DES MOINES, Iowa - No. 11-ranked Missouri State men's soccer (12-2-2, 7-0-1) secured the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship on Wednesday with a 1-0 victory over the Drake Bulldogs (9-4-3, 5-1-2). The Bears handed the Bulldogs their lone conference loss of the season, leaving Missouri State as the lone undefeated team in conference play.

"It was a tough match," Michael Seabolt said after winning his second MVC regular season title as head coach. "Drake is a really good team. I feel really strongly that they are an NCAA Tournament-level team and I wish them luck going forward. They've earned the right to a quarterfinal-bye so congrats to them."

The title marks Missouri State's 12th regular season championship, tying Creighton for the most in MVC history. The Bears have now won five of the last six conference regular season titles.

"I'm super proud of our guys to come on the road against a good opponent and get all three points and take the regular season championship," Seabolt said. "That is a tremendous accomplishment for our program and a tremendous compliment to the guys on this team right now."

Missouri State's leading scorer, senior forward Jesus Barea, scored his 15th goal of the season early to give the Bears some breathing room. MoState entered the match needing a win or draw to leave Iowa as champions. Barea struck a massive shot in the 10th minute from outside the goal box that went through the top-left corner of the net. Freshman midfielder Jared Harlock and sophomore forward Adrián Esteban passed the ball back and forth to set up an open look for Barea.

"It was a great team move, a tremendous team action," Seabolt said. "It's a lot of stuff we've been working on and the guys were super sharp on it. Jesus finished it off very well. We started really well overall. We deserved the goal."

The 15th goal for Barea in 2024 puts him in a five-way tie for second-most by a Missouri State player in a single season. He joins Steve Harden (1982), Matt Caution (1995), Ryan Anderson (2005) and Matthew Bentley (2019) on the single-season list. They only trail Caution's 1993 season when he scored 16 goals. 

Barea's score ended up being his 10th career game-winning goal, tying him with Niccolo Mulatero (2018-22) for the fifth-most in Missouri State history.

Missouri State put up a season-low four shots, but all three shots in the first half were on target. The Bears held the Bulldogs to their season low of three shots, including just one in the first 85 minutes before Drake launched a couple of deep last-minute attempts. Drake did not have any shots on goal for the first time this season.

"It takes being good in possession on the ball so they don't get too many chances," Seabolt said. "When we had to defend, guys were just so on it. They dug deep. Everybody chipped in."

The Bears kept the pressure up in the first half. Senior forward Fumiya Shiraishi broke away to take a shot deflected by Drake goalkeeper Tomas Butkovic, who made two saves on the night, resulting in a corner kick. Sophomore midfielder Tyler Caton took a shot one minute later for Butkovic's other save.

Missouri State kept the ball out of harm's way up to the end of the match. Senior goalkeeper Will Lowry was key in catching crosses and knocking away airborne passes. The nation's leader in goals against average earned his fifth career shutout, tying him for second in the league. 

MoState also secured its sixth consecutive 12-win season, matching the sum in each of Seabolt's first two seasons at the helm of the program. Missouri State has gone undefeated in conference play in four of the last six seasons. 

Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium will host the semifinals and championship match of the MVC Championships starting with the semis on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The No.1-seed Bears will play at 6:00 p.m. against the lowest seed to advance from the quarterfinals, which play on Sunday. The first semifinal game will be at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday between Drake and the highest remaining seed from the quarterfinals.

The championship match will take place on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m.

"Having the bye is massive," Seabolt said. "The most important thing is being in Springfield in front of our fans, our school, our city and our state. We play for Missouri State University and the city of Springfield. We're just so excited to be in front of them and bring the Missouri Valley Tournament to Springfield one last time." 

The full tournament bracket can be found here.