The Missouri State men’s soccer team started strong for the third consecutive season, opening 5-1-1, but the Bears finished the season losing four of their last five, including a loss to Eastern Illinois in the quarterfinals of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, to finish the campaign 8-8-3. The Bears began play on-campus at Plaster Field and defended the home field admirably, going 4-0-2, including a thrilling 1-1 double overtime tie with conference tournament champion and NCAA qualifier Creighton in front of a school-record 2,102 fans.
The Bears opened the season on the field turf of Plaster Field against Oral Roberts on Aug. 25. Goalkeeper Lance Parker gave an early indication of his dominance to come, picking up his first shutout as the Bears and Golden Eagles tied 0-0 in double overtime. Two nights later,, on Aug. 27, MSU traveled to the University of Missouri-Kansas City and defeated the Kangaroos 2-1 for their first victory of the season. Freshman Will Ziegahn scored the first goal of the season and first of his career and junior Yanik Joseph scored the game winner in the second half to lead the Bears to the win.
Missouri State opened the month of September on the road at the Ameritas Classic hosted by Creighton in Omaha, Neb. The Bears suffered their first loss of the season on Sept. 1 in heartbreaking fashion, losing to Fairleigh Dickinson in double overtime, 2-1. Junior college transfer Omar Shoucair scored his only goal of the season against the Knights, who were nationally ranked after playing MSU. The Bears rebounded and defeated Big East Conference member Georgetown, 2-0, on Sept. 3. Senior Justin Douglass and junior Ryan Anderson scored first half goals and Parker posted another shutout for the Bears. Anderson and Douglass earned all-tournament honors for their play.
The Bears returned home to host the Quality Inn & Suites/Diadora Tournament on Sept. 8 and 10, and MSU captured a share of the tournament title with a 2-0 mark. The Bears defeated Air Force, 3-1, behind two goals by junior Danny May, including the game winner less than two minutes into the second half to break a halftime tie. Sophomore Justin Alford notched his first goal of the season in the first half. MSU then easily handled Central Arkansas, 4-0, as the Bears scored twice in each half. May again had the game winner, and Douglass, freshman Kyle Windmueller, and junior Michael Bennett each added a goal. Douglass, Parker, Anderson, and May were named to the all-tournament team as the Bears shared the tournament title with Evansville.
Missouri State traveled to the Evansville ProRehab Aces Soccer Classic the following weekend and came away with a 1-0-1 record. Sophomore Joe Welch scored his only goal of the season in overtime for the game winner in the 98th minute as the Bears defeated Stony Brook, 2-1, on Sept. 15. Alford notched his second goal of the season in the 72nd minute for MSU. The Bears outshot North Florida, 20-9, but could not find the back of the net as the teams played to a 0-0 double overtime tie on Sept. 17. The 1-0-1 mark was good enough to capture the tournament title. Parker, Alford, Anderson, and junior defender Andy Cooper were all-tournament team selections, with Parker bringing home the Defensive MVP award.
The 5-1-2 Bears traveled to Peoria, Ill., for the Holiday Inn City Centre Classic the following weekend, Sept. 22 and 23. MSU lost both matches by the count of 1-0 despite an advantage in shots in both contests. The Bears fell to Alabama A&M on a first half goal and eight Bulldog saves and lost to Robert Morris despite holding a 26-6 shot advantage. Parker and sophomore defender Kellington Boddie took home all-tournament honors for the Bears.
MSU dropped its third straight match by a 1-0 score, falling at Saint Louis on Sept. 26. Parker was solid in goal despite taking the loss, as he turned back eight shots to keep the Bears in the match. However, the Bears’ offense struggled as MSU was shut out for the fourth consecutive match.
The Bears closed out September with their conference opener against Eastern Illinois on Sept. 30 at Plaster Field. The freshman Ziegahn scored a goal in each half and Parker recorded his fifth shutout of the season to lead the Bears. Parker was named MVC Defensive Player of the Week for his play in the Bears’ two matches during the week.
On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Missouri State played host to preseason conference favorite and national power Creighton. Behind a school-record 2,102 fans, Creighton took a 1-0 second half lead and looked to leave with a win, but the senior Douglass scored the equalizer in the 88th minute on a header and Welch made a game-saving clear of a sure goal in overtime to preserve a tie with the Bluejays. The Bears carried the momentum to Bradley and defeated the Braves in Peoria for the first time since 1999, 2-0, on Oct. 7. The freshman Windmueller scored the game-winning goal in the first half and junior Brett Williams scored the first goal of his career in the second half to lead the Bears. Senior Kyle Hopson assisted on both goals and Parker picked up another shutout, his sixth of the season.
