Bears Set to Battle Terps in NCAA Second Round

Sunday, May 2

Wilmington, N.C.

12:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

Maryland

Bears Set to Battle Terps in NCAA Second Round

April 30, 2021 | Men's Soccer

Bracket Watch Live Stats

By: MSU Athletics Communications

WILMINGTON, N.C. – For the second straight season, Missouri State will play in the second round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament as the 13th-ranked Bears take on Maryland on Sunday, May 2 at 12 p.m. (Central) in Wilmington, N.C.

With trips in back-to-back seasons, the Bears are making their fifth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament where they are 1-4-0 in their five games at the postseason tournament.

Missouri State Bears (11-1-0) vs. Maryland Terrapins (4-4-2)
Date	Sunday, May 2 \| 12 p.m. (CT)
Location	Wilmington, N.C.
Site	UNCW Soccer Stadium (capacity 250) \| Tickets
Bracket	NCAA Bracket
Follow Along	Live Stats \| Watch (Seahawk Digital Network) MSU Game Notes \| Digital Program
Missouri State	Men's Soccer Home Page \| Record Book \| Twitter \| Instagram \| Facebook

Match Details
The NCAA Tournament Second Round match will kick off from UNCW Soccer Stadium in Wilmington, N.C. at 12 p.m. (Central) on Sunday, May 2. Live stats of the match are available at MissouriStateBears.com. The match will also be streamed on the Seahawk Digital Network | Watch.

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

Missouri State (11-1-0) heads to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season after compiling another prolific resume that features an 11-1-0 overall record and two Missouri Valley Conference trophies with both the regular-season and tournament championships under its belt. It also marks MSU's second straight season playing a second-round tournament match as the Bears will face Maryland (4-4-2) in the now 32-team field after four first-round games were played on Thursday.
The Bears enter the NCAA Tournament following a championship run of the MVC Tournament that culminated with a 1-0 victory over Loyola in the title match on April 17 and earned MSU an automatic bid to the pinnacle tournament. Adrian Barosen's first collegiate goal served as the game-winner and the defense posted its sixth shutout of 2021 to complete a sweep of the league hardware. Barosen was joined on the All-Tournament team by Kyle Hiebert, Josh Dolling and Nicolo Mulatero, who was named Tournament MVP.
As the 2020-21 regular-season and tournament champions, Missouri State won both league championships for the second time after the 1999 team doubled-up on the conference titles as well. MSU claimed the program's ninth overall MVC regular-season crown and its sixth championship in the past 10 years. With the win against the Ramblers, MSU earned its second MVC Tournament championship to join the '99 team's title.
The MSU attack features a relentless charge in their offensive half, leading the nation in corner kicks per game (9.25) with 111 corner set-pieces in 12 matches. The Bears rank 17th nationally in scoring, averaging two goals per outing with 24 goals in 2021. On the defensive side, Missouri State has held opponents scoreless six times this season and is tied for 22nd among Division I teams with a .500 shutout percentage.
Nicolo Mulatero (Jr., F, Givoletto, Italy) paces the Bears offense with his seven goals and eight assists in his junior campaign. He has recorded two multi-goal outings this season with a pair of goals against both Drake (March 22) and Evansville (March 30). The Italian forward finished as the MVC leader in points (22), goals (7), assists (8) and game-winners (3). He is the first MSU player to record seven or more goals AND assists in the same season since Danny May totaled eight apiece in 2004.
Michael Creek (Sr., GK, St. Louis, Mo.) has started all 12 matches in goal, logging 1077:59 goalie minutes and securing six shutouts for the MSU defense this season. His six clean sheets in 2021 - which ranks 5th among Division I keepers - gives him 19 for his career to rank fourth on the program's career shutout list. He became the first MSU goalie to record a shutout in the NCAA Tournament after he held Denver scoreless in the first round of last season's tournament (Nov. 21, 2019).
Aadne Bruseth (Jr., F, Batnfjordsøra, Norway) is second on the team in points with 13 for the season. He scored a goal in three straight matches, finding the back of the net against Loyola (March 26), Evansville (March 30) and Central Arkansas (April 3). Prior to his scoring binge, the Norwegian forward began his incredible four-game stretch with a three-assist performance against Drake on March 22. Bruseth scored the opening goal of Missouri State's NCAA match against UCF in the second round of the 2019 tournament.
Josh Dolling (Sr., F, Liverpool, England) recorded his first goal of 2021 by capping MSU's four-goal outing at Evansville (March 30) with a header in the 86th minute. As a reigning United Soccer Coaches All-American, Dolling has 24 shots on the year with 15 of them coming on target. His 22 career goals is tied for seventh with Heath Melugin (2008-11) on Missouri State's all-time scoring list.
Missouri State garnered nine all-conference selections, won four specialty awards and placed two players on the All-Freshman team as the MVC announced its postseason honors on April 15. Aadne Bruseth, Josh Dolling, Kyle Hiebert, and Kian Yari all made the first-team ballot. Michael Creek, Greg Stratton, Connor Langan and Jack Denton earned a spot on the second team while newcomers Adrian Barosen and Jesus Barea were named to the All-Freshman team. Mulatero was selected as Forward of the Year and Hiebert received his second straight Defensive Player of the Year accolade. The Missouri State coaches were recognized as MVC Coaching Staff of the Year.

Tourney Time

Missouri State is making its second straight - and fifth overall - NCAA Tournament appearance after previous trips in 1997, 1999, 2009 and 2019. The Bears are 1-4-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches after earning the program's first tournament win last season with a 1-0 victory over Denver in the 2019 first round.
The Bears hosted their first-ever NCAA Tournament match in the 2019 contest versus Denver (Nov. 21, 2019). Playing in front of a stadium-record crowd (1,084), MSU advanced to the second round after a Matthew Bentley goal in the 72nd minute served as the game-winner for the postseason bout.
Previous trips to the NCAA field have also included opening-round losses 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). After advancing to the second round for the first time, the Bears fell to UCF, 2-1 in overtime to close out their historic 18-1-1 season in 2019.

Know the Foe

Maryland (4-4-2) earned its 20th straight - and 38th overall - NCAA Tournament berth after going 4-1-2 in its last seven matches and advancing to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals where the Terrapins fell to conference champion Indiana, 2-0. Maryland is 60-29-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches and has won four national championships with titles in 1968, 2005, 2008 and 2018.
The Terps are led by senior forward Paul Bin who has totaled seven points with three goals and an assist. Bin was named All-Big Ten second team where he was joined by teammates Brett St. Martin and Ben Bender. Jamie Lowell has started seven matches in goal and owns a 1.61 goals against average while collecting 22 saves on the year. The Maryland defense posted its only shutout of the season against Wisconsin on March 7.
Sasho Cirovski is 402-155-57 in his 28th season as head coach of the Terps. He is 49-20-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches which includes leading Hartford to back-to-back appearances in 1991 and 1992 prior to joining Maryland. Cirovski has been on the sidelines for three of the program's four championships, guiding the Terps to hoist the College Cup in 2005, 2008 and 2018.

Series History

This will be the first meeting between Missouri State and Maryland. The Bears are 1-5-0 all-time against Big Ten teams while the Terps are 2-1-0 against the MVC.
Against its potential third-round opponents, MSU is 1-0-0 all-time versus Washington and 0-1-0 against Grand Canyon.

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