Hounds face rematch with WT in Heartland men's soccer tourney

Staff report

WACO, Texas — The men’s bracket for the 2016 Heartland Conference men’s soccer championship is set after a wild final day of the regular season on Saturday.

Six teams have advanced to the event, including Eastern New Mexico, which upset third-seeded West Texas A&M to earn the final spot in the field.

The tournament will take place in two stages, beginning with quarterfinal matches today and followed by the semifinals and championship matches on Friday and Sunday on the campus of Midwestern State in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The Mustangs earned the right to host following an outstanding first season in the Heartland where they Mustangs went 13-1 in conference play. With the top seed, MSU faces the winner of the 4/5 quarterfinal between Rogers State and Newman in Wichita, Kan.

Joining Midwestern in the semifinal round will be second-seeded St. Edward’s who enter the conference after an impressive season in which they went 15-2-1 overall and 11-2-1 in conference play. The Hilltoppers were locked in a battle with the Mustangs for the top seed until Oct. 20 when Midwestern narrowly edged St. Edward’s 1-0. St. Edward’s awaits the winner of the ENMU-West Texas A&M contest.

Both quarterfinals are rematches from Saturday as No. 5 Rogers State makes a return trip to Wichita to face fourth-seeded Newman. The Hillcats beat Newman 1-0 on a late penalty kick on Saturday, and the two squads have split the season series with each winning 1-0 on the road.

ENMU closed out the regular season on Saturday with a 2-1 home win over WT, and took advantage of a Lubbock Christian upset of Texas-Permian Basin to slip into the tourney. WT won the previous contest between the two in Canyon 3-0 on Oct. 22.

The teams have never met in postseason play.

Both quarterfinals start at 6 p.m. (MDT) on Tuesday. Winners advance to the semifinals on Friday with match times at 4 and 6:30 p.m. (MDT).