The Bears’ momentum was stopped on the road at Evansville on Oct. 11, as the Purple Aces scored in the 13th minute and held on for a 1-0 victory. The decision marked the fourth time the Bears fell by the same count of 1-0.
Missouri State returned home on Oct. 14 for the final home match of the season. With seniors Douglass, Hopson, and Brian Pasierb playing in the final home outings of their careers, it was junior Ryan Anderson who was the hero as he scored the match’s only goal in overtime to lift the Bears to a 1-0 victory. Another junior, Parker, was again fantastic in goal, as he recorded his seventh shutout of the season. Anderson earned the league’s Offensive Player of the Week award for his game winner against the Hilltoppers.
The overtime victory would prove to be the last high mark of the season as the Bears finished conference play with a 3-1 setback at Drake on Oct. 21. To make matters worse, MSU lost Parker to an injury in the second half, which would be his last action of the season. The Bears finished the regular season with a nonconference loss at Western Illinois, 2-0, in Macomb on Oct. 24.
With a 3-2-1 conference mark, the Bears took the number three seed into the State Farm MVC Tournament in Peoria, Ill. MSU took on sixth-seeded Eastern Illinois on Nov. 1 in a quarterfinals rematch of the Bears’ 2-0 victory in Springfield earlier in the season. Anderson scored a goal in the closing minutes of the first half to cut the Panthers’ lead to 2-1 at halftime, but EIU added a second half goal and revenged the earlier loss with a 3-1 win to end the Bears’ season.
The 2006 campaign turned out to be a season of peaks and valleys, with the year unfortunately ending with the latter as the Bears lost their final three matches. Their three-match conference streak that included wins over conference regular season co-champion Bradley and Eastern Illinois, and a tie against MVC tournament champion and NCAA qualifier Creighton was the team’s best stretch of play. This three-match stretch was preceded by three consecutive 1-0 defeats after a 5-1-2 start to the season.
Despite the tough ending to the season, the Bears can take many positives from the 2006 season. MSU held opponents to a MVC regular season-low 15 goals and had the best goals-against average (0.79) in the league. The team’s seven shutouts tied for second-most in the regular season in MVC play. MSU’s team goals-against average and save percentage ranked among the top-20 in the country for much of the regular season. On Oct. 10, the Bears ranked eighth as a team in save percentage and MSU was ninth nationally in goals-against-average on Oct. 17 for the team’s best rankings of the season.
Benefitting from the team’s strong defense was the goalkeeper Parker. The junior led the MVC during the regular season in goals-against average (0.569), save percentage (.845), allowed the fewest goals (9) of any goalkeeper in the conference, and tied for the league lead with seven regular season shutouts. Parker set the Missouri State single-season record with his 0.57 goals-against average and the nine goals he allowed are fewest in a season in school history. His seven shutouts tie for third-most in a season. Parker finished the season ranked seventh nationally in goals-against average and 11th in save percentage.
Six members of the team earned individual recognition. Douglass and Anderson repeated as First Team All-MVC selections, the only players in the conference to be selected in back-to-back seasons. Douglass scored three goals and added three assists to go along with his strong play on the backline that held opponents to an MVC regular season low 15 goals. Anderson followed up his 2005 season in which he was the MVC Co-Player of the Year with another solid season, as he led the team in goals and points, with four and 10, respectively, and led the MVC in shots, with 89. Parker earned Second Team All-MVC honors and was a finalist for the MVC Defensive Player of the Year award. Hopson and Cooper earned All-MVC honorable mention status. Hopson led the Bears with seven assists, which tied for second-best in the MVC. Cooper was a physical force on the backline that posted seven shutouts. Defender Ryan Hennessy was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team after starting 16 matches for the Bears on the backline in his first season. Anderson and Douglass were also named to the NSCAA/adidas All-Midwest Region Second Team.
The Bears found success in the classroom as well. Parker, Williams, and Welch were selected to the CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine All-District VII team. Douglass joined Parker and Welch on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team, with Williams receiving honorable mention. Missouri State tied with Drake for the most first team selections in the conference and MSU’s four total selections tied for second-best.
The loss of Douglass, Hopson, and Pasierb will be significant, as the trio combined to start 119 matches throughout their careers. However, the Bears return players accountable for 19 of the 22 goals scored in 2006. Parker will return to challenge his record-setting season of 2006. The 2007 team should feature seven seniors with extensive playing time and a wealth of underclassmen with experience. Filling the void left by Douglass on the backline and building depth at midfield with the loss of Hopson and Pasierb will be the challenges facing the 2007 Bears.
