Box Score | Season Stats
 
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The No. 17 Missouri State men's soccer (9-0-0, 3-0-0 MVC) scored four goals in the first half and recorded its third straight shutout in a 4-0 win over conference foe Evansville (2-6-1, 0-3-0 MVC) on Saturday night at McCutchan Stadium.
 
The Bears' winning streak now sits at nine games, becoming the first Missouri Valley Conference team to start 9-0 since SMU in 2001.   
 
MSU scored a season-high four goals in the first 45 minutes of play, boasting a 13-3 shot advantage over Evansville before intermission.
 
"It was great to get out to a 4-0 lead before halftime, so give credit to the guys on coming out focused", said head coach Jon Leamy.  "Ian had a fantastic start by drawing the two penalty kicks and then getting an assist on Matt's second goal."
 
Following a missed penalty shot from Josh Dolling in the 12th minute, the Bears earned an additional penalty kick just a few minutes later in the 17th minute.  Senior Matthew Bentley fired an ensuing shot to record his second PK goal of the season, giving MSU a 1-0 lead.
 
It didn't take long for Bentley to notch his second goal of the match, collecting a pass from Ian Jones and launching a shot past Evansville's goalkeeper in the 19th minute.  He became the second MSU player to record a brace this season, following Ben Stroud's pair of goals against Western Illinois on Sept. 26.  
 
The 38th minute proved to be lucrative for MSU as the Bears scored back-to-back goals in less than a minute apart.  Kyle Hiebert tallied his second career goal as a Bear off of a header and Stuart Wilkin followed after the restart with his third goal of 2019 to cap MSU's 4-0 win.    
 
"Every game is really important now with just league games left for us", said Bentley.  "We just have to keep bringing it every game and making sure we keep our standards high."
 
MSU's defense recorded its third straight shutout for the second time this season as the Bears have secured clean sheets in six of their nine matches.
 
With the four goals against the Purple Aces, MSU increased its season total to 21 goals, tying for 12th best among Division-I teams.
 
Missouri State returns to Springfield for a pair of home conference matches, beginning with a midweek matchup against Bradley on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 7:00 p.m. at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium.