LIVE STATS | VIDEO | MATCH NOTES

LAREDO, Texas (September 26, 2017) – The Texas A&M International University men's soccer team will open their 2017 home campaign against No. 4-ranked Midwestern State in a Heartland Conference showdown on Thursday, Sept. 28, at Dustdevil Soccer Field. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
 
The Dustdevils (3-1-2, 2-1-1) enter the Thursday's match on a two-match winning streak for the first time since 2015 after wins over West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico on the road last weekend. Midwestern State (8-0-0, 4-0-0) are one of four remaining undefeated teams left in Division II having gone 3-0-0 on the road so far in 2017.
 
A link of live stats and video can be found at GoDustdevils.com under the men's soccer schedule page. 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 against the Mustangs will be the 15^th meeting between the two schools and seventh in Laredo. TAMIU trails the all-time series 0-13-1 and 0-5-1 in home matches against the Mustangs. 
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
Doug Elder (262-56-30) enters his 18^th season as the winningest head coach in the storied history of MSU men's soccer and the winningest active coach in all of NCAA Division II. Since taking over the program in 2000, Elder has led the Mustangs NCAA Championships 12 times while advancing to the national quarterfinals on six occasions and to the Final Four in 2007 and 2010.
 
The Mustangs are one of the best teams in the nation on both the offense and defense side of the pitch. Offensively, MSU's 2.38 goals per game ranks 33^rd in Division II while their 19 total goals are the 16^th most in the nation. Elder's defense ranks second nationally in teams goals against average (0.25) and save percentage (.926) while ranking third in shutout percentage (0.75).
 
Scott Doney has made an immediate impact for the Mustangs after joining the program this fall from Division I Buffalo. The Tauranga, New Zealand product has been absolutely clinical in-front of goal with eight goals on 25 shots. Opposing defenses have struggled to shut down the 6-5 forward who ranks first in the nation in game-winning goals with five including three coming in their last four matches.
 
But defenses can't just focus their efforts on Doney as Koby Sapon-Amoah and Carlos Flores have both scored multiple goals for the Mustangs. Sapon-Amoah is another transfer for Elder's squad after spending the 2015 season with Niagara starting in 18 of 19 matches as a freshman. Sebastian Venegas is the top distributor for MSU with four assists while Pierre Bocquet and Alex Mullet have three a piece. Venegas ranked fifth in the conference with five assists in 2016 as a freshman as the Frisco native is fine form entering the weekend having assisted in two of his past three appearances.
 
Senior Jordan Speed is the anchor of one of the top defenses in all of Division II as the Mustangs have only allowed two goals through eight matches this season. The 6-4 centerback enter 1^st Team D2CCA All-South Central Region honors last year after joining the program after two years at Tulsa. Joining Speed on defense is second leading scorer Sapon-Amoah, Alex Mullet and Kristian Martinez.
 
Richard Goss benefits by playing behind one of the best backlines in the nation but the Adelaide, Australia product has come up big when needed so far in 2017. He has made five or more saves in three matches this season in wins over Northeastern State, Fort Hays State and West Texas A&M. He ranks fourth nationally in goals against average (.305) and save percentage (.913).
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Dustdevils will play at home for the first time in 2017 this weekend after spending the first four weeks of the season on the road. The three-match home stand comes at a crucial time for TAMIU as they will host two Top-25 programs in the span of seven days. Under Arias, the Dustdevils are 62-34-8 with four or more wins in 11 of the previous 13 seasons.
 
A CHANCE FOR HISTORY
TAMIU have a chance to make history on Thursday against the fourth ranked Mustangs as they have never beaten a ranked opponent at home. The Dustdevils have gone 0-9-2 in the previous 11 matches including 0-2-0 against a ranked MSU squad.
 
RIVERA LIFTS DUSTDEVILS PAST GREYHOUNDS
Alan Rivera has been the top offensive option for the Dustdevils over the past three matches as the senior has scored three goals including two from the penalty spot in Saturday's 2-1 victory over ENMU. The Phoenix, Ariz. native converted his first two career penalties beating Cody Wann becoming the 10^th player in program history to have converted two or more penalties in a single season.
 
HEARTLAND IN THE RANKINGS
MSU and St. Edward's both moved up in the latest latest United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II National Poll with the Mustangs entering the top-five at fourth while the Hilltoppers moved up six spots to 11^th. The two programs sit 1-2 in the south central regional rankings with the Dustdevils entering the poll at sixth after being unranked for the first four weeks of the season.
 
MSU moved up one spot in the Massey Ratings to third while St. Edward's jumped six spots from 14^th to eighth. TAMIU moved up 47 spots to 54^th after winning two tough road matches last weekend.
 
UP NEXT
The Dustdevils will host Oklahoma Christian on Saturday, Sept. 30, for Staff Appreciation Day at Dustdevil Soccer Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.