NCAA Tournament Bracket
 
SPRINGFIELD – Unbeaten Missouri State (17-0-1) hosts its first-ever NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament match Thursday (Nov. 21) with a first round matchup against Denver (6-11-3), starting at 7:00 p.m. at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium.
 
Tickets for the match are available at the gate on game day or in advance by visiting the Old Missouri State Box Office at JQH Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular box office hours.  General admission prices are $5 for adults and $2 for youth, ages 12 and under.  Missouri State students with BearPass ID will receive free admission to the match.
 
The Bears are making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament where they are 0-3 in their three previous games.
 

Missouri State vs. Denver
Dates	Thursday, Nov. 21 | 7:00 p.m.
Location	Springfield, Mo.
Site	Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium
Tickets	$5 Adult and $2 Youth (Ages 12 and under) for General Admission | Free Admission for MSU Students with BearPass ID
Follow Along	Live Stats | Game Notes | Media Availability | United Soccer Coaches Poll | Bracket
Missouri State	Men's Soccer Home Page | Record Book | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Match Details
The NCAA Tournament First Round match will kick off from Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21.  Live stats of the match are available at MissouriStateBears.com.  The match will also be televised on ESPN3.
 
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

• After putting together a stellar resume that includes a conference regular-season championship and a nation-best 17-0-1 undefeated record, Missouri State received an at-large bid to make the program's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance.
• In the MIssouri Valley Conference Championship, MSU played host Loyola to a 1-1 draw, before falling 5-4 in penalty kicks to finish as tournament runner-ups.  Josh Dolling, Kyle Hiebert, and Stuart Wilkin were selected to the MVC All-Tournament for the Bears.  
• MSU features a fierce defense that ranks seventh nationally in goals against average (0.592) and has allowed 11 goals on the season which is tied for the fifth fewest in Division I.  The Bears have been unyielding defensively in the latter stages of matches, allowing only four goals in the second half and overtime this season.  With eight 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-15 in scoring offense (9th), points per game (10th), total goals (12th), and assists per game (10th).  Yet to be held scoreless in 2019, MSU has scored 41 goals to give it the team's highest season total since 1999 (49).  The 41-goal mark is the most for an MVC team since Drake tallied 52 goals in 2009.  Missouri State is outscoring opponents by a 41-11 margin this season and has trailed in just four matches.
• Earning Missouri State's first Valley Offensive Player of the Year honor, Matthew Bentley leads the conference in points (32) and goals (14) while ranking 12th nationally in both categories.  The senior forward recorded the fastest goal from the start of a game since an eight-second Cal State Northridge goal from Aug. 26, 2016 in MSU's 2-1 win against Loyola on Nov. 3.  Bentley saw his eight-game scoring streak (Oct. 5-Nov. 9) come to an end in the MVC semifinal match against Drake.  He 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).  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, tied for 10th in Division I with nine assists in 18 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 18 starts in goal this season for MSU with 1631:40 minutes played, ranking 10th in the nation in goals against average (0.606).  The junior from St. Louis has been an enforcer between the pipes, collecting 39 saves and allowing 11 goals on the season to lead the MVC with a 0.780 save percentage.  With six clean sheets this season, Creek has 12 career shutouts to rank sixth on the all-time career list for the Bears.
• After claiming the program's eighth MVC regular-season title and 10th tournament finals appearance, Missouri State continues its season-long reign atop the conference in most statistical categories.  The Bears lead the league in points (120), goals (41), assists (38), shots on goal (103), goals against average (0.592), and save percentage (0.788).
• MSU had 10 players earn 2019 All-MVC honors while taking home five of the seven individual Valley awards.  Matthew Bentley (Offensive), Kyle Hiebert (Defensive), and Michael Creek (Goalkeeper) each received player of the year laurels in their respective categories.  The Missouri State coaches were named MVC Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding the Bears to the program's first 16-0 regular-season record.  The 2019 Bears were also honored with the Valley's Fair Play Award after receiving the fewest penalty cards (7) during MVC play.  Six Bears landed on the All-MVC First Team (Bentley, Creek, Hiebert, Josh Dolling, Ben Stroud, and Stuart Wilkin) while Jack Denton and Ian Jones garnered second-team honors.  Junior Greg Stratton earned an honorable mention nod and Kian Yari represented MSU on the All-Freshman Team.

Tourney Time

• Missouri State is making its fourth appearance--and first since 2009--in the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament.  The Bears are 0-3 in their three previous NCAA Tournament games (1997, 1999, 2009).  Previous trips to the NCAA field have included opening-round matches at Saint Louis (1997, 2009), and at UAB (1999). The UAB game marked the only loss of the year for Leamy's 1999 squad (17-1-3).
• Thursday's match will be the first time MSU has hosted an NCAA Tournament game with all three previous tournament games coming on the road.  The Bears are a perfect 8-0 when playing inside Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium this season.

Poll Position

• Missouri State dropped back to No. 12 in the latest United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I poll announced on Tuesday (Nov. 19).  After spending the four previous weeks inside the top-10, 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 Bears have reached as high as No. 9 in the rankings this season, marking 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 ranks inside the top-15 among other polls as well, checking in at No. 12 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings after moving inside the top-10 on Oct. 21.  The Bears also hold the No. 14 and No. 11 spots in the latest TopDrawerSoccer.com and College Soccer News polls, respectively.

 Going Streaking

• With the 1-1 result against Loyola in the MVC Tournament Championship officially going down as a tie, Missouri State remains the only undefeated team in all of Division I men's soccer.  The Bears are unbeaten in their last 20 matches, tying with the 1999 team for the longest unbeaten stretch in program history.
• MSU opened the 2019 season by rattling off a remarkable 17-straight wins, becoming the first team NCAA Division I team to record a perfect regular season since Akron in 2009.  The Bears' 17-game winning stretch from Sept. 2-Nov. 17 is the longest winning streak since that 2009 Akron team won 23 games in a row.  The 17-0 record was the hottest start to a season in Missouri Valley Conference history since the 2001 SMU team opened with 21 straight wins.

Know the Foe

• Denver (6-11-3, 2-2-1 Summit) earned an automatic bid to the tournament with a 1-0 victory over Omaha on Saturday (Nov. 2) in the Summit League Championship.  The Pioneers are making their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance, dropping a 2-1 match against Air Force in the second round in last year's tournament.
• Preston Judd (7) and Josh Drack (5) lead the Denver attack with 12 of the team's 21 goals.  Drack was named to the All-Summit League Second Team while Judd landed on the All-Newcomer team.
• Will Palmquist has made 18 of the 20 starts in goal this year for the Pioneers.  He owns a 1.17 goals against average while collecting 52 saves.  
• Head coach Jamie Franks is 67-23-13 in his fifth season at the helm for Denver.  Thursday's match will be his first time coaching against Missouri State.

Series History

• This will be the third meeting between the two teams with Missouri State leading 1-0-1 in the all-time series.  The teams played to a scoreless draw at the 2001 Creighton Diadora Classic while the Bears won 1-0 in a non-conference regular season match against the Pioneers in 2009.  
• MSU is 1-0 at home against DU as the two programs will play in Springfield for the second consecutive time in the series.   
• Head coach Jon Leamy has been on the sidelines for both matches in the series.  He has led the Bears to all four of the program's NCAA Tournament appearances where he is 0-3 in the three previous games.