SPRINGFIELD - The Missouri State women's soccer team returns home to face Southeast Missouri State on Thursday at 2 p.m. before squaring off against Tulsa on Sunday at 3 p.m.. Both matches will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
 

Missouri State (0-1-1, 0-0-0) vs. SEMO (1-1-0, 0-0-0) | Missouri State vs. Tulsa (1-0-1, 0-0-0)
Dates	Thursday, Aug. 25, 2 p.m. (SEMO) | Sunday, Aug. 28, 3 p.m. (TUL)
Location	Springfield, Mo. (SEMO) | Springfield, Mo. (TUL)
Site	Allison South Stadium (SEMO) | Allison South Stadium (TUL)
Follow Along	Live Stats, Watch (SEMO) | Live Stats, Watch (TUL)
Missouri State	Women's Soccer Home Page | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok

 
Match Details
The Bears look to get in the win column with a pair of home matches this weekend. First, MSU battles in-state foe SEMO on Thursday at 2 p.m. before playing Tulsa on Sunday at 3 p.m.. Both matches can be viewed on ESPN+.
 
For all 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

• Joey Fosnow (Fr., F, Lee's Summit, Mo) registered four shots, including three on goal, against Central Arkansas in the season opener. Through the first two games, Fosnow leads all Bears in shots (5) and shots on goal (3). In two games, Fosnow played 118 minutes, good for eighth most on Missouri State.
• Twenty-six out of 30 Bears saw action on the pitch last weekend, including three freshmen who played for over 100 minutes in the two games.
• Despite having fewer shots than their opponents (21 to 29), MSU puts more of them on goal, with a shot on goal percentage of 0.524 compared to their opponent's rate of 0.310.
• Maddie Augustine (Sr., D, Lincoln, Neb.) fired two shots in the matchup with Oklahoma State while putting one on goal. Despite only seeing 40 minutes of action in two games, Augustine is tied for third in shots and tied for second in shots on goal on MSU.
• Missouri State comes off a 5-7-5 mark in 2021, including going 2-4-2 in conference play.
• Senior Isabel Burke (D, St. Louis, Mo.) and sophomore Grace O'Keefe (F, Overland Park, Kan.) were selected to the preseason All-MVC team, announced on Aug. 16, 2022.
• On top of the eight freshmen new to this year's squad, the Bears also added two players via transfer: Gracie English (Jr., F/M, Belleville, Ill, Saint Louis) and Ana Paula Fraiz (So., M, Caracas, Venezuela, Fresno-Pacific).
• In 2021, Isabel Burke saw the most action of the Bears, starting all 17 matches and racking up 1542 minutes played.
• Grace O'Keefe racked up the most points last season at 13, accounting for seven assists and three goals in 2021.
• In the recent MVC preseason coaches' poll, Missouri State was picked eighth in the eleven-team league garnering 51 points. Valparaiso was voted the preseason favorite. Previously, Loyola was voted first four years in a row before their departure for the Atlantic 10. Indiana State was voted second with 94 points, right ahead of third place Murray State with 85.
• The Bears return 16 letterwinners from last year's squad. Seven players are on their last year of eligibility, including Isabel Burke (Sr., D, St. Louis, Mo.), Hannah Peterson (Sr., GK, Kansas City, Mo.), Emma Hensley (Sr., D, Edwardsville, Ill), Kyli Jackson (Sr., D/M, Overland Park, Kan.), Bella Bryson (Sr., M/F, Overland Park, Kan.), Jade Loftness (Sr., M/D, Overland Park, Kan.), and Maddie Augustine (Sr., D, Lincoln, Neb.).

The Leader of the Bears

• Head coach Kirk Nelson took the reins of the Bears on Jan. 1, 2022, after eight seasons as associate head coach. Nelson replaced former Bears' head coach and founder of the MSU women's program Rob Brewer, who retired last season after 26 years. Prior to joining the Missouri State staff, Nelson spent four seasons at the University of Nevada, including one as associate head coach. During his last two seasons in Nevada, Nelson led the Wolfpack to back-to-back Mountain West Conference Tournaments. Nelson also had success as a high school head coach near Phoenix, AZ, spending time at both Mountain Pointe High School and Chandler High School. Nelson racked up 175 wins and competed for a pair of 5A state championships during this time. Nelson is certified as a USSF National "A" License coach, one of the highest coaching certifications given out by the federation and holds both an NSCAA Premier Diploma and a Goalkeeping Diploma.

 
Bears From Abroad

• The Missouri State women's soccer features three international players on their roster this season. Eydis Helgadottir is from Reykjavik, Iceland (Commercial College of Reykjavik) while Iraia Arrue and Ana Paula Fraiz are from Caracas, Venezuela (both from Colegio Jefferson). Helgadottir is the second player in Bears in program history from Iceland while Arrue and Fraiz are the first Missouri State players to hail from 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 five alums are on the roster. Bella Bryson, Carly Raunig, Kyli Jackson, Grace O'Keefe and Abby Hansen all played for the Saints. All-time, there have been nine Aquinas graduates to take the pitch for the Bears.

 
Series History

• Missouri State is 8-3-0 all-time against SEMO.
• The two teams last met in 2021. SEMO took the match in Cape Girardeau, Mo., 1-0.
• Tulsa is 13-7-0 all-time against MSU.
• The two teams met last year in Tulsa on Aug. 29 with the match resulting in a 2-2 (2OT) tie.

 
Take A Look Ahead

• After the weekend's contests, the Bears will stay at home to play Saint Louis on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m..