SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State women's soccer team will look to close out its regular season slate with a win at Evansville on Thursday at 4 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+. 
 

Missouri State (5-7-4, 2-4-1 MVC) vs. Evansville (6-4-5, 2-3-2 MVC)
Dates	Thursday, Oct. 28 | 4 p.m. (CT)
Location	Evansville, Ind.
Site	Arad McCutchan Stadium
Follow Along	Live Stats | Watch
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Match Details
The Bears will look to get a win to punch their ticket to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a win at Evansville on Thursday at 4 p.m. The match will be televised on ESPN+.
 
For all of the latest information and in game updates on the Missouri State women's soccer team, visit MissouriStateBears.com or follow @MSUBearsWSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
 
Quick Kicks

• Thursday's match will mark the regular season match for head coach Rob Brewer. Brewer announced his retirement on Aug.18, which will go into effect at the completion of the season. Brewer started the Missouri State program in 1996 and has helped lead the Bears to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2000 and 2017, in addition to finishing in the top three of the Missouri Valley Conference standings 11 times. Brewer has helped mentor 109 all-conference selections and 82 academic all-conference honorees during his tenure and has compiled a 224-207-60 record with the Bears.
• In its last match out, freshman Kaeli Benedict's golden goal in the 105th minute of play gave the Missouri State a 3-2 win over Drake on senior day. Benedict also provided a goal in the 33^rd minute of play off a set-piece. Grace O'Keefe added another goal off a penalty kick in the 32^nd minute. Abby Couch picked up two assists and Jacqueline Baetz added another. Benedict became the first Bear to score two goals in a match since Baetz accomplished the feat in last season's 4-1 win over SIU on April 7.
• As a result of her efforts, Benedict was named MVC Freshman of the Week, the league announced on Tuesday (Oct. 25). She was the third Bear to collect weekly MVC honors this season joining Jenna Anderson (Freshman of the Week, Sept. 7) and Katherine Montgomery (Defensive Player of the Week, Oct. 11).
• The Bears used a valiant defensive effort to battle Loyola to a scoreless draw on Oct. 9. Goalkeeper Katherine Montgomery highlighted the MSU effort by recording a career-high 11 saves in 110 minutes of action. The 11 saves were the most by a Missouri State keeper since Kaitlin Maxwell's 11 on Sept. 9, 2018. With the tie, the Bears were the first team to get a point against Loyola in the MVC standings. Since 2018, Loyola is 31-2-2 in MVC play with both ties coming at the hands of Missouri State.
• Montgomery has tallied 62 saves in 1,421 minutes of action this season. Montgomery picked up her fifth clean sheet of the season in the draw at Loyola, which ranks third in the MVC and 87^th nationally. Her 1.140 goals-against average ranks fourth in the MVC.
• The Missouri State attack has been balanced this season, as 12 Bears have tallied a point, and 10 Bears have scored goals.
• A tie in Thursday's contest would match the Missouri State season record for ties which is five and was accomplished by the 2005 team.
• This season, eight Bears (Isabel Burke, Couch, Anna Durnin, Sierra Fury, O'Keefe, Kyli Jackson, Montgomery and Carly Raunig) have gone over the 1,000-minute mark. Burke leads MSU with 1,337 minutes on the season. Kennady Orlick is just six minutes shy of the 1,000-minute mark.
• The Bears' 18 total assists this season are the third-best total in the MVC.
• Missouri State leads The Valley and ranks 30th nationally in shot accuracy as the Bears have put 53.7 percent of their shots on goal.  

The Leader of the Bears

• Head coach Rob Brewer has presided over the Missouri State women's soccer program for the entirety of its 26-season history. Overall, Missouri State has produced a 224-207-60 record during Brewer's tenure. The 1999 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year has produced 109 all-conference selections and 86 academic all-conference honorees. In 26 seasons as a program, his team has reached the MVC Tournament 20 times and has only six losing campaigns. The Bears reached the NCAA tournament in 2000 and 2017 under Brewer's guidance. Prior to Missouri State, Brewer had head coaching stints at Elon, Virginia Wesleyan and Roanoke College. At Roanoke, he coached current Missouri State men's soccer coach Jon Leamy for four seasons.

So Now What?

• For Missouri State to get into the MVC Tournament, the Bears need a win over Evansville on Thursday. MSU currently has seven points in the conference standings while Evansville has eight and Illinois State has nine. With a win over Evansville, Missouri State would gain three points and automatically clinch the No. 5 seed to surpass Evansville and Illinois State with 10 points.

 
New Bears on the Pitch

• The MSU freshmen class has totaled seven of the Bears' 17 goals and accounted for 3,577 of the team's 16,867 minutes this season while combining for 36 starts and 20 of the teams' 52 points.

Working Overtime

• The Bears have participated in six overtime games this season with an overall record of 1-4-1 in overtime contests.

 
Goals Breakdown

• Overall, 10 Bears have scored a goal (O'Keefe (3), Benedict (3), Durnin (2), Kennady Orlick (2), Kate Schroeder (2), Anderson, Maddie Augustine, Burke, Couch, Fury.
• Benedict and O'Keefe are tied for the team lead with three goals apiece.
• This season, six of the Bears' 17 goals have come from players who entered the game off the bench (Schroeder, Maddie Augustine, Anderson, Benedict (2), O'Keefe).
• MSU has tallied 11 goals in the first half, five in the second half, and one in overtime this season.
• The Bears have totaled four game winning-goals.

Amazing Grace

• Grace O'Keefe recently garnered national acclaim as she was ranked 92^nd in the Top Drawer Soccer Top-100 freshman rankings. In her freshman season, O'Keefe has provided an immediate spark for the MSU offense. She currently leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks 50^th nationally with seven assists. The Overland Park, Kan., native leads the Bears with 13 points by tallying three goals and seven assists.

Know the Foe

• Evansville is 6-4-5 overall and 2-3-2 in MVC play this season.
• In its last match out, Evansville fell to Valparaiso, 2-1. The Purple Aces' lone goal came from Emily Olson when she netted a pass from Emily Wolak in the 71^st minute.
• The Bulldogs' two MVC wins came over Southern Illinois (1-0) on Oct. 13 and Northern Iowa (2-0) on Sept. 17.
• Forward Emily Ormson leads the Evansville attack with 13 points on six goals and one assist this season.
• Midfielder Alex Eyler's six assists lead the Purple Aces and rank second in the MVC.
• Protecting the net for Evansville is Michaela Till, who has tallied 74 saves while allowing 17 goals in 1,254 minutes of action.
• Overall, Indiana State has tallied 19 goals while allowing 18 through 15 matches this season.
• Head Coach Chris Pfau has been the head coach of the Purple Aces since December of 2019. He also served at the helm from 2005-2007. Under his guidance, Evansville has posted a 47-32-12 record. In between stints at Evansville, he served as the head coach at Akron from 2008-12 and Houston from 2012-17.

Series History

• Evansville leads the all-time series, 14-10-7. Last season, the two teams did not meet due to COVID-19 issues. Missouri State defeated Evansville 1-0 in the last matchup on Nov. 13, 2019.
• The Bears are 70-67-25 (.509) all-time in Missouri Valley Conference play.

Take A Look Ahead

• With a win in Thursday's match over Evansville the Bears will play in the first round of the MVC tournament on Sunday. The match time has yet to be determined.