The Missouri State men's soccer team lost its season opener to SIU-Edwardsville during the Drake Invitational Tournament Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.  The Bears struggled offensively but received solid play from their goalkeeper Alex Riggs.

 

The Bears played the Cougars to a 0-0 tie through the first half.  The Cougars' Bob Ridder squeaked a shot past Riggs to take a 1-0 lead 14 minutes into the second half.  SIU-Edwardsville was able to shut down the Bears offensively for the remainder of the second half to drop the Bears to 0-1. 

 

The Bears struggled offensively, only mustering one shot on goal compared to the Cougars' nine. 

 

“We didn’t do a good job of picking apart the final third and seeing when we had our shots,” said head coach Jon Leamy.

 

Riggs provided a highlight for the Bears as he started the season with an excellent performance in the net.  Riggs recorded seven saves for the game with the only blemish coming on the goal by Ridder.

 

Coach Leamy stated, “There wasn’t much he could do on the goal. We had a let down on a set play and we just didn’t clear the ball.”

 

The Bears will be in action tomorrow (Aug. 31) against Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 5 p.m. in the last day of the Drake Invitational Tournament.