Clarksville, Ark.-The Eagles will face McMurry University for the second time this season in the American Southwest Conference playoffs on Friday on the campus of the University of Texas-Dallas.
The game is set for 4 p.m., with the championship match scheduled for November 8 at 6 p.m. McMurry (13-4-1, 9-0-1) was the winner of the West Division while the Eagles (11-7-1, 9-4-1) finished second in the East Division. The two played on August 31 in Abilene, Texas, with McMurry taking a 6-0 victory. "McMurry is a fine team and they are having an outstanding season," said head coach Dave De Hart. "I think it will be a tough match. We have to limit our defensive mistakes and capitalize on our opportunities on the offensive end to win this match. We need to play with intensity, confidence and intelligence against a team of this caliber." The Eagles are making their fourth consecutive appearance in the playoffs and clinched a post-season spot with a 3-0 win over Austin on October 31. The Indians have made three straight trips to post-season action and finished conference play with a 1-0 win over Hardin-Simmons. "It’s always our first goal to get to the playoffs," said De Hart. "I think it means a lot to make the playoffs this season because it has been a rebuilding year for us. We want to be a consistently solid program year after year. Consistency is what I consider a key ingredient to a quality program." The Eagles are led by sophomore forward Ron Hogsett and senior forward Ricky Herrera. Hogsett leads the team with 11 goals and 25 points. Herrera has 9 goals and 22 points and is the school’s all-time leader in goals (53) after scoring against Rhodes College on Sunday. "Everyone is excited to be in the playoffs again this year," said Herrera. "We are eager to avenge our loss to them earlier in the season. We want to prove that our first loss wasn’t indicative of how we are capable of playing. I know I’m going to play my hardest and try to walk away a conference champion." The Indians counter with a productive offense led by junior forward Craig Lay. Lay is the school’s all-time leader in goals (31) and points (71). Junior midfielder Rudy Irias is the career record holder in assists (11) and is second to Lay with 23 goals and 57 points. The Indians have totaled 51 team goals this season, which breaks the school record of 46 scored in 2002
Topics: Athletics