ROLLA, Mo. – With its regular season road schedule now completed, Missouri S&T's men's soccer team returns home with its focus on trying to land one of the eight spots in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament – and has three games in which to get it done against teams that are all currently ahead of it in the league standings.

The quest to reach the conference tournament for the Miners, 6-6-2 overall and 5-5-2 in the GLVC, begins Friday with a visit from No. 20-ranked Lewis to the S&T Soccer Field for a 7:30 p.m. game. S&T will then host Wisconsin-Parkside, a team that enters the weekend one-half game in front of it, Sunday at 2:30 p.m. before wrapping up the league slate next Wednesday at home against Drury.

Missouri S&T is one-half game behind four teams heading into the homestretch. S&T already has a win over Missouri-St. Louis, tied Truman State and lost in overtime to Bellarmine. The fourth team, UW-Parkside, is on the slate for Sunday.

But first, the Miners will have to contend with a Lewis team that lost for the first time all season a week ago in a 2-0 setback to Rockhurst. The Flyers, 9-1-4 overall and 8-1-3 in the GLVC, bounced back from that loss to rout William Jewell 5-0 Sunday.

A balanced scoring effort and solid goalkeeping have been the keys to the Flyers' success this season, as 11 different players have scored for them this season. Cristhian Ramirez leads the way with five goals and three assists for 13 points, while George Thomson has scored four times. Goalkeeper Alec Pickett has the GLVC's top goals against average at 0.54.

Wisconsin-Parkside, who is 7-5-2 overall and 6-5-1 in the GLVC, earned a tie against Rockhurst Sunday to stay among the top eight teams in the league race. The Rangers have received four goals apiece from Ryan Shogren and Thomas Diehl, while goalkeeper Marcos Perez has a 1.36 goals against average.

UW-Parkside has five wins and a tie in its in last eight games after a 2-3-1 start to the season.

The Miners are led in the scoring by Alex Reifschneider (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) with four goals, while Brian Seawright (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) has scored three times. Diego Robayo (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish), who assisted on Ben Emnett (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University HS)'s game-winning goal in Sunday's victory at Saint Joseph's that snapped a three-game winless streak for S&T, has a team-high four assists.

Goalkeeper Matt Jackson (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City West) had a 1.02 goals against average and is one of nine seniors – along with Seawright and Robayo – who will be honored prior to Sunday's contest.

Game Notes: Miners vs. #20 Lewis/Wisconsin-Parkside

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