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Sept. 20, 2007

CANYON, Texas - West Texas A&M men's soccer looks to continue its unbeaten season when it hosts Southwest Soccer Conference rival Midwestern State on Friday at The Pitch. The game between the Buffaloes and the visiting Mustangs will be a rematch of last year's SSC Tournament Final and is slated to kick off at 3 p.m.

The Buffs have started this year's campaign with an unblemished 5-0 record, including two conference wins on the road--a 2-1 win over Northeastern State and a 1-0 shutout over Missouri Southern. WTAMU, ranked No. 4 in the Midwest Region, and Midwestern State, ranked No. 2 in the Midwest Region and No. 13 in the country, are tied for first in the conference with identical 2-0 league marks.

Senior René Gómez and freshman Ben Everson have dominated the Buffs' scoring power, combing for eight goals; with four apiece, they are tied for the first on the team. Gómez also has tallied two assists. Senior Kenneth Christensen has dished out three assists and scored two goals for the Buffs, leading all defenders. WTAMU has out-shot opponents, 50-18, and outscored opponents, 11-2.

In goal, freshman Shane Taylor has started in and played every minute of every game. He has made 15 saves (.882 save percentage) and allowed just two goals (0.40 GAA) in five games. Additionally, the Buffalo defense has helped Taylor record three shutouts by holding opponents to just 18 shots on goal.

Midwestern State enters the match with an overall record of 6-1 - their only loss coming at the hands of No. 24 Incarnate Word - and a conference record of 2-0. The Mustangs also beat both Northeastern State, 3-0, and Missouri Southern, 3-0. Senior Daniel Brown has scored seven goals and tallied two assists, while sophomore Kyle Kmiec and junior Ahmad Ihmeidan each have four goals and one assist. The Mustangs have outscored opponents 21-2.

Junior Jeremy Turner and junior Shaun Carr have shared the bulk of the goalkeeping duties for Midwestern State, playing 360:00 and 256:52 minutes, respectively, with senior William Freeman playing 13:08. Turner has made 10 saves (.909) and allowed one goal while Carr has stopped five shots and allowed one goal. Freeman has tallied one save.

Tickets are $4 for adults and $3 for children. Any fan that brings a ticket stub from last Saturday's football game against Texas A&M-Commerce will get in for $1. Students get in for free with valid Buff Gold Card. Additionally, the first 250 fans to arrive at The Pitch will receive Thunderstix, and at halftime, there will be a soccer skills challenge.