By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
In search of their second straight trip to the NJCAA National Tournament, the Murray State men's soccer team will head to Ranger Junior College on Friday for a 2 p.m. challenge for that automatic bid in the Mid-West District Championship.

The ninth-ranked Aggies, who sport a 17-1 record, are coming off another Region 2 championship victory on Sunday and have been honored with a whopping 7 first-team All-Region selections. That number includes Region Most Valuable Player Ryosuke Miyata. Head coach Alex Morais was also named the league's Coach of the Year in his first season at the Murray State helm.

Alexis Lopez, Leo Aquino, Bryan Garcia, Carlos Zapata, Gui Alves and Shuto Ishikawa joined Miyata on the first team while Nicolo Donadio, Philipp Federer, Gustavo Ursino, Yosuke Shimizu and Caio Wasch were second-team choices as well.

Miyata has been a stellar playmaker all season for the Aggies, leading the team with 14 assists to go along with seven goals. Lopez has been the team's top scorer with 18 goals on the year.

Federer has contributed seven goals with Ursino and Aquino each tossing in six.

The Rangers enter Friday's contest with an 8-4-3 record, capturing its region championship against Western Texas College back on October 23.

                

        Miyata was named Region 2 Most Valuable Player.                         Alex Morais earned Region 2 Coach of the Year Honors