SPRINGFIELD – As the 2019 conference regular-season champions, No. 9 Missouri State men's soccer (16-0, 10-0 MVC) turns its attention to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a semifinal matchup against Drake (8-8-1, 4-5-1 MVC) on Friday, Nov. 15 at 1:00 p.m. in Chicago.
 
The Bears are making their 24th appearance with an overall record of 16-20-6 in the Valley tournament.

#9 Missouri State at MVC Tournament
MVC Tournament Central	MVC-Sports.com
Semifinal	Friday, Nov. 15 vs. No. 4 Drake, 1:00 p.m.
Championship	Sunday, Nov. 17 at Loyola, 1:00 p.m.
Location	Chicago, Ill.
Site	Loyola Soccer Park
Tickets	Purchase | $8 Adult and $5 Youth (Ages 4-14) for General Admission
Follow Along	Live Stats | Watch | Game Notes | Media Availability
Missouri State	United Soccer Coaches Poll | Men's Soccer Home Page | Record Book | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Match Details
The MVC semifinal matchup against Drake is set for 1:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15 from Loyola Soccer Park in Chicago.  Live stats of the match are available at MissouriStateBears.com with the game being televised on "The Valley on ESPN".
 
For all of the latest information and in game updates on the Missouri State men's soccer team, visit MissouriStateBears.com or follow @MSUBearsMSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
 
Quick Kicks

• Missouri State (16-0, 10-0 MVC) completed the program's first perfect regular season with a 3-1 win at Drake on Saturday (Nov. 9) as the Bears scored a pair of goals in the game's final six minutes to capture their 16th consecutive victory.
• As the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champions, top-seed Missouri State takes on Drake in the semifinal round with the winner advancing to the championship game where they will await the outcome of No. 2 Loyola vs. No. 3 Bradley/No. 6 Evansville. MSU claimed its eighth overall regular-season title, collecting its first Valley crown since 2017. 
• MSU features a fierce defense that ranks ninth nationally in goals against average (0.612) and has allowed just 10 goals on the season which is tied for the fourth fewest in Division I.  The Bears have been unyielding defensively in the latter stages of matches, allowing only three goals in the second half and overtime this season.  With seven total shutouts in 2019, the Bears held a 24-3 scoring margin over their opponents through the first 10 matches, boasting a pair of multi-game shutout streaks (Sept. 2-Sept. 10 and Sept. 26-Oct. 9).
• The Bears' attack is one of the most lethal in the nation, ranking in the top-10 in scoring offense (8th), points per game (8th), and assists per game (13th) while ranking 11th with 39 goals this season.  Yet to be held scoreless in 2019, MSU has scored 39 goals to give it the team's highest season total since 1999 (49).  Missouri State is outscoring opponents by a 39-10 margin this season and has trailed in just four matches.
• After being named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 5, Matthew Bentley extended his current scoring streak to eight consecutive games, notching the game-winner in the 84th minute of the Bears' 3-1 win at Drake on Saturday (Nov. 9).  The senior forward recorded the fastest goal from the start of a game since an eight-second Cal State Northridge goal on Aug. 26, 2016 in MSU's 2-1 win against Loyola on Nov. 3.  He has bagged 11 goals during the eight-match scoring streak, highlighted by a trio of multi-goal performances against Evansville (Oct. 5), Bradley (Oct. 9), and Valpo (Oct. 30).  He leads the conference in points (30) and goals (13) while ranking 14th and 10th nationally, respectively, in both categories.  In his first season at MSU, Bentley has etched himself into the history book, tallying the program's most goals in a season since Ryan Anderson scored 15 goals in his 2005 campaign.
• Jack Denton has been a pivotal asset for the Bears' set pieces this year, ranking 16th in Division I with eight assists in 16 matches.  As the MVC's leader in assists this season, Denton boasts the highest total for an MSU player since Johannes Demarzi registered 10 assists in his 2009 campaign.
• Goalkeeper Michael Creek has made all 16 starts in goal this season for MSU with 1431:40 minutes played, ranking 11th nationally in goals against average (0.628).  The junior from St. Louis has been an enforcer between the pipes, collecting 32 saves and allowing 10 goals on the season to rank atop the MVC with a 0.762 save percentage.  With five clean sheets this season, Creek has 11 career shutouts, tying him with Lance Parker (2004-07) for sixth on career shutouts for the Bears.
• Missouri State sits atop the MVC in most statistical categories, leading the league in points (114), goals (39), assists (36), shots (213), shots on goal (95), goals against average (0.612), and save percentage (0.773).
• Eight different MSU players have received weekly MVC laurels this season with Denton (Defensive, Week 2), Dolling (Offensive, Week 3), Kyle Hiebert (Defensive, Week 3), Stuart Wilkin (Offensive, Week 4), Ben Stroud (Defense, Week 5), Creek (Defense, Week 6), Greg Stratton (Defense, Week 7), and Bentley (Offensive, Week 10) each collecting weekly honors.

