Wednesday, October 11
Springfield
6:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
vs
Omaha
Men’s Soccer Ends Home Stand Against Omaha
October 10, 2023 | Men's Soccer
| No. 16 Missouri State (6-1-3, 3-0-1 MVC) vs. Omaha (4-4-3, 1-1-1 Summit League) | |
| Date | Wednesday, Oct. 11 | 6:00 p.m. CT |
| Location | Springfield, Missouri |
| Site | Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium |
| Tickets | Free Admission |
| Follow Along | Live Stats |
| Missouri State | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook |
SPRINGFIELD - The No. 16-ranked Missouri State men's soccer team (6-1-3, 3-0-1 MVC) closes out its longest home stand of three games with its final nonconference game of the regular season against the Omaha Mavericks (4-4-3, 1-1-1 Summit League) on Wednesday, October 11 at 6:00 p.m. CT at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium.
Notes
- Missouri State men's soccer holds the best DI overall record of 65-8-8 (.852), best conference record of 36-1-3 (.938) and second-best home record of 37-4-4 (.867) since the beginning of the 2019 season. Only Georgetown (42-3-6, 0.882), has a better record in that span. The Bears are tied for the 17th-best win percentage in 2023 (.750).
- The Bears are ranked No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll for the third straight week. This marks the sixth time in program history that the Bears have been in the top 10. The team has been in the top 25 for six straight weeks. Its highest ranking was No. 3 in 2000. *Updated rankings are released by United Soccer Coaches every Tuesday.
- Following its first loss of the year against Memphis 1-0 last Wednesday, Missouri State battled to a 0-0 draw against No. 25 UIC on Sunday, outshooting the Flames 19-4.
- The 1-0 loss against Memphis was the first time Missouri State had been shut out in 13 games. The Bears have now been shut out for back-to-back games for the first time since the final two games of the 2018 regular season in a scoreless draw against Drake and a 1-0 loss against Central Arkansas.
- The Bears' precision offense is tied for 16th in the nation in shot accuracy with 64 of 128 shots being on goal (.500). Missouri State has outshot opponents 128-35 through 10 games and is tied for 16th in DI in goal differential (+12), which leads the MVC. The Bears are also third in the conference in assists per game (1.70).
- Senior midfielder Jack Denton and senior forward Jesus Barea are both tied for 41st in the nation in game-winning goals (2). Each has scored in consecutive games throughout the year. Denton scored in the first two games against then-No. 14 Maryland and Kansas City. Barea has scored in back-to-back games against VCU and Northern Illinois.
- Jesus Barea is sixth in the country in shot accuracy with 14 of his 21 shots being on goal (.667). He is also sixth in the conference in shots per game (2.10) and fifth in the MVC in shots on goal per game (1.40).
- Senior goalkeeper Harry Townsend has allowed three goals (with one being on a penalty kick) in 900 minutes. Townsend is tied for second in the nation in total shutouts (7), tied for 19th in save percentage (.812), second in goalkeeper goals against average (0.300) and is a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week this season.
- Missouri State's defense has also been strong, only allowing two live goals in its first 10 games, both of which were in nonconference play. The Bears are tied for the fewest goals allowed in the nation with Bryant (3). Missouri State is third in the country in shutout percentage (0.700) and is second in team goals against average (0.300). Bryant leads both categories.
- Since 2019, Missouri State is 47-0-0 when scoring two or more goals. The last time the Bears scored two goals and lost was Nov. 9, 2018, in the MVC semifinals vs. No. 1 seed Central Arkansas when Missouri State lost in penalty kicks.
- Missouri State has played a clean brand of soccer and is fifth in the nation in fewest fouls per game (8.70), only behind Pittsburgh (8.18), Jacksonville (8.42), Indiana (8.64) and West Virginia (8.67).
Series History
- The Missouri State Bears and Omaha Mavericks will play each other for the fifth time with the Bears leading the series 3-0-1. The only tie was in a 2-2 double overtime draw on October 28, 2015.
- The last time the teams played in 2019 went into double overtime with No. 17 Missouri State coming out on top thanks to Ben Stroud's game-winning goal in the 106th minute to win 1-0 and preserve the Bears' perfect record. It was Stroud's first of four goals that season. Current Bear Jack Denton earned an assist on the goal, his third of what would be a team-leading ninth in his sophomore season.
- Wednesday's game will be the third in the series played in Springfield. Both of the first two, which were the first and most recent games in the series, ended in 1-0 Missouri State wins in overtime.
- Three of the four all-time meetings have gone to overtime with only non-overtime finish being a 2-0 Missouri State win on August 31, 2018. The Bears have outscored the Mavericks 6-2 in the series.
Scouting the Mavericks
- The Omaha Mavericks enter Wednesday night's game 4-4-3 on the season with a 1-1-1 record in the Summit League. They have struggled on the road with a 0-3-3 record away from Caniglia Field.
- The Mavericks have outscored opponents 23-19 and are tied for 24th in Division I in goals. Omaha is tied for 19th in the nation in goals per game (2.09) and 15th in assists per game (2.36). Both Omaha and Missouri State have been on target for half their shots and are tied for 16th in the country in shot accuracy. Omaha has the advantage in volume of shots and is tied for 15th in the nation in shots on goal per game (6.55), while Missouri State is tied for 22nd (6.40). The Mavericks are also second in the nation in red cards with five, only trailing St.John's (NY) with six. Omaha is the only Summit League team to get a red card.
- Omaha has had eight different goal scorers this season led by junior forward Theo Klein who is tied for 48th in the nation with six. He had five goals all of last season. He enters the game against Missouri State having scored four goals in his last three games, including two against Western Illinois. He also has a goal against MVC opponent Drake.
- The Mavericks have had two goalkeepers play fairly even minutes throughout the season. Senior Lute Lillo Portero played the first six games of the season and made his last appearance against Kansas City on September 23. He has 26 saves on 12 goals allowed in just under 570 minutes of play. Junior goalkeeper Nathanael Sallah has started the Mavericks' last three games and has five starts in total. Sallah made the All-Summit Newcomer team as a freshman in 2021 after only allowing nine goals in 970 minutes. This season, Sallah has allowed his seven goals all within the last two games, allowing two to Creighton and five to Oral Roberts. Omaha leads the Summit League in saves (46) and is tied for 28th in the nation in saves per game (4.27).
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Players Mentioned
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