SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State women's soccer team returns to Springfield for its home opener against Arkansas State on Thursday at Allison South Stadium at 5 p.m. After Thursday's match the Bears then head to Tulsa for a Sunday matinee with the Golden Hurricane at 2 p.m.
 

Missouri State Bears (0-2-0) vs. Arkansas State (1-0-1) | Missouri State (0-2-0) at Tulsa (0-2-0)
Dates	Thursday, August 26 | 5 p.m. (Arkansas State) | Sunday, August 29 | 2 p.m. (Tulsa)
Location	Springfield, Mo. (Arkansas State) | Tulsa, Okla. (Tulsa)
Site	Allison South Stadium (Aug. 26) |  Hurricane Stadium (Aug. 29)
Follow Along	Live Stats (ASU) | Live Stats (Tulsa) | Watch (ASU) | Watch (Tulsa) MSU Game Notes
Missouri State	Women's Soccer Home Page | Record Book | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok

Match Details
The Bears will look to start off in the win column at home against Arkansas State on Thursday at 5 p.m. Attendance is free to all home games this season at Allison South Stadium and the match will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Corey Riggs and Mike McClure on the call. On Sunday, the Bears are back on the road when they travel to Tulsa for a 2 p.m. contest with the Golden Hurricane. The match at Tulsa will also be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
For all of the latest information and in game updates on the Missouri State women's soccer team, visit MissouriStateBears.com or follow @MSUBearsWSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
 
Quick Kicks

• Missouri State was defeated by Kansas City 2-1 in its last match on Sunday. The Bears' goal came in the 44th minute when Kate Schroeder's header found the back of the net off a set piece with Jade Loftness and Grace O'Keefe assisting. The goal gave the Bears the 1-0 lead going into the break for the second-consecutive match. 
• In the season opener on Thursday Murray State defeated the Bears 6-1, in a match that Missouri State was leading at halftime. O'Keefe wasted no time making her presence known as she scored her first collegiate goal in the 13^th minute off an assist from senior Jacqueline Baetz. Senior Sierra Fury (M, Wichita, Kan.) led the Bears in playing time with 70 minutes on the pitch.
• Through two matches, O'Keefe leads Missouri State in scoring with three points on a goal and an assist in 131 minutes of action.
• Head Coach Rob Brewer announced his retirement on Aug.18, which will go into effect at the completion of the season. Brewer started the Missouri State program in 1996 and has helped lead the Bears to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2000 and 2017 in addition to finishing in the top three of the Missouri Valley Conference standings 11 times. Brewer has helped mentor 109 all-conference selections and 82 academic all-conference honorees during his tenure and compiled a 220-202-56 record with the Bears.
• Offensively the Bears are averaging 10.5 shots a game and six shots on goal per contest.
• Baetz (M, St. Louis, Mo.) was selected to the preseason All-MVC  first-team while Anna Durnin (Sr., M/F, Wentzville, Mo.), Isabel Burke (Sr., D, St. Louis, Mo.) and Kennady Orlick (Sr., M/F, Raymore, Mo.) all collected honorable mention preseason honors, the league announced Tuesday. The Bears four selections tied Loyola for the most representatives on the All-MVC teams. 
• Durnin recorded three points in her 10 starts last year. She played a key role in the Bears win at Drake last season when she assisted Sierra Fury's game winning goal in the 54^th minute.
• Burke made an immediate impact during her first season with the Bears as the Saint Louis transfer tied for the team lead in goals (2) and led MSU in shots on goal (10). The senior defender made 13 starts and played the second most minutes on the team in 2020-21.
• Orlick had her 2020-21 season shortened due to injury, recording one goal and four shots on goal in just 152 minutes of action. The Raymore, Mo., product scored four-game winning goals in 2018 on her way to earning MVC All-Freshman honors.
• The Bears roster features nine newcomers highlighted by the 2021 Kansas Gatorade player of the year O'Keefe who scored 13 goals and passed for 12 assists in her final high school season while leading St. Thomas Aquinas to the Kansas State Championship.

The Leader of the Bears

• Head coach Rob Brewer has presided over the Missouri State women's soccer program for the entirety of its 26-season history. Overall, Missouri State has produced a 220-202-56 record during Brewer's tenure. The 1999 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year has produced 109 all-conference selections and 86 academic all-conference honorees. In 22 seasons as a program, his team has reached the MVC Tournament 20 times and has only six losing campaigns. The Bears have reached the NCAA tournament in 2000 and 2017 under Brewer's guidance.

Bears from Abroad

• The Missouri State women's soccer features three international players in the freshman class this season. Eyglo Thorsteinsdottir and Eydis Helgadottir are both from Reykjavik, Iceland, while Iraia Arrue is from Caracas, Venezuela. Thorsteinsdottir and Helgadottir are the second and third Bears in program history from Iceland while Arrue is the first Venezuela.

Built Some Bears

• The Missouri State coaching staff has developed quite a pipeline from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, Kansas in recent years as four alums are on the roster. Bella Bryson, Carly Raunig, Jackson, and O'Keefe all prepped for the Saints. All-time there have been eight Aquinas graduates to take the pitch for the Bears.

Know the Foes

• The Red Wolves are currently 1-0-1 on the season. Arkansas State battled Washington State to a 1-1 tie in their season opener (Aug. 19) before defeating Eastern Washington, 1-0 on Saturday.
• A-State is coming off an impressive 2020-21 campaign which saw the Red Wolves go 11-5-1 overall and 7-0-1 in Sun Belt play.
• Abigail Miller (Fr. M, St. Louis, Mo.) and Sarah Sodoma (Sr. F, Manchester, Mo.) lead the offensive attack for the Red Wolves, as each have netted a goal this season.
• Megan McClure (Sr. GK, Webster Groves, Mo.) patrols the box for Arkansas State. The Webster Groves, Mo., product has been impressive this season garnering 10 saves while allowing just one goal.
• Brian Dooley is 48-46-15 in his seventh season as head coach of the Red Wolves. Inheriting a program that had just two winning seasons in its first 15 years of play, Dooley has guided the program to eight or more wins in each of the past four seasons, including a program-best 11-5-2 mark last season.
• Tulsa is currently 0-2-0 this season. The Golden Hurricane were shutout, 3-0 in their first two matches against Pittsburgh and UTSA.
• Offensively the Golden Hurricane are averaging 11 shots and 3 shots on goal per contest.
• Jim Rhein was named interim head coach on June 18, when it was announced that Kyle Cussen was stepping down after 13 years at the helm. Rhein served as an assistant under Cussen for the duration of his tenure. During that time Tulsa compiled a 108-111-27 park. Prior to Tulsa, Rhein served as the head coach at Bixby High School (Okla.) registering a 131-53-2 mark over 13 seasons.

Series History

• Missouri State is 3-2-0 all-time against Arkansas State. Arkansas State took the last contest on Aug. 18, 2017, 2-1 at Allison South Stadium.
• Arkansas State is the only Sun Belt Conference member the Bears has faced in their history.
• Missouri State trails Tulsa in the all-time series 7-16-2. Missouri State dominated the last matchup on Sept. 13, 2019, as the Bears defeated the Golden Hurricane, 5-1. Orlick had two goals in the contest while Schroeder tallied two assists.
• The Bears are 11-19-4 all-time against teams from the American Conference.

Take A Look Ahead

• After Sunday's contest at Tulsa, the Bears return home to face Oral Roberts on Thursday, Sept. 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and admission is free for all fans.