NORMAL, Ill. - A four-goal Redbirds' offensive outburst was too much for the Bears to overcome, as Missouri State women's soccer came up short Sunday afternoon here against Illinois State, 4-2.

"This was a tough one," head coach Kirk Nelson said. "We let it slip by us early in the match and couldn't catch back up. We created a ton of chances from corner kicks to shots. Very proud of the team for never giving up and fighting until the end. Now, we refocus for the tournament and are excited to be in the semifinals to start. We will be ready."
 
The Bears (10-6-2, 7-2-1 MVC) finish as runners-up in the Missouri Valley Conference and enter next week's MVC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. With this seeding, MSU receives a double bye to the semifinals, where they'll await the winner of a quarterfinal match (hosted by No. 3 seed UIC). The semifinals and finals will take place at Valparaiso, which clinched the No. 1 seed on Sunday.
 
This is the fifth time in program history MoState has finished second in the MVC regular season race. The most recent occurrence came in 2017, when the Bears ran the table in The Valley Tournament and earned an NCAA Tournament bid, accounting for one of the program's two all-time appearances (2000, 2017).
 
On Sunday, the Redbirds wasted no time out of the gates, scoring the games' first two goals within the first 10 minutes of the match. MSU matched the Redbirds in shots by the time the two teams headed into the locker room, but ISU still held a two goal advantage.
 
In the second half, the Redbirds added to their lead with a goal in the 54th minute by Emily Ehlert to put ISU up 3-0. Five minutes later, the Bears showed life as Hailey Chambliss scored her sixth goal of the season to cut the deficit to two.
 
However, ISU's Katherine Felton stopped the Bears momentum from growing, scoring in the 68th minute to extend the Redbird lead, 4-1.
 
MoState answered in the 78th minute to make it 4-2 thanks to a Kaeli Benedict goal of an assist by Gracie English, but time ran out on the Bears as ISU secured the victory.
 
Missouri State begins MVC semifinal action on Thursday, Nov. 3 with its opponent to be determined by the results of the tournament's first two rounds.