ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Men's Soccer controls its own destiny to get into the American Southwest Conference Tournament heading into the final week of the regular season when they host rival Hardin-Simmons University.
The War Hawks are set to kick off against the Cowboys at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Wilford Moore Stadium. McMurry will then play a rare back-to-back to close out the regular season by hosting Southwestern Adventist University Sunday at 4 p.m.
Live stat and video links are available at mcmurrysports.com.
NOTES:
Last Week: After a 3-0 setback at Concordia Texas, McMurry used a second half rally to erase a 2-0 halftime deficit at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor to force a 2-2 tie.
Win and In: Currently sitting outside the top eight in the ASC standings, a win over Hardin-Simmons would give the War Hawks a berth in the ASC Tournament. The War Hawks would also get in with a tie versus HSU and a loss by Howard Payne.
There is potential for a three-way tie between McMurry, HPU and Louisiana College, in which the tiebreakers would be record against conference opponents in descending order followed by collective goal differential between the tied teams.
2004: A trip to the ASC Tournament for the War Hawks would mark the first time since 2004.
Lara leading the way: Senior forward Rafael Lara leads the War Hawks with seven goals this season. That number ranks him ninth in the ASC overall, and his five goals in ASC play tie him for fifth.
Getting ahead of themselves: In all games, Hardin-Simmons and McMurry rank second and third in the ASC in offside penalties, respectively.
Keepin' it clean: McMurry is one of the least penalized teams in the ASC in terms of fouls, ranking 12th at 9.53 per match.
Senior Night: McMurry will be honoring its five seniors Saturday night: Rafael Lara, Abraham Martinez, Josh Erwin, Diego Paz and Aaron Webb, as well as junior Miguel Esteban Jr., who is set to graduate in three years.
About HSU: The Cowboys are 4-9-2, 4-5-1 ASC and sit in seventh place in the ASC with 13 points, two points ahead of McMurry's 11. Three players are tied with three goals scored.
About SWAU: Southwest Adventist is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. McMurry has outscored the Knights 21-3 in their three previous matchups.
