No. 18 Missouri State (9-2-3, 5-1-1 MVC) vs. Drake (3-9-3, 1-5-1 MVC)
Date	Wednesday, Nov. 1 | 7:00 p.m. CT
Location	Springfield, Missouri
Site	Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium
Promotion	Senior Day + Bears Supporting Bears Night
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SPRINGFIELD - For the second straight season, the No. 18 Missouri State men's soccer team (9-2-3. 5-1-1) will celebrate its Senior Day against the Drake Bulldogs (3-9-3, 1-5-1). Last year's top two seeds in the MVC Tournament will end both their regular seasons at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium on Wednesday, November 1 at 7:00 p.m. Seven Missouri State Bears will be honored before kickoff. Admission is free.

Notes

• Missouri State men's soccer holds the best DI overall record of 68-9-8 (.847), best conference record of 38-2-3 (.919) and fourth-best home record of 38-5-4 (.851) since the beginning of the 2019 season. The Bears are tied for the 14th-best win percentage in 2023 with RV Denver and No. 21 Vermont (.750).

• Going into the final game of the regular season against Drake, Missouri State is already locked into the No. 2 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. It will earn a first-round bye and go straight to the semifinals on November 8.

• The Bears are ranked No. 15 in the Week 10 United Soccer Coaches Poll, up three spots from last week. The team has been in the top 25 for 10 straight weeks and has been as high as No. 9 this season. The highest Missouri State has ever been ranked was No. 3 in 2000.

• Missouri State got back in the win column Friday night with its strong 5-2 win on the road at Bowling Green. Five different Bears scored each of the five goals, including first career goals as Bears from senior midfielder Alejandro Lopez and sophomore forward Ollie Bate.

• The win against Bowling Green moves Missouri State's road record to 6-0-2, completing a Bears' undefeated regular season road record for the second consecutive year.

• The Bears' precision offense is second in the nation in shot accuracy with 97 of 184 shots being on goal (.527), behind SIUE (.529). Missouri State has outshot opponents 184-68 through 14 games and is tied for 22nd in DI with a 25-9 goal differential (+16), which is second in the conference behind Western Michigan (+26). The Bears lead the conference in shots on goal per game (6.93), good for 10th in the nation. 

• Senior forward Jesus Barea is second in the country in shot accuracy with 21 of his 31 shots being on goal (.677), only behind Western Michigan's Dylan Sing (7.14). Barea is tied for third in the conference with three game-winning goals and third in shots on goal per game (1.50), good for tied for 31st in the nation.

• Sophomore forward Gijs Hovius leads the Bears with five goals this season. He added to his total in the 5th minute against Bowling Green. Hovius has scored in the opening five minutes of the last two Missouri State wins.

• Senior goalkeeper Harry Townsend has allowed nine goals (with one being on a penalty kick) in 1,260 minutes. Townsend is tied for seventh in the nation in total shutouts (7), tied for 49th in save percentage (.757), tied for ninth in goalkeeper goals against average (.643) and is a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week this season.

• Missouri State's defense has also been strong, only allowing eight live goals in its first 14 games, including just five conference goals. The Bears are tied for third in the country in fewest goals allowed (9), only behind Bryant (4) and Notre Dame (8). Missouri State is tied for 10th in the country in shutout percentage (0.500) and is sixth in team goals against average (0.643). Bryant leads both categories. 

• Since 2019, Missouri State is 50-0-0 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 clean soccer and is third in the nation in fewest fouls per game (8.50), only behind Boston College (8.19) and Indiana (8.47). The Bears have committed the least total fouls in the nation (119).

Series History

• Missouri State holds an all-time series record of 20-13-9 against the Drake Bulldogs, including a 9-6-4 record at home. Going into the 43rd matchup between the two going back to 1990, Missouri State has won seven of the last eight games against Drake.  

• The teams played once last season almost exactly one year ago on October 28, 2022. Drake snapped Missouri State's seven-game winning streak against the Bulldogs going back to 2018 with a 1-1 draw. Both goals were scored by current active players. AJ Franklin scored his seventh of eight goals in 2022, followed by Javier Martin Gil who scored his only goal of last season to tie the game in the 52nd minute.

• Missouri State is riding a 10-game unbeaten streak against Drake, going 7-0-3 in that span. The Bears have outscored the Bulldogs 17-6 during the streak. The last time the Bulldogs beat the Bears was on October 14, 2017 in Springfield, 2-1. 

Scouting the Bulldogs

• The Drake Bulldogs enter Wednesday night's game 3-9-3 on the season with a 1-5-1 record in MVC play, sitting tied for last in the conference standings with Bradley. Its lone conference win was at home against Evansville 2-1 on September 16. Drake is 0-7-1 on the road, but the one tie came in its most recent game against No. 16 Michigan State in a 1-1 draw.

• The Bulldogs have been outscored by opponents 32-20 and are seventh in the MVC in goals scored. The 32 goals allowed are the most in the MVC. Despite the negative goal differential, Drake has outshot opponents 150-139. Drake is 3-for-3 in penalty kick attempts, but has allowed 5-of-6.

• Drake has had 11 different goal scorers with four having scored multiple times in 2023. Graduate forward AJ Franklin leads the Bulldogs with six goals, which is tied for sixth in the conference. Three of his six goals have come against MVC teams, including a brace against Evansville in Drake's one conference win. Franklin's last goal came against Northern Illinois on October 7 and has gone a season-long four games without scoring. 

• The Bulldogs have had a combination of three goalkeepers this season all playing in a range of five to seven games. Redshirt sophomore Quinn Millerd has seen the most time at net, playing in seven games with six starts for over 558 minutes. He has 15 saves with nine goals allowed. He played in Drake's last game against No. 16 Michigan State in a draw. Senior Kevin Qi has started all five games he has appeared in. In 405 minutes of play, Qi has 10 saves with 11 goals allowed. He had a shutout against Western Illinois. Lastly, redshirt junior Tommy Williams has four starts in five games spanning just over 386 minutes. He has 13 saves and 12 goals allowed.