CANYON, Texas -- Midwestern State turned a season of learning into solid practice in the opening round of the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament Thursday afternoon at The Pitch in Canyon.

Sophomore Payton Fookes finished off a cross from Maddie Fraser to give the Mustangs 1-0 win over Abilene Christian.

"We're playing good soccer and we've played in a lot of close games," MSU coach Jeff Trimble said of his battle-tested team. "We've learned from our mistakes early this year and we're finding way to score now."

MSU advances to the semifinal round to take on league champion West Texas A&M Friday night at The Pitch in Canyon. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The Mustangs beat the Lady Buffs 4-1 on the same field earlier this season.

"We'll enjoy this one until tomorrow, then we'll worry about the next one," Trimble said.

The Mustangs defense headed by seniors Hanna Staley and Berklee Dressler as well as junior Anna Molen kept the Wildcats at arm's length throughout much of the game.

"ACU is a really good team," Trimble said. "If you don't pressure them, then you are in trouble. That's we did wrong last week (in a 2-0 loss in Abilene). They were able to connected passes and get in a rhythm. Pressure was the key today."

And when ACU was able to break through, Midwestern goalkeeper Mallory Whitworth stood tall. The senior from McKinney made three big saves in the opening half which allowed the Mustangs to escape tied at the half.

Midwestern controlled the run of play in the second half leading up to Fookes' fifth goal of the season.

"Payton is dangerous and when she is feeling confident, she is difficult to handle," Trimble said. "She got inside of her defender and got to the ball first, but that showed a lot about our team and about our defense. It's just a matter of us getting a goal."

The Mustangs (7-9-3) are now 6-3-1 over their last 10 matches and won three of their last four.

Abilene Christian closes the season at 8-10-1.

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