SPRINGFIELD – A second-half offensive explosion gave the No. 9 Missouri State men's soccer team (14-1-0, 10-0-0) the 4-0 win over Bradley on senior night here at Allison South Stadium on Sunday evening to clinch the Bears' third straight Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title.
In the first half, it was all zeros on the scoreboard, as 10 shots from the Bears failed to find the back of the net. MSU's defense kept the Braves (3-10-1, 2-6-0) at bay with just one shot.
"They made it really hard in the first half, and we came into the locker room and we knew we'd go out in the second half and make it right," said senior Josh Dolling after the game. "They made it difficult for us and they made us work for it, but it makes it that much better when we put four goals past them."
The final 45 minutes all went Missouri State's way, as Dolling's unassisted shot got past the Bradley goalkeeper in the 54th minute to give the Bears the 1-0 lead. The score was the senior's second of the season, extending his MSU career record for game-winning goals to 15.
From there, the Bears' offense broke loose. In the 70th minute, Simon Pedersen knocked a ball into the back of the net off an assist from Nicolas Torres to extend MSU's lead. The Bears weren't done, though, as senior Joel Peterson scored his first career goal at MSU in the 86th minute off an assist from fellow senior Greg Stratton. Less than a minute later, Peterson scored again off an assist from Adrian Barosen, giving the Bears the 4-0 lead before the final three minutes ran off the clock.
"The guys were just focused. They've been on a good run, and it was a great senior day," said head coach Jon Leamy. "It didn't come easy. [We] Didn't get the goal in the first half but we just really stayed on it, opened the field up more, and boy it was good to see one go, two and then three and four. Clinching the championship was huge. It puts us in a great spot."
Win the win, Missouri State extended its national-best win streak to 12 straight, while closing out the regular season with a 10-0 home record.
The Bears will get a six-day break before closing out the regular season at Loyola on Saturday at 7 p.m. Leamy's troops will then serve as the host of the 2021 MVC Tournament semifinals and finals at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium, November 12 and 14.
