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SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State men's soccer team (1-0) opened the second half of Friday's match with two goals within two minutes of each other to help earn its first victory of the season over Green Bay (0-1) in the 2016 season opener.
 
"It was great team win with a great team effort," commented head coach Jon Leamy. "The guys were excited to be at home. To see that we took quite a few shots was good. It is always nice to score more but it also good that we don't give anything up."
 
Missouri State put up 18 shots on the night to Green Bay's lone second-half shot. Three Bears – Jack Griffin, Conor Ingram and Mike Lightbourne – put up three shots apiece.
 
"Some of the guys would say that their touch was off in the first half but after halftime, we knew that we would have to defend a little better and be more aggressive offensively. We will continue to work on scoring goals as the season goes on," said Leamy.
 
Sophomore Ingram scored the first goal for the Bears of the 2016 season to open the second half while teammate Lightbourne put the second one in the back of the net less than two minutes later. Jake Buckle assisted on both goals, doubling his assist total from a season ago.
 
"I was able to learn and grow as a player after my freshman year," said Ingram. "The coaches were able to give me some pointers and I took my training a lot more seriously after last season. We are a lot more confident this year as a team and I think that will help us in the long run."
 
MSU will hit the road for a three-game swing, starting with a trip to Memphis (Sept. 4) and an appearance at the N.M. Tournament for the second-consecutive year, where the Bears are set to play Grand Canyon (Sept. 9) and CSU Bakersfield (Sept. 11).