ST. LOUIS – For the second straight week, Missouri State earned weekly conference honors as Stuart Wilkin was selected as the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Tuesday.
 
Wilkin recorded goals in back-to-back matches for MSU as the Bears opened up conference play with a pair of wins against Valparaiso and Loyola to remain perfect on the season. 
 
The senior from Surrey scored his first goal of 2019 in the 5th minute of MSU's 3-1 win over Valparaiso in both squads' conference opener on Wednesday, Sept.  He played 78 minutes in the match, firing two of the Bears' 13 shots against the Crusaders.
 
He launched the game-winning goal in overtime to complete the Bears' comeback in a 2-1 win over Loyola on Sunday, Sept. 22.  Wilkin notched his second straight multi-shot match to increase his season total to 12 shots, ranking sixth in the league.    

A four-year veteran for the Bears, Wilkin has appeared in 59 matches with 49 starts for MSU, tallying six goals and 91 shots in his career.  He scored in back-to-back matches for Missouri State in the MVC quarterfinal and semifinal games last season.

Wilkin becomes the fourth player for MSU to earn MVC weekly honors this season, joining Jack Denton, Josh Dolling, and Kyle Hiebert.  The Bears swept the MVC weekly accolades last week as Dolling and Hiebert were named MVC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively.  Denton was tabbed MVC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Missouri State's 3-0 shutout win over Kansas City on Sept. 7.   

Missouri State continues its road trip with a matchup against Western Illinois on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 4:00 p.m. in Macomb, Ill.