SPRINGFIELD - The No. 16-ranked Missouri State men's soccer team (7-1-3, 3-0-1 MVC) hits the road for the first time this month as the Bears come off a three-game home stand and a weekend off to take on the Evansville Purple Aces (3-7-3, 1-3-1 MVC) on Wednesday, October 18 at 6:00 p.m. CT at Arad McCutchan Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Notes
- Missouri State men's soccer holds the best DI overall record of 66-8-8 (.854), best conference record of 36-1-3 (.938) and second-best home record of 38-4-4 (.870) since the beginning of the 2019 season. Only Georgetown (42-3-6, .882), has a better record in that span. The Bears are tied for the 14th-best win percentage in 2023 with Georgetown (.773).
- The Bears are ranked No. 16 in the Week 7 United Soccer Coaches Poll, down seven spots from No. 9 where Missouri State was for the last three weeks. The team has been in the top 25 for seven straight weeks. Its highest ranking was No. 3 in 2000.
- Missouri State is coming off of an off-weekend and last played last Wednesday in a 2-1 win against Omaha at home.
- The 2-1 win ended the Bears' streak of back-to-back games without a goal. That was the first time Missouri State did not score a goal in consecutive games 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 fourth in the nation in shot accuracy with 73 of 138 shots being on goal (.529). Missouri State has outshot opponents 138-45 through 11 games and is tied for 20th in DI with a 17-4 goal differential (+13), which is tied for second in the MVC. The Bears also lead the conference in shots on goal per game (6.64), good for tied for 13th in the nation.
- Jesus Barea is fourth in the country in shot accuracy with 16 of his 24 shots being on goal (.667). He is also fifth in the conference in shots per game (2.18) and in shots on goal per game (1.45), good for 36th in the nation.
- Barea, senior forward Pablo Guillen and sophomore forward Gijs Hovius lead the Bears with three goals each this season. Guillen and Hovius each scored one goal against NIU and two goals against Bradley, all on the road.
- Senior goalkeeper Harry Townsend has allowed four goals (with one being on a penalty kick) in 990 minutes. Townsend is tied for second in the nation in total shutouts (7), 16th in save percentage (.810), second in goalkeeper goals against average (.364) and is a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week this season.
- Missouri State's defense has also been strong, only allowing three live goals in its first 11 games, all of which were in nonconference play. The Bears are second in fewest goals allowed (4), only behind Bryant (3). Missouri State is fourth in the country in shutout percentage (0.636) and is second in team goals against average (0.364). Bryant leads both categories.
- Since 2019, Missouri State is 48-0-0 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 fourth in the nation in fewest fouls per game (8.55), only behind Boston College (8.08), Jacksonville (8.23) and American University (8.36).
Series History
- Missouri State leads the all-time series with Evansville 28-10-5 going into the 44th matchup between the two. The Bears are 12-3-2 when playing at Evansville and have won 10 straight games against the Purple Aces going back to 2018.
- The teams played twice in Springfield in 2022, once in the regular season and again in the MVC Tournament Championship Game. The Bears won the regular season matchup 4-3 on September 24, 2022 with each team trading goals until former Bear Nicolo Mulatero scored in the 81st minute. Midfielder Daniel Normann is the only current Bear to score in that game. Current Bears Kian Yari and Michael Peck also had assists in the game. Current Bear James Jennings scored the lone goal in the conference title game with Jon Koka getting an assist.
- The last three games of the series have been played in Springfield. Missouri State won the last game in Evansville on October 23, 2021, 1-0. Evansville's last win against Missouri State was on October 29, 2016.
- During Missouri State's 10-game winning streak against Evansville, the Bears have outscored the Purple Aces 28-9.
Scouting the Purple Aces
- The Evansville Purple Aces enter Wednesday night's game 3-7-3 on the season with a 1-3-1 record in MVC play. They are 2-1-3 at home, including their lone conference win against NIU. They also hold wins against Cal State Fullerton and Southern Indiana. Before Evansville's most recent losses to UIC and Indiana, it fought a top MVC team in Western Michigan to a 2-2 draw.
- The Purple Aces have been outscored 25-20 and are tied for 14th in Division I in shot accuracy (.503). This marks the second straight game Missouri State is facing a team that is top 16 in the nation in shot accuracy. Fellow MVC school Belmont has the highest shot accuracy in the country (.555).
- Evansville has had 10 different goal scorers this season led by Senior forward Kai Phillips who is tied for 39th in the nation with seven, good for third in the MVC. Phillips had two of the three goals against MSU last regular season, making him the last opponent to earn a brace against the Bears. After scoring just one goal last season, he has seven already this year, including a pair of braces. He has not scored in three games, tied for his longest streak this season during Evansville's first three games of the year.
- The Purple Aces have had two goalkeepers play fairly even minutes throughout the season. Graduate student Jacob Madden has played and started seven games with his most recent being against Bowling Green on September 30. The Appalachian State transfer has 19 saves on 12 goals allowed in 630 minutes of play. Senior goalkeeper Aidan Montoure has started Evansville's last three games and has six starts in total. Montoure has 28 saves with 13 goals allowed, including nine goals in those last three games he started.
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