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Nov. 10, 2007

Box Score

CANYON, Texas - Playing without senior captain Kenneth Christensen and leading scorer Ben Everson, the West Texas A&M men's soccer team fought hard against Midwestern State in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Final but could not find the back of the net as MSU won, 1-0. The Mustangs scored an early first half goal and held on to win, despite a solid effort by the Buffaloes.

MSU's Ahmad Ihmeidan scored his eighth goal of the year on a one-time shot from three yards in front of the net off of a centering pass from Tyler Murphy in the seventh minute of the match.

Midwestern State had two golden opportunities to increase their lead in the first half but could not convert. At 16:20, Danny Kastelic sent a free kick from 35 yards out on the right side to the far post and Kyle Kmiec sent his shot just wide of the far post. Two and a half minutes later, Murphy served a ball from the left side to the far post but Kmiec's diving header bounced off the goalpost and WTAMU was able to clear.

With 10:36 left in the half, Kmiec took another header shot but freshman Buff goalkeeper Shane Taylor jumped up and tipped the ball over the crossbar to send the match into halftime with a score of 1-0 in favor of the Mustangs.

West Texas A&M came out pressuring hard in the second half but the Buffs were whistled for a number of offside calls that halted their offensive attack. Their best opportunity came in the 62nd minute when a long ball was sent up the field near the top of the box and MSU keeper Jeremy Turner came out to try to clear it but sophomore Brad Williamson got to it first; Williamson tried to loft a shot over Turner's head but the ball curved just wide to the right side of the net.

The Buffs made a position change, sending freshman defender Colin Bjostad up front in the hopes that his 6'2" size would be the impetus for a goal, but MSU's defense held the WT attack at bay.

Taylor and MSU's Turner made three saves apiece while the Mustangs out-shot the Buffs by an 11-8 margin. Midwestern State played an offside trap that caught WT with eight offside calls.

Christensen, junior Tommy Nutter and sophomore Jacob Fynboe Jensen represented WTAMU on the All-Tournament team, along with Obed Becerra, Ahmad Ihmeidan, Robert Swann and Brannon Calvert from Midwestern State, Kieran Hall and Jeff Jennings from Ft. Lewis and Kellen Johnson and Phillip Owen from Metro State.

West Texas A&M finishes its season with an overall record of 17-3 and a Southwest Soccer Conference record of 7-1; the Buffs also earned a share of the SSC title with the Mustangs as the teams split their regular season matches. MSU improved to 18-3 on their season and advances to the NCAA Quarterfinals on Nov. 17 or Nov. 18. The Mustangs will face the winner of the Far West Regional, which pits Cal State-Dominguez Hills against Sonoma State.