LIVE STATS | VIDEO | MATCH NOTES

LAREDO, Texas (October 25, 2017) – The Texas A&M International University men's soccer team host Dallas Baptist on Thursday, Oct. 26, in their penultimate match of the 2017 season. Kick off is set for 5:00 p.m. at Dustdevil Soccer Field.
 
The Dustdevils (8-4-2, 7-4-1 HC) will look to win three straight matches for the first time in 2017 after defeating Rogers State and Newman last week thanks to four goals from junior Rodrigo Zuniga. All hands will be on deck as TAMIU will look to win on Thursday to maintain the fourth seed in the conference tournament.  DBU (7-8-1, 4-7-1 HC) will be motivated to end their season on a high note as the Patriots have struggled to find any offense having been shutout in four of their past six matches. 
 
Live stats and video will be provided for Saturday's match but a full recap can be found at www.GoDustdevils.com following the match. Follow the Dustdevils on Instagram and Twitter for an in-depth look into the program and the latest scores and updates.
 
A LOOK AT THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Thursday's match will be the 12^th meeting between the two programs with TAMIU holding a 7-3-1 advantage. The Dustdevils are 3-1-0 in matches played in Laredo including a 4-1 decision on Sept. 17, 2016.
 
THE LAST TIME AROUND
The Dustdevils and Patriots battled to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 16 in Dallas after Alan Rivera's 52^nd minute goal was cancelled out by Brooks Friedman's goal just five minutes later.
 
A LOOK AT THE PATRIOTS
Chip Dutchik (13-19-2) saw his team get off to a hot start winning four of their first seven matches but have fallen on hard time dropping six of their past seven. The Patriots were eliminated from conference tournament contention last Saturday in a 4-2 loss to nationally-ranked Midwestern State after a 2-1 win over Oklahoma Christian earlier in the week kept their slim hopes alive.
 
DBU's offense is led by freshman Ethan Martinez as the forward has scored five goals while assisting on four more for 14 total points. He has been scoreless over the past five matches but did have an assist against MSU on Saturday. Brooks Friedman is tied with Martinez for the team lead in goals (5) while ranking second on the team in points (12) and third in assists (2).
 
Tyler Hofmann and Sean Bouland have both seen action in goal for DBU in 2017 making a combined 66 saves while allowing 23 goals. Hofmann has gotten the starting nod in 12 matches while making 13 appearances making 53 saves with 18 goals for a goals against average of 1.41.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Carlos Herrera ranks ninth in Division II in save percentage (.848) and 11^th in goals against average (.602) while the team ranks 15^th in save percentage (.831).
 
Rafael Montabes ranks 29^th in the nation in shots per game (3.85) while Mount Olive's Sebastaian Loibl ranks first with 6.21 a game.
 
Alan Rivera ranks eighth in the Heartland in total points (16) and points per game (1.23).
 
The Dustdevils' team goals against average of 0.75 ranks as the second lowest in program history. They would be just the second team in program history to allow less than one goal a game for an entire season.  
 
The Dustdevils would clinch the fourth seed and host a quarterfinal match with a win over DBU coupled with losses by St. Mary's and UT Permian Basin on Thursday.
 
ZUNIGA NAMED HEARTLAND OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Rodrigo Zuniga was named the Heartland Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon after a pair of breakout performances in two Dustdevil victories. The Laredo, Texas product recorded a hat trick against Rogers State with all three goals coming in the second half of a 3-0 victory. He continued his fine form against Newman on Saturday scoring the first goal of the match in TAMIU's 2-1 double overtime victory.
 
IT'S ALIVE AND WELL, THE OFFENSE WE MEAN
After scoring five goals in the first six matches, the Dustdevils offense has found its groove scoring 12 over the past 10 matches including five this past weekend in a pair victories. R. Zuniga's great form has been a revelation for head coach Claudio Arias as the junior has scored four goals in 319 minutes of playing time while Alan Rivera has a team-high seven goals all of those coming in conference play. It is a good sign that Rafael Montabes got on the scoring sheet with his golden goal on Saturday as the junior leads the team in shots and shots on-goal.
 
TOURNAMENT BOUND
With their win on Saturday, the Dustdevils clinched their ticket to the conference tournament for the first time since 2015 when they lost in the final. TAMIU sits fourth in the standings heading into the final two matches of the regular season but a lot could change over the next three days. A win over DBU coupled with losses by St. Mary's and UT Permain tomorrow would clinch the four seed for TAMIU but a win by all three teams would make for a wild final day of the season.
 
HEARTLAND IN THE RANKINGS
Midwestern State and St. Edward's both moved up one spot in the latest United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Men's National Poll. The Mustangs return to third after spending last week at No. 4 while the HIlltoppers moved up to 15^th. In the Massey Ratings, MSU moved up two spots to sixth with SEU dropping six more spots to 30^th. West Texas A&M is ranked just outside the Top-50 at 51^st while TAMIU up six spots to 60^th.
 
UP NEXT
The Dustdevils finish the 2017 regular season hosting St. Mary's on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 12:00 p.m. where six seniors will be honored.