Oct. 5, 2015
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SPRINGFIELD - The Missouri State men's soccer team (3-4-2) will continue its season Tuesday in Springfield against Eastern Illinois (2-6-0) with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium.
The MSU men's basketball team will be hosting a pregame pizza party for the first 500 students in attendance. Recording artists, Luna Jamboree, will provide a pregame concert and the first 250 fans will receive a free CD. Gates for Tuesday's match will open at 5:30 p.m.
The last meeting between MSU and EIU was at the Dayton Marriott Classic in Dayton, Ohio. The match saw two first half goals scored by Cole Alexander and a shutout for MSU as the Bears closed in on EIU taking the 2-0 win.
Missouri State leads the series 17-5, while posting an 8-1 record at home. The last time the Panthers were in Springfield, the Bears saw their only loss to EIU at home while falling 3-0 in 2009.
Tomorrow's match will be the fourth match in 11 days for the Bears. After capturing a 1-0 overtime win over SIU Edwardsville on Sept. 26, MSU set forth on a week-long road journey to top-ranked Creighton and conference opponent Drake. The Bears fell 4-0 to Creighton last Tuesday night and 2-1 to Drake last Saturday. The Bears (1-1) now stand in third place in the MVC standings behind Drake (2-0) and Bradley (1-0), with the same league record as Loyola and SIUE.
MSU has tallied four goals this season from James Routledge, Jake Buckle, and Jack Griffin. Routledge's goal came from a penalty kick against Saint Mary's in overtime, giving MSU its first win of the season. Buckle was the first Bear since 2013 (Jack Roberts) to score two goals in a match against No. 18 Loyola Marymount. Griffin won the match against SIUE in overtime with the golden goal with two seconds left on the clock. In last Saturday's match at Drake, Griffin was able to score in the 88th minute, giving him his second goal of the season.
"We are in the home stretch of this challenging part in our schedule," said head coach Jon Leamy. "The guys are ready to be back and home and play in front of our fans. We are looking forward to an electric crowd this week as we face Eastern Illinois and Loyola."
The Bears will continue conference play against Loyola on Saturday (Oct. 10) at 7 p.m. Admission for both matches is free for MSU students with a valid I.D. and children ages 12 and under. Admission for MSU faculty and staff is $2 and tickets for all other adults are $5.
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