SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women's soccer looks to capture back-to-back road wins on Thursday at 3 p.m. when they will take the pitch against Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Ark.. The game can be viewed on ESPN+.
 

Missouri State (2-3-1, 0-0-0) at Arkansas State (1-2-2, 0-0-0)
Dates	Thursday, Sept. 8, 3:00 p.m.
Location	Jonesboro, Ark.
Site	A-State Soccer Complex
Follow Along	Live Stats, Watch
Missouri State	Women's Soccer Home Page | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok

 
Match Details
The Missouri State women's soccer team (2-3-1) travels to Jonesboro, Ark. to play Arkansas State (1-2-2) on Thursday at 3 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 the only multi-goal scorer of the season thus far, with both of her goals coming in the first half on Sept. 4 at Oral Roberts. Joey Fosnow (Fr., F, Lee's Summit, Mo) scored the first of the year for MoState in the 54th minute vs. SEMO. Kaeli Benedict (So., M, Bridgton, Mo.) also scored against the Redhawks in the 67th minute. Grace O'Keefe (So., F, Overland Park, Kan.) got one past the goalkeeper on a penalty kick in the 29th minute against Tulsa, and Riley Smith (Fr., F, Platte City, Mo.) also found the back of the net in the 85th minute vs the Golden Hurricane.
•  Fosnow leads the Bears in shots on the season, with 14. She also has one goal, one assist and nine shots on goal. Fosnow's 14 shots are tied for 3rd most in the Missouri Valley Conference (as of 9/6/22).
•  English's two goals are tied for 2nd most in the MVC (as of 9/6/22).
•  English is also one of three MVC players to score twice (at ORU) in a single game. She is alongside Drake's Emma Nagel (at Kansas City) and Northern Iowa's Allison Whitaker (vs. St. Ambrose).
•  O'Keefe is one of six MVC players (alongside English) to register three points in a single match (vs. Tulsa on 08/28/22).
•  Through six games, Kyli Jackson (Sr., D/M, Overland Park, Kan.) has logged the most minutes of any Bear at 494.
•  On top of her goal against Tulsa, Riley Smith has four shots on the season, with two being on goal.
•  Four freshmen have seen over 320 minutes of action in six games for the Bears. Hailey Chambliss (Fr., M, Eureka, Mo.) has played 363 minutes, Fosnow has played 350 minutes, Smith has played 327 minutes and Gabbi Schlapper (Fr., M, St. Charles, Mo.) has played 323 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 (23 total).
•  MoState has more shots on goal than its' opponents (42-37).
•  MoState is averaging 4.83 corner kicks per game, tied 139th most in the nation and 3rd in the MVC.
 
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
 •  Missouri State leads the series, 4-2-0.
 •  The two teams last met on 8/26/21 in Springfield. The Bears defeated the Red Wolves, 1-0. 

A Look Ahead
•  After the game vs. Arkansas State, the Bears will return home for a Sunday 2 p.m. matchup against Kansas City.