MSU defeated St. Edward's at Stang Park, 2-0. The native of Odessa, Texas, scored a pair of game-winning goals for the Mustangs and she had 15 points in 20 appearances.
Pruter led the Mustangs with eight assists and had an assist in seven of her last 10 games for the Mustangs.
Midwestern State was unbeaten at home in 2024 and finished the season with an 11-5-5 record overall. The Mustangs were 7-0-3 at Stang Park, including a 3-1 victory over St. Mary’s in the quarterfinals of the LSC Championship. Angelo State defeated the Mustangs in the semifinals, 2-0.
The Mustangs reached the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in program history and scored first against Colorado Mesa, but the Mavericks rallied for a 2-1 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.
Lexi Beck led the conference with 10 assists and scored five goals and garnered first-team honors when the D2CCA announced the 2024 All-South Central Region postseason awards. The United Soccer Coaches named her to the second team when it announced its All-South Central Region postseason awards.
She was named All-LSC first team for the third straight season. Nyxalee Munoz and Cassidy Savoy were selected to the second team. Averi Culver and Madison Brinkley were third-team all-conference performance. Culver, Munoz and Sloane Sullivan were selected to the All-Freshman team in the LSC.
The Mustangs were unbeaten in seven of their last eight games during the 2023 regular season and defeated Texas Woman’s in the quarterfinals of the LSC Postseason Tournament, 2-1, as Alessandra Romano scored twice, including the game winner in the 110th minute. Dallas Baptist defeated MSU in the semifinals, 1-0. MSU finished the season with a 10-5-5 record.
Lexi Beck earned All-Lone Star Conference First Team honors after scoring seven goals and assisting on six other scores during the regular season. Isabella Cruz scored five goals for the Mustangs during the regular season and was selected to the All-Lone Star Conference Second Team. Cassidy Savoy finished the campaign with four goals and three assists to earn third-team honors. Janae Sanchez was also selected to the All-Lone Star Conference third team after displaying a relentless style in every appearance for the Mustangs. Maya Warrior, a stalwart at center back, earned a spot on the All-Lone Star Conference third team. McKenna Jenkins scored two goals and had four assists in her freshman season as a midfielder for the Mustangs and was selected to the LSC All-Freshman team.
Midwestern State won its final three regular season games in 2022 and earned the No. 7 seed in the LSC Women’s Soccer Championship Tournament. MSU eliminated Angelo State in the quarterfinals and upset West Texas A&M in the semifinals. The Mustangs lost to No. 1-ranked Dallas Baptist in the final, 4-1. MSU posted a 9-9-2 record overall and a 5-6-1 mark in conference play.
In his best season since taking the reigns, Spence led the Mustangs to a 12-5-3 record in 2021. MSU finished second in the Lone Star Conference with a 9-1-3 ledger advancing to the NCAA Postseason for the first time since 2017 falling in the first round to Colorado School of Mines. MSU was led by D2CAA All-South Central Region performers Kelly Cannistra (8 goals) and Nicole Marsolek.
The Mustangs battled their way to a 2-7-1 record during the pandemic shortened season in the spring of 2021. MSU claimed an opening round win over UT Tyler in the opening round of the LSC Postseason Tournament behind the efforts of first-team all-conference performers Valentina Carvajal and Reece Wildt.
In 2019, the Mustangs finished 4-12-2, including a 3-9-1 record in Lone Star Conference play. The four wins marked a two-win improvement from Spence's first season.
Spence guided the Mustangs to a 2-13-3 overall record and a 1-9-2 mark in Lone Star Conference play, earning a trip to the quarterfinals in the LSC Postseason Tournament in his first season with the Maroon and Gold. Junior defender Imani Morlock became Spence's first first team all-conference performer.
Midwestern State welcomed home Spence as the program's fifth women's soccer coach in May of 2018.
In his first season as a head coach, Spence led Eastern New Mexico to a strong finish in 2017 which included a pair of victories over his alma mater including a regular season 2-1 win and 4-0 shutout in the opening round of the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament. He posted a 5-9-6 overall mark in his first season as head coach.
Spence served the 2016 season assisting for the men's and women's programs for Claudio Arias at Texas A&M International.
Playing Career
Spence enjoyed a storybook playing career as a three-time All American from 2008-11. He helped the Mustangs amass a 64-10-6 record advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs in each of his four seasons on the field. MSU reached the Final Four in 2010 following a run to the national quarterfinals in 2008.
His play at center back proved key in aiding the Mustangs to top five national showing in each of his three seasons as a starter. Midwestern held the opposition to goals against averages of 0.43, 0.58 and 0.54 with 35 shutouts during the run.
Spence also competed in the Premiere Development League (PDL) with the DFW Tornados, St. Louis Lions and Springfield Synergy before starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant under his mentor Doug Elder for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
He helped the Mustangs to two more NCAA tournament appearances before earning his Masters of Education in Sports Administration from MSU in 2016.
Personal
Spence and his wife Haylee reside in Wichita Falls. The couple have two sons -- Davis and Keller.
The Spence File
Graduate Assistant at Midwestern State - 2014-15
Assistant Coach at Texas A&M International - 2016
Head Coach at Eastern New Mexico - 2017
Head Coach at Midwestern State - 2018-
| Year |
School |
Overall |
Conference |
Conf. Finish |
Conf. Tournament |
NCAA Postseason |
| 2025 |
Midwestern State |
11-3-6 (.700) |
10-0-4 (.654) |
2nd |
Semifinals |
NCAA ll First Round |
| 2024 |
Midwestern State |
11-5-5 (.643) |
6-2-5 (.654) |
4th |
Semifinals |
NCAA ll First Round |
| 2023 |
Midwestern State |
10-5-5 (.625) |
6-3-3 (.625) |
5th |
Semifinals |
|
| 2022 |
Midwestern State |
9-9-2 (.500) |
5-6-1 (.458) |
7th |
Finals |
|
| 2021 |
Midwestern State |
12-5-3 (.675) |
9-1-3 (.808) |
2nd |
Quarterfinals |
NCAA II First Round |
| 2020-21 |
Midwestern State |
2-7-1 (.250) |
1-4-1 (.250) |
|
Quarterfinals |
|
| 2019 |
Midwestern State |
4-12-2 (.278) |
3-9-1 (.269) |
10th |
|
|
| 2018 |
Midwestern State |
2-13-3 (.194) |
1-9-2 (.167) |
6th |
Quarterfinals |
|
| 2017 |
Eastern New Mexico |
5-9-6 (.400) |
3-5-4 (.417) |
5th |
Semifinals |
|
| Totals |
9 Seasons |
66-68-33 (.494) |
44-39-24
(.523) |
|
|
3 postseason appearances |
| MSU Totals |
8 Seasons |
61-59-27 (.487) |
41-34-20 (.537) |
|
|
|
| ENMU Totals |
1 Season |
5-9-6 (.400) |
3-5-4 (.417) |
|
|
|
