CARY, N.C. – A pair of second-half goals halted Missouri State's NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament run as the Bears fell 2-0 to seventh-seeded Washington in the Sweet 16 here Thursday afternoon at WakeMed Soccer Park. 
 
The Bears (12-2-0) close out another remarkable campaign that featured their second straight season with at least 12 wins and claiming both the regular season and tournament Missouri Valley Conference championships while earning their fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the third round for the first time in program history.
 
"We came out and played the way we wanted to play," said sport director Michael Seabolt.  "Full credit to the Huskies, they battled hard and made things difficult for us.  We felt like we left a little bit on the table and were able to do what we wanted to do, just not well enough for long enough."
 
Washington (12-3-0) weathered the storm of a persistent Bears attack in the first half before countering with an amped-up offensive effort in the second that led to goals from Lucas Meek (65') and Nick Scardina (79'). 
 
The Bears went to work from their attacking half for most of the first period to keep the Huskies defense on their toes while putting up five shots.  Kian Yari fired off the game's opening shots with his first one from 25-yards out coming on target while his second attempt at the edge of the box went wide of goal.
 
Nicolo Mulatero followed with back-to-back shots as well with his second ball being pushed out by Huskies keeper Sam Fowler while seconds later Aadne Bruseth put Fowler in action again with a shot on goal.
 
The Huskies responded in the final ten minutes before halftime with a couple of corner kicks that resulted in their first shot on the second set-piece entry.  Then, a free kick situation produced a UW header that Bears keeper Michael Creek snatched for one of his two saves to cap a scoreless half.
 
After being held without a corner kick in the first half, the Bears earned an early one in the second with Kyle Hiebert sending a header towards goal on the ensuing cross.
 
In the 65th minute, a throw-in positioned in the Bears defensive half allowed Kalani Kossa-Rienzi to play a ball into the Bears box as his cross found Meek who completed the scoring drive with a header that gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead. 
 
Missouri State looked to deliver an answer with consecutive corner kicks in the 75th minute as Hiebert registered another shot on the second corner opportunity.
 
Scardina provided the insurance goal for Washington in the 79th after an initial Huskies shot was denied by Creek, but the UW midfielder was there to collect the rebound for the final blow of the Sweet 16 match.
 
MSU outshot the Huskies by a 12-11 margin, but Fowler saved all six shots that came on goal to hold the Bears scoreless for just the second time since 2018.
 
"It's disappointing today since we felt like we were capable of going further in the tournament," said senior forward Josh Dolling.  "This is the tournament we are focused on competing and doing well in, so we will be working hard to not just get ourselves back here, but continuing to win games in the tournament.  When we get a chance to reflect on things though, this will be a special season to look back on."
 
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. The Bears earned their second MVC Tournament championship to join the '99 team's title.