SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women's soccer looks to start their conference slate with a win when the Evansville Aces come into Allison South Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.. The match can be viewed on ESPN+.
Match Details
The Missouri State women's soccer team (3-4-1) begins conference play at home on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Evansville (1-3-2). The match will be broadcasted 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
• Five Bears have found the back of the net so far.
Gracie English (Jr., F/M, Belleville,
Ill, Saint Louis) is one-of-two multi-goal scorers on the season thus far, with both of her
goals coming in the first half on Sept. 4 at Oral Roberts.
•
Kaeli Benedict (So., M, Bridgton, Mo.) is the other multi-goal scorer for MSU, scoring
against SEMO on 8/25/22 in the 67th minute and netting a game-winning penalty kick
goal last Sunday, 9/11/22, in the 16th minute against Kansas City.
•
Joey Fosnow (Fr., F, Lee's Summit, Mo.) scored the first goal of the year for MoState in
the 54th minute vs. SEMO on 8/25/22.
•
Grace O'Keefe (So., F, Overland Park, Kan.) got one past the goalkeeper on a penalty
kick in the 29th minute against Tulsa on 8/28/22.
•
Riley Smith (Fr., F, Platte City, Mo.) also found the back of the net in the 85th minute vs
the Golden Hurricane on 8/28/22.
• Fosnow leads the Bears in shots on the season with 19. She also has one goal, one
assist and 12 shots on goal. Fosnow is tied for 3rd most in shots in the Missouri Valley
Conference.
• Benedict's and English's two goals are tied for 2nd most in the MVC.
• English is also one of four MVC players to score twice (at ORU, 9/4/22) in a single
game. She is alongside Drake's Emma Nagel (at Kansas City, 8/18/22), Northern Iowa's
Allison Whitaker (vs. St. Ambrose, 8/28/22) and Illinois State's Allison Baker (vs. Linden[1]wood, 9/8/22).
• O'Keefe is one of 9 MVC players (alongside English) to register three points in a single
match (vs. Tulsa on 08/28/22).
• Through eight games,
Kyli Jackson (Sr., D/M, Overland Park, Kan.) has logged the
most minutes of any Bear at 658.
• On top of her goal against Tulsa, Smith has 13 shots on the season, with five being on
goal.
• Three freshmen have seen over 450 minutes of action in eight games for the Bears.
Fosnow has played 480 minutes,
Hailey Chambliss (Fr., M, Eureka, Mo.) has played
470 minutes and
Gabbi Schlapper (Fr., M, St. Charles, Mo.) has played 454 minutes.
• Since the beginning of the 2021 season,
Abby Couch (Jr., M, Kearney, Mo.) and Carly
Raunig (Jr., D, Olathe, Kan.) have started every match (25 total).
• MoState has more shots on goal than its' opponents (60-49).
• MoState is averaging 4.50 corner kicks per game, tied 164th most in the nation and 3
rd
in the MVC.
*MVC statistics as of 9/12/22
Head Coach Kirk Nelson
• 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
• Evansville leads the series all-time, 15-10-8.
• The two teams last met on 10/28/21 in Evansville. The matched ended in a draw,
0-0.
A Look Ahead
• After the game vs. Evansville, the Bears will hit the road for a matchup on Thursday,
Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. at Drake.
#BearsUnite
