Sept. 19, 2014 Final Stats
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CONWAY, Ark. - The Missouri State men's soccer team (3-1-2) opened Missouri Valley Conference Play Friday night against the University of Central Arkansas (2-2). Missouri State earned a critical three road points to begin conference play.
The Bears of MSU were all over the Bears of UCA in the first half. The pressuring and intensity that Missouri State came out with from the opening whistle was apparent. Missouri State was able to hold the ball on the offensive half of the field and on the few occasions it was lost. MSU outshot UCA 6-3 in the first half.
Missouri State opened the scoring on a corner kick late in the first half. Mikey Lightbourne took the kick and swung it in on goal. The keeper punched it out to the top of the box where Emmerich Hoegg was perfectly positioned. As the ball approached Hoegg, he struck an absolute beauty of a volley into the upper 90 of the goal. The 36th minute shot left the opposing goalkeeper defenseless as he could only watch it wiz past his left shoulder.
Central Arkansas did have 11 shots on the night, but the majority of them were well high. Addison Watson did make two big punch-out saves on well struck liners. Watson finished with four saves for his third straight shutout.
The second half was much closer between the teams, forcing Missouri State to bear down on defense and make some big plays. The combination of physical tackles and timely headers helped the MSU Bears hold tight and earn the win.
The Missouri State football team attended the first half of the game, as they will play Central Arkansas on Saturday.
The Bears have a road contest against University of Alabama Birmingham on Tuesday.
