Missouri State University
Memphis
No. 7 Men's Soccer to Face Memphis
October 02, 2026 | Men's Soccer
| Missouri State (8-0-1, 3-0-0) vs. Memphis (4-2-3, 0-0-2) | |
| Location | Memphis, Tenn. |
| Site | Murphy Soccer/Track & Field Complex |
| Game Info | Saturday, Oct. 3, 7:00 p.m. vs. Memphis Live Stats | Watch |
| Missouri State | Game Notes Men's Soccer Home Page |
| Memphis | Men's Soccer Home Page |
| Follow the Bears | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook #GoBears | #NoStateLikeMoState |
| Bears Mobile App | App Store (Apple Devices) Google Play Store (Android Devices) |
On The Pitch
• The 7th-ranked Missouri State Bears are back on the road to face the Memphis Tigers for an American Conference showdown on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7:00 p.m. (CT).
• The Tigers lead the series against the Bears 9-7-2. The latest meeting went the way of Mo State with a 1-0 scoreline last season on 10/25/25 at home.
• Mo State is ranked seventh in the United Soccer Coaches poll, marking the ninth consecutive season the Bears have been ranked inside the top 25. This is the Bears' highest ranking in any poll since being ranked fifth in the College Soccer News poll on 11/14/21, and their highest ranking in the United Soccer poll since 9/11/00, when a No. 3 ranking represented Missouri State's highest ever spot.
• The Bears sit in first place in the American Conference standings, while Memphis sits in sixth.
• The Bears are off to their best start to a season since 2020-21 when they went 9-0-0 to kick off the season. Prior to that, Mo State began the 2019 season with 17 consecutive victories. The Bears have now gone undefeated in nine games, their longest run since 2024 when they went on a 13-match streak from 9/6/24 until 11/6/24.
• The Bears are tied for the national lead with SMU with a .944 winning percentage, are tied for second in Division I with eight wins, and lead the American Conference while ranking in the top 10 nationally in goals per game (6th – 2.89), goal differential (6th – plus-17), total goals (6th – 26), and points per game (7th – 8.44).
• Several Bears rank among the nation's best individually. Diego Real sits in the top 10 in game-winning goals (5th – 3), total points (6th – 18) and total goals (8th – 7). Fernando Alves Schmelz ranks fourth nationally with a .444 goals against average. Adrian Esteban's five assists place him 12th in Division I.
• The Bears have come back from a one-goal deficit on three occasions this season (vs. Penn State, at UC Irvine, and vs. FIU).
• Fionn Mooney was named the American Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 28.
• The Bears are looking to add a fifth conference tournament championship trophy to their cabinet (1999, 2020-21, 2021, 2022) and their first as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The Bears have an all-time record of 24-22-8 in the conference tournament play.
• Since the beginning of the 2019 season, Missouri State holds the best Division I overall record of 97-21-15 (.786), second-best conference record of 51-6-6 (.857) and fifth-best home record of 55-9-8 (.819).
• The Bears are in their second season in the American Conference in 2026 after spending 34 seasons in the Missouri Valley. Mo State enjoyed plenty of success in the MVC, with the program's 12 regular season championships, four conference tournament crowns and nine NCAA Tournament appearances all coming since 1997.
