No. 9 Missouri State (6-0-2, 3-0-0 MVC) vs. Memphis (4-3-2, 0-3-0 AAC)
Date	Wednesday, Oct. 4 | 6:00 p.m. CT
Location	Springfield, Missouri
Site	Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium
Promotion	Nick at Night
Follow Along	ESPN+ | Live Stats
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SPRINGFIELD - After starting the season playing six of its first eight games on the road, the No. 9-ranked Missouri State men's soccer team (6-0-2, 3-0-0 MVC) begins its longest home stand of the season Wednesday night when it welcomes the Memphis Tigers (4-3-2, 0-3-0 AAC) for the first of three games at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium over the next week. Kickoff is at 6:00 p.m. CT with the game being streamed on ESPN+.

Notes

• Missouri State men's soccer holds the best DI overall record of 65-7-7 (.867), best home record of 37-3-3 (.895) and best conference record of 36-1-2 (.945) since the beginning of the 2019 season. The Bears have the fifth-best win percentage in 2023 (.875).

• The Bears are ranked No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches Week 5 Poll for the second 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 five straight weeks. Its highest ranking was No. 3 in 2000. 

• Missouri State had one of its most dominant victories ever Saturday night when it defeated the Bradley Braves 6-0 in Peoria, Illinois. Forwards Pablo Guillen and Gijs Hovius each scored two goals in the win and are tied for most goals on the team with three this season.

• The six goals scored against Bradley are the most the Bears have scored in a game since defeating Cal State Northridge 7-0 on September 16th of last season. It is also the most goals Missouri State has scored on the road since defeating Friends University 8-0 on October 11, 1985.

• The Bears' precision offense is 18th in the nation in shot accuracy with 49 of 97 shots being on goal (.505). Missouri State has outshot opponents 97-28 in its first eight games and is tied for 10th in DI in goal differential (+13).

• Senior midfielder Jack Denton and senior forward Jesus Barea are both tied for 27th 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 among the nation leaders in shot accuracy with 11 of his 15 shots being on goal (.733). He is also eighth in the conference in shots on goal per game (1.38).

• Senior goalkeeper Harry Townsend has allowed two goals (with one being on a penalty kick) in 720 minutes. Townsend is tied for second in the nation in total shutouts (6), tied for 11th in save percentage (.833), third in goalkeeper goals against average (0.250) and is a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week this season (Aug. 29 and Sept. 26).

• Missouri State's defense has also been strong, only allowing one live goal in its first eight games against Saint Louis. The other goal was on a penalty kick against Tulsa. The Bears are third in the nation in fewest goals allowed, as San Diego State and Bryant have each allowed one. Missouri State is third in the country in shutout percentage (0.714) and team goals against average (0.29).

• 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 third in the nation in fewest fouls per game (8.12), only behind Pittsburgh (7.80) and American University (7.12). 
• The Bears look to continue their dynastic run, coming off a fourth-straight Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and third consecutive MVC Tournament championship. The Bears have made the NCAA Tournament four years in a row.

• Missouri State was picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in the 2023 Preseason Poll coming in with 78 votes and six first-place votes. This year's poll marked the fourth season in a row that league coaches selected the Bears to win the conference.

• Michael Seabolt is in his second season as head coach after serving as an assistant the previous 15 seasons under Jon Leamy. In his first season at the helm, Seabolt and the Bears picked up right where they left off with Leamy by going 12-2-4 in 2022 and repeating as conference champions. 

Series History

• Going into the 15th matchup, Memphis leads the all-time series against Missouri State with a record of 8-5-2. Memphis won the first two matchups in 1982 and 1987 before Missouri State won for the first time on October 27, 1991. 

• The last time Missouri State defeated Memphis was on October 3, 2012 at home 1-0 in overtime. Against the Tigers, the Bears are 3-1-1 at home, 1-5 on the road and 1-2-5 at neutral sites. 

• The most recent meeting was in Springfield in 2017 where Missouri State's Conor Ingram scored the first goal in the 34th minute, but Memphis scored twice in the final nine minutes to win, 2-1.

• Neither team has won three consecutive games against the other in the series. Memphis is in the midst of its third two-game winning streak against Missouri State. The Bears won back-to-back games against the Tigers one time in 1998 and 1999. Across all matchups, Memphis has outscored Missouri State, 27-17.

Scouting the Tigers

• The Memphis Tigers enter Wednesday night's game 4-3-2 on the season, with a 3-2-1 record on the road. Memphis has struggled to start American Athletic Conference play as the Tigers have lost their last three games to AAC opponents, losing to No. 16 SMU, Florida International and Florida Atlantic.

• The Tigers have outscored opponents 13-10 over their nine games. Memphis also sees a positive shot differential of 111-97 and shots on goal with 48 compared to 38 from opponents. 

• Memphis' 13 goals have come from four different scorers with one also being thanks to an own goal. Junior forward Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos leads the AAC and is tied for 11th in the nation with seven goals. He has scored in all but three games against Georgia State, Lipscomb and his most recent game against Florida Atlantic. The Tigers are 0-2-1 in those games.

• Senior defender Jackson Kim is the only other Tiger with multiple goals. He has three on the year against Northern Illinois, Georgia State and Lipscomb, two of the games Santos did not score in.

• Memphis has had two goalkeepers play this season with junior Colin Welsh starting all but one game. Welsh made the All-AAC Second Team last year and was a four-time AAC Goalkeeper of the Week in 2022. Welsh has allowed eight goals with 22 saves on 84 shots faced. Graduate goalkeeper JD Gunn played 10 minutes against Northern Illinois before getting the start against Belmont, both being wins against MVC teams. He allowed one goal in each game and recorded six saves on 12 shots faced against Belmont.