Midwestern State prevails over Fort Lewis, advances to third round of NCAA Tournament
Fort Lewis was able to stymie Midwestern State's prolific goal scorer, Mere Escobar, but the top-seeded Mustangs advanced to the third-round of the 2023 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament with a 2-1 victory over Fort Lewis at Stang Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Mustangs, who are making their 10th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, moved past the second round for the first time since 2017 and extended their winning streak to 18 matches.
Escobar was held without a point for just the second time this year and for the first time since a 3-1 victory at Oklahoma Christian on Sept. 27. But the 20-0-1 Mustangs used other weapons to establish a lead over the Skyhawks.
Midwestern State hosts Colorado-State Pueblo in a third-round match at Stang Park on Dec. 1. The fourth-seeded Thunderwolves advanced with a 2-1 overtime victory against Chico State.
No. 2-seed Cal State LA and No. 3-seed Cal Poly Pomona will also make the trek to Wichita Falls for a third encounter, and the two winners will meet at Stang Park on Dec. 3 for a berth into the national semifinals.
Jack Larkin scored his fifth goal of the year in the 11th minute after Midwestern State had squandered a couple of early chances. Jecsi Orellana-Espinal made a nifty move just outside the penalty area to maintain possession and then lifted a pass to Larkin on the back post. Larkin struck a volley past Skyhawks' goalkeeper Lucas Martin to give MSU a 1-0 lead. Orellana-Espinal's exceptional pass was his third assist of the season and his first at Stang Park.
A slew of bookings followed the first goal of the game. Referee Travis Haight showed yellow cards to six different players and the Midwestern State technical area in the first half. Gabriel Gacovicaj, Liam Pritchard and Josh Milla were all shown cautions for the Mustangs in the first half. Tomas Duenes, Aymaro Vargas and Quinn Bosanko received first-half yellow cards for the Skyhawks.
Midwestern State extended its lead in the second half. MSU goalkeeper Adam Braman distributed the ball to Liam Pritchard just past halfway. Pritchard won the ball away from Thomas Kirkham. Pritchard accelerated toward the penalty area with Kirkham on his right and Quinn Bosanko on his left. Pritchard put the ball into the path of Max Gonzales, who was making the run with Pritchard up the right side, Gonzales moved just inside the area with Kaden Schufft backing up and blasted a shot past Martin with his right foot to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead in the 63rd minute.
Pritchard's sixth assist of the season set up the fourth goal of the campaign for Gonzales, who scored three away goals during the regular season.
Four minutes later, Fort Lewis broke through. Duenes won a duel with Orellana-Espinal at the edge of the attacking third for the Skyhawks. Duenes led Anton Hjalmarsson with a pass on the ground. Hjalmarsson caught up to the ball just inside the 18-yard box and with his second touch, Hjalmarsson sliced a low shot with his right boot outside Braman to the left-side netting to cut the MSU lead in half.
Midwestern State conceded a goal at home for the first time since a 2-2 draw with Rogers State in the home opener on Sept. 7. In its previous nine matches at Stang Park, the Mustangs had outscored visiting teams, 24-0.
Fort Lewis did not get off a shot for the remainder of the second half, and the Mustangs held on for the victory in front of nearly 1,000 raucous fans at Stang Park.
The bookings continued in the second half. Kirkham was carded in the 51st minute, and less than two minutes after Hjalmarsson scored, the freshman from Sweden was shown a yellow card. Kayden Schufft and Lewis Jean-Baptiste were carded for Fort Lewis before Vargas picked up his second yellow card in the 88th minute and left the Skyhawks down a man for the final two minutes of the match. Larkin was the only Mustang to see yellow in the second half.
The Skyhawks finish the season with a 12-5-4 record, which is the most wins for Fort Lewis since 2011.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Midwestern State men's soccer team advances in NCAA Tournament
