CARY, N.C. – Making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament Third Round, Missouri State men's soccer will face seventh-seeded Washington in a Sweet 16 matchup on Thursday, May 6 at 11 a.m. (Central) at WakeMed Soccer Park (Field #4) in Cary, N.C.
 

Missouri State Bears (12-1-0) vs. (7) Washington Huskies (11-3-0)
Date	Thursday, May 6 | 11 a.m. (CT)
Location	Cary, N.C.
Site	WakeMed Soccer Park | Field #4
Bracket	NCAA Bracket
Follow Along	Live Stats | Watch (GoHeels TV) MSU Game Notes | Digital Program
Missouri State	Men's Soccer Home Page | Record Book | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Match Details
The Sweet 16 match will kick off from WakeMed Soccer Park Field #4 in Cary, N.C. at 11 a.m. (Central) on Thursday, May 6.  Live stats of the match are available at MissouriStateBears.com.  The match will also be streamed on GoHeels TV | 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 (12-1-0) advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after Jon Koka scored two goals in the final five minutes of MSU's exhilarating 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Maryland on May 2.  In their first trip to the Sweet 16, the Bears will battle seventh-seeded Washington (11-3-0) with a chance to continue their historic tournament run and advance to the Elite Eight.  MSU is 2-4-0 in NCAA Tournament matches with wins in back-to-back postseasons. 
• Jon Koka (So., Bilbao, Spain) was tabbed College Soccer News Men's National Player of the Week (May 3) following his heroic performance in Sunday's victory.  After the Terrapins scored the game's opening goal in the 84th minute, Koka wasted no time in delivering a historic response, first with the equalizer in the 86th and then the buzzer-beater with 35 seconds remaining in the game to cap a wild ending to the second-round match.  It was Koka's first career brace and increased his 2021 goal total to three after scoring in the season opener versus Bradley (Feb. 27).
• 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 Loyola in the title match, MSU earned its second MVC Tournament championship to join the '99 team's title. 
• MSU boasts a dynamic attack that thrives on creating scoring chances as the nation's leader in corner kicks per game (8.85) with 115 corner set-pieces in 13 matches.  The Bears rank 17th nationally in scoring, averaging two goals per outing with 26 goals in 2021.  On the defensive side, Missouri State has held opponents scoreless six times this season and ranks 22nd among Division I teams with a .687 goals against average.
• 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 13 matches in goal, logging 1167:59 goalie minutes and securing six shutouts for the MSU defense this season.  His six clean sheets in 2021 - which is tied for 6th among Division I keepers - gives him 19 for his career to rank fifth 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 2-4-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches after earning the program's second tournament win on Sunday with the 2-1 result against Maryland.  MSU's first NCAA Tournament win came back in the 2019 first round with a 1-0 victory over Denver.
• 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.

Return of the MAC Hermann

• Kyle Hiebert (Sr., La Salle, Manitoba, Canada) was selected as one of 15 semifinalists for the 2020-21 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, it was announced on May 4.  He has added another excellent season to his illustrious four-year career with Missouri State, starting all 13 matches of the 2021 season to extend his overall streak to 67 consecutive starts in the Bears backline.  Hiebert was named Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and scored his first points of the season on a goal versus Creighton (March 10) and, later, chipped in an assist at Loyola (March 26).
• Hiebert became the second straight MSU player to be named as a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy after Matthew Bentley also landed on the 15-player list in 2019.  Along with Josh Dolling, Bentley and Hiebert were selected as United Soccer Coaches All-Americans in 2019.

Know the Foe

• Washington (11-3-0) earned its fifth straight - and 27th overall - NCAA Tournament berth after finishing second in the Pac-12 this year behind the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Stanford.  The Huskies are 15-24-3 in NCAA Tournament play and are making their second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 following a 2-0 win over Grand Canyon in the second round.  Ryan Sailor and Christian Soto scored the goals for UW while the defense held GCU to just one shot on goal in the match for its seventh shutout of the spring.
• The Huskies are averaging 2.36 goals per game with 33 goals in their 14 matches while their defense is holding opponents to less than a goal per outing (0.71) with 10 goals allowed on the season.  Dylan Teves leads the Washington attack with 19 points on seven goals and five assists in his junior campaign.  He joined MSU's Kyle Hiebert as one of the 15 semifinalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy.  Teves was one of three Huskies named to the All-Pac-12 First Team with Soto and Charlie Ostrem joining him on the list.  Ostrem was chosen as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.
• Jamie Clark is 127-49-20 in his tenth season as head coach of the Huskies while owning an overall career record of 166-63-23 with prior stints at Harvard (2008-09) and Creighton (2010).  He has guided Washington to eight NCAA Tournaments appearances and is 7-5-3 in tournament matches.  Clark is 1-0-0 when coaching against Missouri State after defeating the Bears, 2-0 on Nov. 3, 2010 during his lone year with the Bluejays.

Series History

• Missouri State is 1-0-0 all-time against Washington after winning the only match between the two teams back on Sept. 3, 2000.  The Bears beat the 12th-ranked Huskies, 3-0 in the second match of the 2000 season as part of the Creighton Diadora Classic.  MSU is 2-1-0 all-time versus Pac-12 teams while the Huskies are 4-2-1 against the MVC.
• Against its potential quarterfinal opponents, MSU is 0-1-0 versus UCF, who it faced in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, while a match against Pittsburgh would be the first meeting between the two clubs.