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CANYON, Texas – The final countdown begins as the West Texas A&M Buffaloes host #13 Midwestern State in Lone Star Conference action on October 31.  Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on Halloween night. 
 
SCOUTING #13 MIDWESTERN STATE
Midwestern State holds a 11-2 overall record to move to 13^th in the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 National Poll announced on Tuesday after falling to St. Mary's, 3-2, in double-overtime.  The Mustangs now rank third in the conference standings with a 5-1 league record behind St. Mary's and St. Edward's.
 
MSU's offense leads the conference as they average 2.85 goals per game on 19.2 shots for a .148 shot percentage.  Thirteen athletes have scored this season for the Mustangs led by Sebastian Venegas.  The Frisco, Texas native registers a team-high 15 points followed by senior Hikaruhito Meike.
 
Taylor Lampe has totaled 11 starts between the pipes for the Mustangs with nine victories including six shutouts.  The junior has allowed 10 goal this season with 28 saves for a percentage of .737.  Lampe leads the LSC with a .88 goals against average.
 
The Mustangs are led by second year head coach Michael Meachum. The Mustangs hold a 27-3-3 overall record since Meachum took over for long-term coach Doug Elder.  
 
THE SERIES
Thursday's match marks the 53rd meeting between the Buffs and Mustangs with Midwestern State leading the series 30-18-4 dating back to their first-ever meeting on Sept. 17, 1991.
 
In their last meeting, MSU handed WT the first loss of the season in late September.  The Mustangs defeated the Buffs in a 3-0 shutout as the MSU defense held the WT to seven shots, five of them on target.  
 
LAST TIME OUT
WT registers a 6-5-1 overall record (2-3-1 LSC) after defeating Dallas Baptist, 2-1, in double-overtime on Saturday night at Patriot Soccer Field.  DBU opened the match in the 33^rd minute to take a 1-0 lead at the half.  Stefan Andjelic tied the game in a 79^th minute after he recorded his fourth goal of the season from the penalty spot.  The Buffs grabbed the deciding goal in the second overtime period to walk away with a 2-1 victory in Dallas.  Sophomore keeper Colin Burgiel picked up his third victory of the season with five saves.
 
COACH LAUFFER
Butch Lauffer is in his 29^th season as the head men's soccer coach at WT.  Lauffer is the longest tenured coach in WTAMU history in an acclaimed career starting in 1991.  The Texas Christian alum led the Buffs to 17 victories last season for one of the best seasons in program history, setting a new record for most wins in a single season. With the Buffs, Lauffer registers a 339-153-38 (.675) record with the men's team and a 529-220-55 (.693) overall record at WT.
 
BUFF LEADERS
The Buffs average 1.33 goals per game on 14.1 shots for a .095 shot percentage as seven players have scored this season for WT.  Sophomore Kenny Brown and junior Stefan Andjelic lead the Buffs' offense both totaling a team-high eight points followed by Jean-Luc Ramdin follows with two goals.
 
PROTECT THE NET
WT records a .761 save percentage against opponents which is third in the LSC and 63^rd in NCAA Division II.  Alexander Vencel has logged 720:00 minutes for the Buffs starting in eight games where the Strasbourg, France native has allowed 14 goals (1.75 GA/Avg) with 40 saves.
 
CHASING POSTSEASON
With only four games remaining in the regular season the Buffs compete to make their fourth straight postseason appearance.  The top six teams in the conference will head to the Lone Star Conference Championships.  WT currently ranks sixth with seven points, standing behind Lubbock Christian with 13.  UT Permian Basin and UT Tyler closely follow the Buffs with six and five points.
 
TOP-25 MATCHUPS
Thursday's match against MSU marks the Buffs fourth match this season against a Top-25 opponent.  WT is 1-2 against nationally-ranked teams this year as the Buffs defeated Eastern New Mexico to open Lone Star Conference play before falling to MSU and Texas A&M International.   
 
AROUND THE LONE STAR
A new leader sits atop the Lone Star Conference standings as St. Mary's moved to a 6-1 conference record (11-2-1 overall) after defeating Midwestern State, 3-2, in double-overtime.  The Rattlers now rank ?? in the national polls.  St. Edward's moved up to second in the conference standings while MSU follows in third after recording their first conference loss of the season.  The Mustangs dr
 
Texas A&M International (9-4-1) went 1-1 last week to register a 5-2 LSC record to stand fourth followed by Lubbock Christian with a 4-1-1 conference record to round out the top-five.
 
LONE STAR PRESEASON HONORS
The Buffs were selected to finish second in the Lone Star Preseason Poll with 236 points overall and two first-place votes.  Senior midfielder Lucca Lima was picked as the Offensive Player of the Year while junior Alexander Vencel was named Goalkeeper of the Year.
 
Lima was second on the team in goals finding the net 11 times for the Buffs with seven assists in the 2018 season.  A native of Brazil, he earned third-team All-American honors from the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) and first-team All-Conference honors.
 
Vencel allowed eight goals last season and stopped 59 shots for a .881 save percentage which ranked second in DII.  He has a .487 goals-against-average and logged 1477 minutes for the Buffs.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live stats and streaming will be available for Thursday's match against Midwestern State provided by WT athletics.  For more information, visit the men's soccer schedule at GoBuffsGo.com.
 
UP NEXT
WT welcomes Oklahoma Christian for the final home game of the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 2, at The Pitch in Canyon for Senior Day.