SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State men's soccer (4-0-0, 3-0-0 MVC) wraps up its season series with Bradley (2-3-0, 1-3-0 MVC) with a road trip to Peoria, Ill. to face the Braves on Thursday, March 18 at 6 p.m.
 

#13 Missouri State at Bradley
Date	Thursday, March 18 | 6:00 p.m.
Location	Peoria, Ill.
Site	Shea Stadium
Follow Along	Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
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Match Details
Kickoff from Shea Stadium in Peoria, Ill. is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 18.  Live stats and a live stream (ESPN+) of the match are available at MissouriStateBears.com.
 
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

• No. 13 Missouri State (4-0-0, 3-0-0 MVC) kept its undefeated season alive by converting a penalty kick in the late stages of a 2-1 win over Evansville on Sunday, March 14.  Following a one-hour lightning delay, Nicolo Mulatero connected on his second PK goal of the year in the 85th minute to seal the Bears' fourth straight victory.     
• The Bears attack has earned 43 corner kicks on the season, including double-digit efforts against Bradley (11) and Creighton (16).  MSU ranks third in the nation in corner set-pieces per game with an average of 10.75.  Kyle Hiebert's game-winning goal against Creighton (March 10) came courtesy of a corner kick sent in by Kian Yari.
• The Missouri State defense has allowed just one goal in 2021 after opening up the year with three straight shutouts recorded, a feat they accomplished last season on two separate occasions (Sept. 2-10, 2019; Sept. 26-Oct. 9, 2019).  The Bears rank second in the conference with a .250 goals against average and are tied for 12th in the nation.  With the three clean sheets, MSU's shutout percentage (.750) is tied for 10th-best among Division I teams.
• MSU captain Kyle Hiebert (Sr., D, La Salle, Canada) was selected as Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week this past week (March 16) for his efforts in the Bears' wins against Creighton (March 10) and Evansville (March 14).  After guiding MSU to its third straight shutout against the Bluejays where he chipped in the game-winning goal on the offensive side, Hiebert added another key defensive effort against UE where he helped to limit the Purple Aces to merely two shots in the match.  The reigning MVC Defensive Player of the Year became the fourth MSU player to garner one of the conference's weekly awards after Dawson Lee (March 9), Nicolo Mulatero (March 2) and Connor Langan (March 2) each picked up an honor in the previous two weeks.
• Nicolo Mulatero (Jr., F, Givoletto, Italy) converted his second penalty kick of 2021 in Sunday's win against the Purple Aces.  He is 2-2 on PK chances this year after firing one in against Bradley in the season opener (Feb. 27).  Mulatero has also contributed a league-best three assists in four matches, setting up MSU goals in three straight games to begin his junior campaign.  The three assists along with his two goals puts him as the Valley leader in points (7).
• Michael Creek (Sr., GK, St. Louis, Mo.) has held opponents scoreless in three of his four matches while logging all 360 goalie minutes for the Bears.  The three clean sheets in 2021 gives him 16 for his career to rank fourth on the program's career shutout list.  He has saved nine of the 10 shots sent his way for a .900 save percentage that is third among MVC keepers.  Creek earned MVC Goalkeeper of the Year in 2019 after finishing the season with seven shutouts and a 0.645 goals against average that ranked ninth in the nation.

Know the Foe

• Bradley (2-3-0, 1-3-0 MVC) has dropped three of its last four matches, dating back to a 3-0 loss to the Bears in the conference season opener on Feb. 27.  The Braves picked up their first league win against Evansville with a 1-0 result on March 4.
• The Braves have recorded a league-best six assists to set up their four goals of 2021.  Keeper Bryce Logan has played all 450 minutes in goal for Bradley and leads the MVC in saves per game with 14 through five matches.  
• Jim DeRose is in his 25th season as the head coach for the Braves and owns a 252-194-54 overall record.  His 80 league wins ranks second all-time in the Valley behind Leamy's 107.  He has led the Braves to the NCAA tournament on seven occasions with the most recent appearance coming in the 2013 season.

Series History

• Missouri State leads the all-time series 26-9-4 against Bradley with the Bears winning six straight matches, including a 3-0 victory in the 2021 season opener on Feb. 27.  MSU's rivalry with Bradley (39) is second only to the 41 matches played against Tulsa.
• MSU is 11-5-1 in road matches against the Braves.  The last meeting in Peoria featured a game-winner from Greg Stratton to seal a 2-1 win for the Bears on Oct. 19, 2019.
• Head coach Jon Leamy has been at the helm for 35 of the 39 matches in the series, boasting a 22-9-4 record against the Braves.