SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State men's soccer team opens up Missouri Valley Conference action against Central Arkansas Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Conway, Ark.
 

Missouri State at Central Arkansas
Dates	Wednesday, Sept. 13
Location	Conway, Ark.
Site	Bill Stephens Track/Soccer Complex
Wednesday, Sept. 13	Missouri State at Central Arkansas- 7 p.m.
Follow Along	Live Stats • Live Stream
Missouri State	Game Notes | Men's Soccer Home Page | Twitter | Instagram

 
Know the Bears
•     MSU was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll. The Bears picked up one first place vote and 34 points in the poll.
•     The Bears 'bend, but don't break' defense has given up 56 shots through four games, but only given three goals. MSU's goals allowed average is the lowest in the Missouri Valley (.75).
•     Senior goal keeper Liam Priestley has held up two shutouts this season and recorded 16 saves, including a career high eight against Air Force.
•     Priestley recorded six saves in the double overtime contest against UAB. The timely saves by Priestley kept the Blazers out of goal and kept the Bears in the game.
•     Three Bears have recorded goals (Harry Lewis, Jordy Robins and Conor Ingram) though the first two weeks of the season. MSU had a season high five shots at goal in the 0-0 double overtime tie to UAB.
•     Junior Harry Lewis has recorded six shots in three games and scored one goal. Lewis recorded the first goal of the season for the Bears that ended up being the game winner over Tulsa.
•     The Bears broke an eight game losing streak against Tulsa in the season's home opener. The streak dated back to 2004. The 2-0 victory marked the first shutout victory against Tulsa since 2002.
•     The Bears went 3-0 in preseason play after taking wins over Missouri Valley College (1-0), Missouri S&T (1-0) and Belmont (3-1).
•     Heading into to conference play head coach Jon Leamy sits at 245 career wins. Leamy has headed the Bears for 26 seasons making him the program's longest tenured men's soccer coach.
 
The Opponent
Central Arkansas

• Picked up their first win over Fort Wayne on Sunday.
• Finished the 2016 season with a 7-7-3 overall record and 4-3-1 MVC record. Picked to finish fourth in the 2017 MVC standings.
• UCA is second in the conference in shots with 70 though six games.

Series History
Central Arkansas
Missouri State holds a 8-3-2 all-time series lead over the Bears. MSU and UCA played each other three times last season. The last meeting between the two teams took place on Nov. 11, 2016, during the MVC championship. The game went to penalty kicks and Missouri State took the shoot out 5-4 to advance. MSU last faced UCA at Bill Stephens Track/Soccer Complex on Nov. 5, 2016 and endured the 0-1 loss to the Bears from Arkansas.

Final Details
Wednesday's match against Central Arkansas is slated for 7 p.m. Live stats and a live stream will be available for the match. For all of the latest information on the Missouri State men's soccer team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MSUBearsMSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.