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CANYON, Texas – The #14 Buffs make their first ever appearance in the Heartland Conference Title Match on Sunday afternoon as they take on top seeded and host #6 MSU Texas starting at 1 p.m. at Stang Park in Wichita Falls, Texas.
 
#6 MSU TEXAS
The Mustangs enter Sunday with an overall record of 16-1-1 as they finished league action with a mark of 12-1-1 to claim the top seed and hosting duties. The Mustangs are currently on a five match win streak after a 3-1 win over Newman on Thursday in the semifinal round.
 
MSU is led offensively by Juan Ramirez with five goals and five assists for 15 points. The Mustangs average 2.56 goals per game on 296 total shots with 125 of those falling on goal. Taylor Lampe is 16-1-1 in goal for MSU, allowing 12 goals with 35 saves for a percentage of .745.
 
Heartland Conference Coach of the Year Michael Meachum is in his eighth season in Wichita Falls, being elevated to Interim Head Coach before the start of the 2018 campaign. The Mustangs have dominated the Heartland Conference since joining in 2016, registering a mark of 33-1-3 over the last three seasons.
 
THE SERIES
Sunday afternoon will mark the 51st overall meeting on the pitch between the Buffs and Mustangs dating back to WT's inaugural season in 1991. MSU leads the all-time series, 29-18-3. WT is 8-15-1 all-time in Wichita Falls.
 
THE LAST MEETING
WT's Julio Vargas registered his 11th goal of the season in the 95th minute to give the Buffs a 1-0 golden goal overtime win over the #3 Mustangs of MSU Texas, snapping MSU's 35-match unbeaten streak which was tied for the fourth longest in NCAA Division II history.
 
The Buffs ended the match at the 95:50 mark as Harry McGrath send a free kick from 20 yards out into the box to find Vargas on the right post for the golden goal. Alexander Vencel finished the afternoon with two saves on 10 shots faced to move to 7-1-1 on the season.
 
WT HEAD COACH BUTCH LAUFFER
Butch Lauffer enters his 28th season as head men's soccer coach at West Texas A&M. Lauffer is now the longest tenured head coach in West Texas A&M history in a storied career dating back to 1991. Lauffer reached the 500-win plateau on September 30th of last season in Odessa, Texas with a dominating 13-2 win over UT Permian Basin.
 
During his tenure, Lauffer has coached the men to 26 consecutive non-losing seasons and the women to 12-plus victories in 12 seasons. Lauffer has recorded a 331-147-35 (.661) record at the helm of the Buffs with a 521-214-52 (.680) overall record at WT.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Entering the week, the Buffs lead all of Division II soccer in total goals (62) while ranking second in shots on goal per game (9.39) and total points (175). WT is third in total assists (51) while ranking fifth in points per game (9.72), scoring offense (3.44) and shots per game (18.78).
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Alexander Vencel ranks fifth nationally in save percentage (.864) while sitting eighth in goals against average (.538).
 
BUFFS IN THE HEARTLAND TOURNAMENT
The Buffs are making their third straight appearance in the Heartland Conference Championship this weekend in Wichita Falls. WT has qualified for the event each of the three seasons they have been a member of the Heartland Conference, the Buffs are 2-2 all-time in the tournament. Sunday afternoon will mark WT's first time playing in the title match.
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS (OCT. 31)
The #14 Buffs jumped one spot to third in the newest NCAA Division II Men's Soccer South Central Region rankings announced on Wednesday afternoon. The MSU Texas Mustangs sit atop of the rankings followed by Colorado School of Mines, West Texas A&M, Westminster, Colorado Mesa and St. Mary's.