TULSA - An uncharacteristic performance from the No. 8-ranked Missouri State men's soccer team Friday led to the Bears' first loss of the season, as MSU struggled to find an offensive spark in a 3-0 setback at unbeaten Tulsa.
Missouri State (2-1) came out fast and aggressive off the opening kick at Hurricane Stadium, pressing the Tulsa defense right away. At the two-minute mark, sophomore forward Jesús Barea registered the first shot on goal of the night, which was saved by Golden Hurricane goalkeeper Alex Lopez. The TU defense was also up to the task moments later when MSU junior Javier Martín-Gil took the night's second shot, which was just off the mark.
From there, it was all Tulsa as the home team netted two goals before the intermission and never looked back. After a swift strike by Tulsa in the 19th minute broke up the scoreless deadlock, Luke Jeffus lobbed a quick ball over the head of MSU keeper Michael Creek to send the Bears into the locker room down, 2-0.
"The best response after a bad day is to stay positive and find out what we can do that's proactive and look forward toward being better," said head coach designate Michael Seabolt after the game. "[And] that's what we talked about as a team. There's no point in looking back at what we didn't do but let's look at what we can do."
After the half, MSU began pressing on the offensive front, with Barea and senior forward Aadne Bruseth each putting a shot up in the first five minutes of the final period. Barea added one more shot at the 74-minute mark for the Bears, but it bounced over the crossbar.
In the final minutes of the Bears' first away match of the season, the team kept pushing the Tulsa defense, giving them all they could handle as Bruseth added two more shots for MSU. The Bears' efforts fell short, though, as neither shot found the net and the Bears could not cut into their early deficit.
Tulsa added a third goal in the final minutes of play to extend its lead and hand Missouri State just its second regular season defeat over the last three seasons.
Barea and Bruseth led the offensive efforts for the Bears, each tallying three shots apiece. Martín-Gil, junior midfielder Kian Yari, and senior forward Josh Dolling all recorded shots as well for MSU.
Tulsa ultimately held the advantage in shots, 19-10, and shots on goal, 8-4.
The Bears return to Allison South Stadium next Wednesday (Sept. 8) when they host Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. Admission is free to all Missouri State home soccer games this season.
