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TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

LAREDO, Texas (November 1, 2017) – The Texas A&M International University men's soccer team head to Wichita Falls for a Heartland Conference semifinal match against the top-seeded Mustangs of Midwestern State on Friday, Nov. 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Stang Park.
 
The Dustdevils (10-4-3, 9-4-1 HC) enter Friday's semifinal on a five match unbeaten streak after a 0-0 draw with UT Permian Basin on the quarterfinals advancing on penalty kicks. The offense is coming alive at the right time as Rafael Montabes and Alan Rivera had career-highs in shots against the Falcons. MSU (16-0-2, 12-0-2 HC) finished the regular season unbeaten for the fourth time in program history with a 4-1 win over Oklahoma Christian last Saturday and currently rank first in the NCAA Division II South Central regional rankings.
 
Live stats and video will be provided for Friday's semifinal match and 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
Friday's match will be the 16^th meeting between the two schools and first in a conference tournament. The Mustangs hold a 14-0-1 lead with wins in the past eight matches including three in Wichita Falls.
 
THE LAST TIME AROUND
The Mustangs handed the Dustdevils their only home loss of the season on Sept. 28 after scoring twice in the first 13 minutes. Patrick Fitzgerald converted from the penalty spot in the 2^nd minute followed by a wonder goal from Sebastian Venegas at 12:10 to put MSU up 2-0. Jovany Carlino scored his lone goal of the season in the 25^th minute on a shot from 25 yards out to cut the deficit to one but the Dustdevils were unable to find an equalizer later.
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
Doug Elder (270-56-32) has now led the Mustangs to 15 or more wins for the third straight season and their second consecutive Heartland Conference regular season title. MSU enters tournament weekend ranked third in the United Soccer Coaches national poll for the fourth time in five weeks and first in the NCAA South Central Regional Poll.
 
The Mustangs offense has been one of the best in the conference with 11 players combing to score 41 goals. Senior Scott Doney is the leading goal scorer for MSU with 12, six of those being game-winners, with Pierre Bocquet sitting second on the team with eight. Carlos Flores is the top distributor with seven assists with Sebastain Venegas in second with six. Another name to look out for is Patrick Fitzgerald who has three goals in 2017, all coming from the penalty spot.
 
MSU's defense has 11 shutouts this season and rank top 10 nationally in save percentage (.867, 3^rd) and goals against average (.431, 4^th). Richard Goss and Taylor Lampe have seen action between the pipes for the Mustangs with Lampe starting three of the final four matches. The redshirt freshman has allowed just two goals in eight appearances for a goals against average of 0.26. He has recorded five shutouts while making 23 saves for a 92% save percentage.
 
SOUTH DIVISION DOMINANCE
Three of the four remaining teams in the Heartland Conference tournament hail from the South Division. St. Edward's received a bid into the semifinals after finishing runner-up for the second straight year as both TAMIU and St. Mary's won their quarterfinal matchups on Tuesday.
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS REWIND
The NCAA Division II south central regional rankings remained the same for the second straight week MSU sitting in first. St. Edward's occupy the second spot followed by Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Mesa. TAMIU and West Texas A&M are tied for fifth for the second time in as many weeks.
 
YOU SHALL NOT PASS, CARLOS HERRERA PROBABLY
Junior goalkeeper Carlos Herrera has been great this season after transferring from Iowa Western Community College in the fall. The San Leandro, Calif. native has quickly ascended to the top of the record books and has the chance to break or tie two school records on Friday night. His .539 goals against average in the lowest in program history while his seven shutouts are tied for the most in a single season. Also, a win over the Mustangs would bring his season total to 10 tying him with Jesus Cisneros for the most in a single season.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
With six saves and zero goals allowed against UTPB on Tuesday, Carlos Herrera saw his save percentage go up to .867 which ranks third in the nation and tops in the conference. He also ranks seventh nationally in goals against average (.539).
 
Rafael Montabes ranks 21^st in shots per game (4.06) while Alan Rivera ranks 19^th in shot-on goal per game (2.0). TAMIU as a team ranks 39^th in shots per game (15.65) and 45^th in shots on-goal per game (7.0).
 
Montabes's eight shots were a career-high for the junior while Rivera also had a career night with seven shots, five of those-on target. The Dustdevils' 26 shots were two short of the school record of 28 set back in 2005 against Bacone College.
 
Keanu Born has played a team-high 1,494 minutes while fellow freshman Luis Diaz ranks second with 1,400 minutes.
 
Michael Iskander ranks sixth in career games player with 66. If the Dustdevils make Sunday's final, the senior would tie Ryan Hodgson and Jovany Macias for fourth.
 
UP NEXT
The winner of Friday's semifinal will face the winner of St. Edward's/St. Mary's in the Heartland Conference Final on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.