SPRINGFIELD - No. 23 Missouri State Bears faced the Tampa Spartans in a friendly exhibition match on Thursday night. 

The level of play was high, and the atmosphere was electric with a packed home crowd. 

"Players that haven't played as much this season played today, and it was really cool to see them," stated coach Michael Seabolt after the match. 

"They did really well. A big thank you to the University of Tampa coming up here to play Missouri State, a lot of history there with some of our coaching staff, and they're just a great group of coaches and players that gave us a great game tonight." 

Senior Daniele Verdirosi found the back of the net for the Bears, and goalkeeper Jonathan Kliewer preserved the shutout. 

This performance helped the Bears prepare for their next challenge on the road against Penn State on Labor Day, Monday, Aug. 21st at 3:00 p.m. 

"Yeah, we've started watching Penn State a little bit, but we'll do a lot of scouting the next couple of days," Coach Seabolt exclaimed. 

"Tomorrow is the day off, so the coaches will get on some of that stuff and we'll give the players a game plan starting on Saturday, but right now it's just rest recover, make sure everybody's healthy and at a good place, then train Saturday and get ready to get up there on Sunday and get ready for the match Monday afternoon. It's a super good challenge. We have a great series with Penn State, we are thrilled to go up there and to have them back in Springfield in 2026, so it's awesome."