SPRINGFIELD - The No. 9-ranked Missouri State men's soccer team defended its home field in its first home conference contest Friday night with a 1-0 victory against the Belmont Bruins thanks to a goal in the 71st minute by junior forward James Jennings on his 23rd birthday.

"It's a great feeling to get a birthday goal," Jennings said. "I think having a game on your birthday is a good feeling, and then to get the win, and then the goal is just like the cherry on top."

The Bears (5-0-1, 2-0 MVC) notched their fourth 1-0 victory of the young campaign.

A game between two of the top ten teams in the nation when it comes to limiting fouls started with that mantra intact. Each team combined for just five fouls in the first half. 

The Bears made possession of the ball a priority, giving the team more opportunities to take shots. Missouri State continued the streak of outshooting opponents that has lasted all season, taking 13 shots to Belmont's five.

A season-high nine different Bears attempted a shot, including three apiece from senior forward Jesus Barea and senior midfielder Jack Denton.

Missouri State took seven shots in the first half, but Belmont junior goalkeeper Grant Calvert had full control of each Bears opportunity, earning four of his six saves in the first half.

Seabolt and the coaching staff knew that a different approach was needed to finally get on the board. After only a handful of substitutions in the first half, Seabolt and the Bears took a big swing in the 63rd minute by subbing in four players at once, including Jennings who scored the winning goal less than 10 minutes later. 

"We made an adjustment, just a little bit of a tweak with which players we were going to get in the attack and which players were going to defend counterattacks," Seabolt said. "I thought the second half was a much better half for us. We had much more dangerous opportunities in the second half." 

The intensity rose as the game inched closer to what could have been a scoreless draw, but Missouri State utilized a free kick off a Belmont foul for a set piece that put the Bears on the board.

Freshman midfielder Tyler Caton sent the free kick to Denton, who headed a gift to an open Jennings who broke away and sent a left footer in for his first score this season.

"It was great to see Tyler come off the bench and assist on the goal," Seabolt said "He served a couple of great balls and played great in the midfield. Tyler was a massive, massive guy that stepped up tonight."

The Bears' defense continued to stay strong on opposing set pieces and did not allow the Bruins to run on the open field. Belmont made the most of its chances, placing four of its five shots on goal, but senior Harry Townsend once again proved to be fast inside and outside the box with two saves.

Townsend now has four shutouts this season and 18 in his career. He is three shutouts shy of Brad Barnes for fifth in program history. 

The intensity rose following Jennings' goal as Belmont upped the pressure looking for the equalizer. Four of Belmont's nine fouls came in the final 20 minutes of the game after the goal. Missouri State also had three of its five fouls in that span as each team fought hard till the end in front of a large crowd.

"It's so great to see the crowd and everyone here, whether it be administration, students, local people in the community," Seabolt said. "Bearpawcalypse has been unbelievable. We need them every game."

Missouri State will return to the road for two matches before its first homestead of the year in October. The Bears will take on the Saint Louis Billikens (2-3-1, 0-0-1 A10) on Wednesday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. CT.