SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women's soccer travels to Des Moines, Iowa, kicking off a three-game road trip at Drake on Thursday at 7 p.m. The match can be viewed on ESPN+.
Match Details
The Missouri State women's soccer team (4-4-1) heads to Des Moines, Iowa to continue conference play on the road against Drake (1-5-3) on Thursday at 7 p.m. 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-three multi-goal scorers on the season thus far, with both of her goals coming in the first half on Sept. 4 at Oral Roberts.
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Kaeli Benedict (So., M, Bridgton, Mo.) is one of the multi-goal scorers for MSU, scoring against SEMO on 8/25/22 in the 67th minute and netting a game-winning penalty kick goal on 9/11/22, in the 16th minute against Kansas City.
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Grace O'Keefe (So., F, Overland Park, Kan.) is the final multi-goal scorer for MSU. O'Keefe scored on a penalty kick in the 29th minute against Tulsa (8/28/22) and netted the game-winning goal last Sunday (9/18/22) in the 78th minute of the conference opener vs. Evansville.
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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.
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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 and O'Keefe lead the Bears in shots on the season with 21 apiece. Fosnow has one goal, one assist and 12 shots on goal. Fosnow and O'Keefe are tied for 3rd most in shots in the Missouri Valley Conference (2.33 Avg/G).
• Benedict's/English's/O'Keefe's two goals are tied for 3rd 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. Lindenwood, 9/8/22).
• Through nine games,
Kyli Jackson (Sr., D/M, Overland Park, Kan.) has logged the most minutes of any Bear at 744.
• On top of her goal against Tulsa, Smith has 13 shots on the season, with five being on goal.
• Three freshmen have seen over 500 minutes of action in eight games for the Bears. Fosnow has played 538 minutes,
Gabbi Schlapper (Fr., M, St. Charles, Mo.) has played 525 minutes and
Hailey Chambliss (Fr., M, Eureka, Mo.) has played 515 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 (26 total).
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Camielle Day (Jr., GK, Dardenne Prairie, Mo.) has a goals against average of 1.26, ranked 4th in the MVC. Day has also posted three shoutouts, tied for 2nd most in the MVC.
• MoState is averaging 4.89 corner kicks per game, tied 122nd most in the nation and 4th in the MVC.
*MVC rankings and statistics as of 9/18/22
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
• Drake leads the series all-time, 12-6-4.
• The two teams last met on 10/23/21 in Springfield. The Bears won the match, 3-2 (2OT) thanks to an 104th minute goal by then freshman midfielder
Kaeli Benedict.
A Look Ahead
• After the game at Drake, the Bears head to Cedar Falls, Iowa for a matchup on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. at Northern Iowa.
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