 Tourney Time

• Missouri State is making its 24th Missouri Valley Conference Tournament appearance after claiming the program's eighth regular-season title and becoming the No. 1 seed in this year's Valley Championship.  The Bears fell to the 2018 MVC champion Central Arkansas in penalty kicks in last year's semifinal round after opening the tournament with a 5-2 win against Evansville.
• The Bears have been to the conference championship game nine times with their lone tournament title coming in a 2-1 overtime win against Bradley on Nov. 14, 1999. 
• MSU is 16-20-6 all-time in MVC tournament play, advancing to at least the semifinal round in four consecutive seasons.
• Missouri State has appeared in three NCAA Tournaments (1997, 1999, 2009), falling in the first round in all three matches.  The Bears have a pair of losses to Saint Louis ('97, '09) in the national tournament while their only setback in the 1999 season (17-1-3) came against UAB in their first-round matchup with the Blazers.

 Poll Position

• Missouri State moved back into the No. 9 spot as the Bears earn their fourth-straight top-10 ranking in the latest United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division-I poll announced on Tuesday (Nov. 12).  The Bears became the fourth team in program history to receive a top-10 ranking in the national poll, joining the 1999, 2000, and 2005 teams.
• The No. 9 ranking marks the highest spot for the Bears since the 2005 team peaked at No. 9 during an eight-week stretch inside the top-25.  MSU's highest ranking came in the 2000 season with a No. 3 spot in the Sept. 11 poll.
• The Bears cracked the top-25 rankings for the second straight year, debuting at No. 19 on Sept. 24.  It was first top-25 ranking for MSU since the 2018 team earned a spot at No. 25 on Oct. 9, 2018.
• MSU continues to sit atop the NCAA D-I West Region rankings, joining fellow Valley teams, Loyola (5) and Bradley (9) in the regional rankings.  MSU checks in at No. 11 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings after moving inside the top-10 on Oct. 21.  The Bears also hold the No. 12 and No. 11 spots in the latest TopDrawerSoccer.com and College Soccer News polls, respectively.

 Going Streaking

• Missouri State has opened the 2019 season by rattling off a remarkable 16-straight wins, becoming the first team NCAA Division-I team to record a perfect regular season since Akron in 2009.  The 16-game winning stretch is the nation's longest active winning streak and is the most consecutive wins since that 2009 Akron team won 23 games in a row.  MSU is the only team in all of Division-I men's soccer that remains perfect in 2019.
• With a program-best 16-0 record, the Bears are off to the hottest start in Missouri Valley Conference history since the 2001 SMU team opened its season with 21 straight wins.  With the 10 wins in MVC play, MSU has posted its highest conference win total in program history. 
• The Bears' winning streaks have broken into the Valley record books as well, ranking third behind the '93 Creighton (19) and '01 SMU (21) teams for the longest overall streak while they are the first MVC team to go 10-0 in league play.

 Know the Foe

• Drake (8-8-1, 4-5-1 MVC) scored the equalizer in the 86th minute to force overtime where Leroy Enzugusi sent the Bulldogs to the semifinal round with the game-winner in a 2-1 double overtime win over Valpo on Wednesday (Nov. 13).  
• Enzugusi leads the Drake attack with eight goals and two assists for a team-high 18 points.  The junior forward has scored in four of his last five matches to rank third in the Valley in total goals (8) this season.
• Luke Anderson has 1567:58 minutes played in goal for the Drake defense, collecting two MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors in his 17 starts this season.  He ranks third in the Valley with six shutouts in 2019 while tallying 47 saves and a 1.61 goals against average.
• Gareth Smith is 40-43-10 in his 5th season at the helm for Drake.  He is 2-2-3 against Missouri State in his coaching career with both losses coming in the 2019 regular season.

 Series History

• Missouri State leads the all-time series 15-13-8 against Drake after sweeping the 2019 regular-season series with a pair of 3-1 wins on Oct. 13 at Allison South and Nov. 9 in Des Moines.
• This will be the third meeting between the two teams in the conference tournament with an even 1-1-1 record.  The Bears won the most recent MVC tournament showdown, blanking the Bulldogs in a 2-0 victory on Nov. 11, 2011.
• Jon Leamy is 15-12-7 against Drake in his 28 seasons as head coach for Missouri State, owning a 4-2-3 record in the previous nine games against the Bulldogs.