Full Notes (PDF)
NCAA Interactive Bracket
KIRKSVILLE - - The Truman State University men's soccer team is headed to its first NCAA tournament since 2005 and will have one of the stiffer tests across the bracket's first-round, as the Bulldogs will face Midwestern (Texas) State at 7 pm on Thursday (Nov. 11) evening.
The Bulldogs (12-2-2) will face a Mustang (16-0-2) squad that remains the only unbeaten team in Division II at the start of the postseason. Members of the Lone Star Conference, MSU ranks highly both offensively and defensively with 55 goals scored and just eight allowed on the season.
But despite MSU's quality credentials and No. 1 seed in the region, the Bulldogs enter with an impressive résumé as well, having gone unbeaten in their last 12 matches dating back to the fourth match of the season on Sept. 17. The 12 total wins match last season's total, but one less loss did the trick for this year's squad in reaching the NCAA tournament.
From here, however, the schedule remains unclear. Should the Bulldogs win/advance against MSU, the result of the Central region's championship would determine where Truman would play its second-round match. The second two-bid region, Colorado Mines is set to host Regis (Colo.) at 1 pm (MST) on Thursday with the winners scheduled to square off on Sunday (Nov. 14) at a site and time to be determined.
Following Along This Week:
Live stats for Truman's match at Midwestern State will be available, and a link will be provided on the Bulldog men's soccer schedule page at TrumanBulldogs.com.
No audio or video will be available for Thursday night's match.
Scouting the Mustangs:
MSU enters Thursday night's contest with a 16-0-2 overall record, having captured the Lone Star Conference regular season championship with a 7-0-1 conference mark. The Mustangs have been perfect at home this season, posting a 10-0 record at MSU field.
Five different players have scored five or more goals this season, led by redshirt freshman VcMor Eligwe's ten goals alongside five assists for a team-best 25 points. Junior David Freeland has scored eight times, and fellow junior Tex McCullough has added six goals of his own. The Mustangs as a team are averaging 3.06 goals per game (2nd in Div. II).
But where MSU has been its presence known this year comes along the back line, as the Mustangs have allowed just eight total goals all season and posted a 0.43 goals-against-average (1st in Div. II). Senior Raul Herrera has seven solo shutouts and has been forced to make just 32 saves all season but has been proven vulnerable by giving up an average of one goal per five shots on target (.800 save percentage).
The Mustangs are coached by Doug Elder, who is in his 11th season at MSU. He entered the 2010 season as the winningest active coach (by percentage) in Div. II and has a career record of 168-36-18 (.797).
Larkin Leading the Nation:
Truman senior Bobby Larkin has continued his red-hot senior season and is currently the NCAA's leader across all divisions with 16 assists in 16 games. He leads both in assists per game and total assists at all three levels (Div. I, II, III).
He has handed out three or more assists in a match four different times this season, including becoming the first player in program history to record four assists in a single match – doing so against Missouri-St. Louis on Oct. 7.
His 26 career assists is tied for fifth all-time at Truman with both Quinn Ross (1986-1989) and current assistant coach Joe Nick (1993-1996), and his single-season total of 16 is one shy of Claes Meldal's program mark of 17, accomplished in the 1998 season.
Bulldog Postseason History:
Truman has qualified for the NCAA postseason nine times and has a career record of 5-7-1. The Bulldogs reached the Final Four in the 1997 season and advanced to the National Quarterfinals in the 2003 season.
The Bulldogs' last appearance came in 2005 as the No. 2 seed in the Great Lakes region. Truman defeated third-seeded Rockhurst, 1-0, via a Martin Clayes penalty kick in the 37th minute to advance and face top-seed SIU-Edwardsville.
In the regional championship, both teams had 13 shots with three on goal but played to a scoreless tie after 110 minutes of action. From there, the Cougars advanced on penalty kicks, defeating Truman 4-2.
All-time in road postseason matches, Truman is 1-2-1, with the 2005 SIUE matchup officially being recorded as a draw.
