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Casey Stracher vs. UCCS in the NCAA Tournament
Gabby Gareau
Casey Stracher (3) drives past a Mountain Lions defender up at Mountain Lion Stadium (Nov. 24, 2024)

Sixth-seeded Fort Lewis seeks redemption with NCAA Tournament third-round match at second-seeded Midwestern State

11/30/2024 10:00:00 AM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement
No. 17 Fort Lewis at (RV) Midwestern State
NCAA DII Men's Soccer National Tournament Second Round
Sunday, Dec. 1, 2 p.m. MST | Stang Park | Wichita Falls, Texas
NCAA Program | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
 
DURANGO, Colo. – The Fort Lewis (13-3-6) will face off with Midwestern State (15-2-3) in the third round of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer National Tournament on Sunday down at Stang Park in Wichita Falls, Texas, at 2 p.m.
 
How to Watch
Fans will need to create an account to watch the match for free on FloCollege. Live statistics will also be available on StatBroadcast courtesy of Midwestern State Athletics. Tickets are also available through Midwestern State Ticketing with general admission priced at $8 and students, senior citizens, and military tickets priced at $5. Fans in Durango can watch the match at either the Soaps 'N Suds Tavern up on the rim or downtown at Taco Libre. 
 
Soaring Over the Region
Last week, three Skyhawks were named to the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association's All-South Central Region teams. Fifth-year forward Gabriel Legendre headlines the trio with his second nod to the All-Region teams thanks to his Second-Team selection last season. This year, Legendre leads FLC in scoring with nine goals and one assist for 21 total points, the second-most on the team. Junior midfielder David Citron earned his first All-Region honor after leading Fort Lewis with 22 points on six goals and ten assists. Citron's ten assists are the second-most in the region. Rounding out the squad is senior defender Jakob Larson. Scoring one goal, a game-winner, and supplying one assist, Larson heads up a backline that leads the region and ranks seventh in Division II with ten total shutouts this season.
 
Starting Off Strong
The Skyhawks kicked off their run through the 2024 NCAA Tournament with a commanding 4-2 victory over third-ranked and third-seeded UCCS (14-3-4) last Sunday, earning Fort Lewis' second win over the top-ranked Mountain Lions in Colorado Springs, Colo., this season. FLC rifled off 14 shots, placed nine on goal, and found the back of the net four times. Jacob Ramos started the action in the 34th minute with a goal from inside the six-yard box before Nick Walker and UCCS equalized. With three seconds to go in the opening half, Fabrizio Aguilera then bounced a free kick through the box and into the back of the net. Fort Lewis later went up 4-1 on a pair of goals from Anton Hjalmarsson before the Mountain Lions found the back of the net one final time in the 75th minute.
 
A Look Back at 2023
Last year, second-ranked and top-seeded Midwestern State ended Fort Lewis' run through the NCAA Tournament with a 2-1 victory. The Mustangs went up 1-0 early on a goal from Jack Larkin in the 10th minute and didn't tack on until Max Gonzales scored in the 62nd minute. Hjalmarsson made a quick response for the Skyhawks, cutting the deficit to 2-1 in the 66th minute. In the end, the Skyhawks had 11 total shots against the Mustangs 21, placing just two shots on goal to MSU's nine. In addition, Midwestern State took nine corner kicks to FLC's four.
 
Scouting the Mustangs
Midwestern State finished second in the Lone Star Conference regular season standings with 22 points and a 7-2-1 conference record. The Mustangs suffered a pair of 5-0 and 3-1 losses to St. Edward's (8-6-4) and West Texas A&M (6-7-5), respectively, while also drawing 0-0 with Dallas Baptist (6-5-8).
 
Most recently, MSU routed no. 23-ranked Cal Poly Pomona (13-2-7) 3-0 in its second-round match at home at Stang Park. Heading up the Midwestern State offense is the reigning D2CAA Ron Lenz National Player of the Year, Mere Escobar. The Austin, Texas, native has scored 16 goals and supplied ten assists this season, adding to his impressive resume with 60 career goals and 34 career assists for 154 points. While there are six Mustangs with two or more goals outside of Escobar, only Samuele Muroni, Max Gonzales, and Gabriel Gacovicaj have recorded double-digit points with 14, 13, and 10, respectively.
 
In goal resides junior Daniel Robles. The six-foot-two product from Tyler, Texas, has started in 14 of his 15 matches played this year and has surrendered 16 goals for a 1.09 goals-against average through 1,319 minutes. Robles has totaled 34 saves for a 68.0 percent save percentage against 142 shots faced, and has made four shutouts.
 
On The Line
The winner of Fort Lewis and Midwestern State will advance to the NCAA National Tournament Quarterfinals and Super Region 4 title match against the winner of top-seeded CSU Pueblo (15-3-3) and Cal State Las Angeles (12-2-6) next Saturday, Dec. 7, on the campus of the highest remaining seed.  
 
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