WICHITA FALLS, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's soccer team came up a goal short in a non-conference match up against Lone Star Conference rival and No. 5-ranked Midwestern State on Saturday. The Buffs fall to 3-3-1 overall while the Mustangs remain undefeated at 7-0-1.
 
Midwestern State kicked off the game, but it didn't take long for WT to gain possession. Just over a minute into the game, the Buffs forced the game's first corner kick of the game. Although WT controlled possession early, the Buffs couldn't find an open shot. It wasn't until the 10^th minute until a team found a shot when the Mustangs took a chance at goal. On a service into the box, Midwestern State's Max Gonzalez tried to use his head and find the back of the net, but saw his shot go into the awaiting arms of Asaf Kristal.
 
The game took a turn in the 20^th minute as the Buffs went down to 10 players after a red card. Despite being down by a player, WT continued to keep Midwestern State quite in the attacking third. The Mustangs' advantage in man count led to an advantage on the scoreboard in the 30^th minute off the foot of Mere Escobar. On a centering pass, the Buffs couldn't fully clear the ball as Escobar gathered and slipped a shot into the back of the net. With less than a minute to play in the first half, the Buffs jumped on a counterattack as Rotem Weiss approached the penalty box with possession. As Weiss entered the box, the Midwestern State defense collapsed and closed Weiss' shooting space. After going down a man in the first half, WT trailed by only a goal into the midway break.
 
The second half picked up where the first half left off with Midwestern State controlling possession. The Buffs fought to get the ball back, taking possession for moments at a time. In the 60^th minute, the Mustangs looked to have doubled their lead off the foot of Liam Prichard. After settling the ball near the edge of the penalty box, Prichard curled in a shot toward the top corner of the goal. After ranging to his left, Kristal made a diving save to push the ball into the post before jumping on the rebound. A few minutes later, Prichard hit the crossbar, but the Buff back line cleared the ball before Midwestern State could get to it. The Mustangs looked to have netted another goal in the 70^th minute, but the offside flag went up and erased the scoring play.  WT couldn't mount a comeback in the closing minutes as Midwestern State secured the victory.
 
The Buffs wrap up their non-conference schedule on Wednesday, Sept. 27 against St. Edward's. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Lewis-Chen Family Field in Austin.