Missouri State enters the week in sole possession of first place, following a 6-0 win at Bradley over the weekend. The Bears are 3-0-0 in league play (9 pts) and sit three points ahead of Western Michigan (2-0-0, 6 pts), UIC (2-1-0, 6 pts) and Bowling Green (2-1-0, 6 pts). Belmont (1-2-0, 3 pts), Evansville (1-2-0, 3 pts) and Drake (1-2-0, 3 pts) all sit tied for fifth, while Bradley (0-2-0) and Northern Illinois (0-2-0) round out the standings.
Upcoming Valley Schedule
This week’s conference slate includes four matches over the course of three days. The slate is highlighted by Missouri State hosting UIC on Sunday in Springfield.
Missouri State is riding a 27-match Valley unbeaten streak dating back to the 2020-21 season. The Bears’ last loss to a Valley team was vs. Loyola Chicago on April 8, 2021. In fact, since the 2019 season, Missouri State is 43-1-3 in matches vs. Valley teams (includes MVC tournaments), which is the best conference run nationally over that time period.
MVC STATS
NCAA Leaders
Western Michigan's Dylan Sing, Missouri State's Harry Townsend, UIC's Jesus De Vicente and Bowling Green's Brendan Graves each enter the week ranking top three in the nation in a statistical category.
- Dylan Sing (WMU): 1st nationally in game winning goals (5)
- Harry Townsend (MOST): 3rd nationally in GAA (.250)
- Jesus DeVicente (UIC): 3rd nationally in assists per game (0.78)
- Brendan Graves (BGSU): 2nd nationally in total saves (56)
NCAA RPI UPDATE
According to the latest RPI Update from the NCAA, the MVC continues to have six teams sitting in the Top 100 of the RPI. Missouri State sits 14th in the RPI with UIC also in good position at 17. Western Michigan continues to climb during its 9-match unbeaten streak and now sits 43rd. Bowling Green (68), Bradley (97) and Belmont (99) also sit among the Top 100. The MVC ranks 9th as a conference.
The last time the MVC finished the season with four teams sitting in the Top 100 of the RPI was 2012 (Bradley, Creighton, Evansville, SIUE).
Polling
Missouri State continues to appear in all three national polls this week. The Bears sit No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 (Oct. 3), No. 8 in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll and No. 15 in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25.
UIC remained in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 (Oct. 3) following a 1-0 setback to Western Michigan, appearing at No. 25 in the poll.
Western Michigan reentered the polls this week, following its pair of wins at Wright State and UIC last week. The Broncos sit No. 28 in this week's College Soccer News Top 30. The Broncos are also receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25.
Belmont Bruins
- With a dramatic 2-1 comeback triumph against Drake Sunday afternoon in Nashville, Belmont earned its first-ever win against the Bulldogs. It was also the Bruins’ first MVC victory of the season.
- Belmont went 2-0 last week with wins over Presbyterian College on the road and Drake at home, marking the first time this season the Bruins have won back-to-back matches.
- Belmont has now gotten a result in 25 of its last 27 home matches, outscoring its opponents 41-16 during that stretch.
BRADLEY Braves
- Bradley lost for the second time during the 2023 season, falling against Missouri State, 6-0.
- The Braves will be back in action next Friday, October 6, at 7 p.m. as they host Belmont at Shea Stadium. The Braves have a record of 4-2-1 all-time against the Bruins. Belmont won 2-1 the last time both teams met in 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Bowling green Falcons
- With Saturday’s 4-2 win over Evansville, Bowling Green remains undefeated at home this season. The Falcons are now 5-0-1 inside the friendly confines of Cochrane Stadium. BGSU’s final two home games again against teams that were ranked in the top-25 in the nation in last week’s polls (UIC and Missouri State).
- Sophomore Trace Terry has scored two goals – including the game-winning goal – in each of BGSU’s last two contests. With 12 points on the season, Terry has tripled his point total for all of last year.
DRAKE Bulldogs
- The Bulldogs finished their recent two-game road swing with a trip to Nashville to take on Belmont (10/1). The Bruins defended their home pitch with a 2-1 defeat of Drake despite an AJ Franklin penalty kick score and a career-high six saves from goalkeeper Quinn Millerd in his first start of the season.
- Next up, Drake will return home for two straight home matches against MVC-newcomer Northern Illinois on Oct. 7 and a non-conference battle with St. Thomas on Oct. 10.
EVANSVILLE Purple aces
- Evansville has a full week to prepare for its next opponent after its first visit to Bowling Green in almost 40 years. The Purple Aces will play only their 6th game at home of the season on Saturday against another new Valley team, the Western Michigan Broncos. UE has only played the Broncos six times, with the most recent coming in 2009.
- The Aces game against the Falcons had multiple career milestones for different players on Saturday. Defender Nacho Diaz-Caneja scored his first collegiate goal against Bowling Green in the 64th minute with an assist from freshman winger Auden Engen Vik for his first collegiate point. Senior forward Kai Phillip also set a career high in Evansville's game against the Falcons by taking six shots in the match.
UIC Flames
- Scoring early has been crucial for UIC thus far, as the Flames are 7-0-1 in matches where they tally the first goal of the contest. Conversely, when surrendering the first goal of the match to the opponents, UIC is 0-2.
- Despite being shut out against for the first time this season against WMU, the Flames still rank first in The Valley in scoring offense, averaging 2.1 goals per match, as well as leading the conference in total goals with 21 through 10 matches.
MISSOURI STATE Bears
- The No. 9-ranked Missouri State Bears (6-0-2, 3-0-0 MVC) are fresh off one of their strongest wins in history last Saturday night with a 6-0 victory over the Bradley Braves. The six goals were the most the Bears have scored on the road since 1985. The win improved Missouri State's conference record to 3-0-0, continuing a streak of 3-0 starts in the conference that started in 2019. The Bears are ranked No. 9 for the second week in a row and have been in the top 25 in every poll this season.
- Missouri State outshot Saint Louis and Bradley by a combined total of 31-9, including 16-3 on shots on goal. The Bears are outscoring opponents 15-2, good for being tied for 10th in the nation in goal differential (+13).
- The Bears return to Springfield for their one and only homestand in the regular season. They will open the week with a nonconference matchup against the Memphis Tigers (4-3-2, 0-3-0 AAC) on Wednesday, October 4 at 6 p.m. CT. Missouri State will end the week with a high-octane matinee against the UIC Flames (7-2-1, 2-1-0 MVC). Both the Bears and Flames have spent parts of the year ranked nationally in the top 25.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS Huskies
- NIU ended a four-game losing streak on Monday night (Oct. 3) as the Huskies won at Marquette, 1-0, in their final non-conference game of the season. Angel Rodriguez scored the game’s only goal in the 79th minute and Atahan Arslan recorded his first career shutout in goal. The victory was NIU’s first at Marquette since 2015
- The Huskies rank second in the Missouri Valley Conference, and 14th in the nation, in saves per game. Jakub Rojek is second in the conference, and 17th nationally, with 4.86 saves per contest, making 34 stops in seven games, while Atahan Arslan has recorded 10 saves in two games played.
Western michigan Broncos
- After losing to #12 ranked University of Vermont on August 24, Western Michigan has now registered nine straight games without a loss.
- The Brown and Gold are one game away from matching last year's best unbeaten streak of 10 games, in which they recorded nine wins and one tie from Thursday, September 1, 2022 - Sunday, October 9, 2022.
- The program record for the most games without a loss is 11, which has been set twice: first in the 1983-84 season and last matched during the 2017 campaign.