NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Missouri State men's soccer (8-2-1, 4-0-1 MVC) secured its third consecutive win and extended its unbeaten streak to eight matches with a 2-1 victory over the Belmont Bruins Saturday night in Nashville. Senior forward James Jennings scored two goals within one minute of each other to keep the Bears undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference play.

"Anytime you can go on the road against a tough conference opponent and come away with three points is a good result," head coach Michael Seabolt said. "I'm proud of the boys for getting the job done."

The win marked Seabolt's 32nd as head coach of the Bears, tying him with Jan Stahle for third-most in program history. He can tie Frank Dinka (33 wins) in Missouri State's next match.

Jennings earned his second career brace after scoring twice last time out against Northern Illinois last Sunday. He now has a career-high six goals this season and brought his career total to 10.

The first few minutes teased a defensive matchup with the first shot attempt from either squad not coming until a Belmont free kick in the 17th minute that went over the crossbar. The Bruins (3-7-3, 0-4-1 MVC) went without another shot attempt until the 57th minute.

Jennings checked into the match in the 25th minute and instantly made his appearance noticed. He found an opening in the 28th minute after sophomore midfielder Adrián Esteban found Jennings after multiple deflections in the box. Jennings got a run toward the right post and sent the Bears' first shot of the night into the left side of the net.

The same Bears duo struck again nearly 30 seconds later. Senior forward and reigning MVC Player of the Week Fumiya Shiraishi got on a run of his own toward the Belmont box before a Bruins deflection sent the ball back to Esteban. A quick toe tap set up Jennings who curved a left-footed shot past the diving Belmont goalkeeper Grant Calvert.

"The team was playing with a lot of confidence," Seabolt said. "James was playing with a lot of confidence. They were two high-quality finishes. The team is playing well and he finished off both those plays well.

Jennings has had the Bruins' number, scoring the game-winning goal against Belmont in back-to-back seasons. He scored late in the matchup between the Bears and Bruins in Springfielder last season.

Missouri State has scored multiple goals in six of its matches this year. In tonight's matchup, the Bears outshot the Bruins, 8-5, and are outshooting all opponents this season, 146-64.

Belmont upped the pressure by stacking a pair of corner kicks in the 57th and 58th minute. The first was deflected out of bounds, but the second got the Bruins on the board with a header from defender Dylan Steely directly off the corner kick from Brad Dildy. It was the duo's first goal and assist this season, respectively. Missouri State prevented a chance for an equalizer by holding Belmont to just two shots from that point.

"The game just got a little choppy and they found a way to get the goal," Seabolt said. "We didn't really change anything. We were defending well the whole game and really doing well in possession. We just stuck to what we've been doing and finished off the game and even had a couple chances to score. I was happy with the way the guys defended to close it out."

The best chance from the Bruins came on a bicycle kick from forward Case Cox that went directly into the hands of senior goalkeeper Will Lowry.

Missouri State grew its lead in the conference standings as Bowling Green and Drake fought to a scoreless draw later in the night in Ohio. The Bears will look to complete the Tennessee sweep when it visits the Memphis Tigers (6-4-2, 3-0-1 American) on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. CT. Memphis battled Temple to a scoreless draw on Saturday in Philadelphia. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.