MVC WSOC Notebook WEEKLY NOTEBOOK - OCT. 25, 2023

Top-seeded Drake enters the MVC Championship with five-straight wins, and the Bulldogs own a seven-match unbeaten streak. Drake (8-1-1 in the MVC) earned its seventh MVC regular-season championship and its first since 2017. Drake has one tournament championship to its credit (2006). Drake and second-seeded Missouri State will next play in the semifinals against a to-be-determined opponent on Thursday, Nov. 2. The semifinals and finals will be played in Des Moines.

Missouri State, meanwhile, ended the season with an undefeated record in league play (7-0-3). The Bears enter the MVC Championship with an overall record of 12-1-5 and a league-best No. 84 rating in the RPI. Missouri State is the defending tournament champion after the Bears won the title last year and represented the MVC in the NCAA Championship. MSU has three previous tournament championships (2000, 2017, 2022). In fact, Drake (1), Missouri State (3) and Evansville (7) are the only league schools in this year's 8-team championship field to win an MVC Tournament title.

Third-seeded UNI also enters the championship with an impressive resume. The Panthers went undefeated (10-0-0) at UNI Soccer Field this year, securing the first undefeated home regular season in UNI soccer history. UNI also was unbeaten (7-0-1) in non-conference play this year, marking the first time that's happened in program history. UNI's third-place finish in the league standings matches its best all time (2016, 2018). On Sunday, Oct. 29, The Panthers will face the winner of No. 6 Valparaiso and No. 7 Belmont in the second round of the MVC Tournament. Valpo/Belmont play Thursday, Oct. 26. Both matches will take place in Cedar Falls.

No. 4 UIC will take on the winner of No. 5 Murray State and No. 8 Evansville in the second round of the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Soccer Championship on Sunday at noon at Flames Field. Thursday's contest between the Racers and Purple Aces will also take place at Flames Field, with the match starting at 2 p.m. UIC's only previous tournament appearance was last season. UNI outlasted UIC with a 4-2 edge in PKs following a 1-1 draw.

Sophia Jaime – Sophomore – Forward/Midfield – UIC (Valparaiso, Ind.) The forward/midfielder has found her stride at the end of the regular season for UIC, scoring three goals in the last two matches. The sophomore netted five points against Illinois State with two goals and one assist. She capped off the remarkable week with a skillful one-on-one move, securing the game-winning goal against Valpo on Sunday. Jaime currently leads the team in several statistical categories, including goals (four), points (12), shots (32), and shots on goal (21).

Angela Gutierrez, Fr., F, Drake (Oakdale, Minn.) Gutierrez has scored a goal in three of the last four games after a first half goal in the 3-2 win at Belmont on Sunday to clinch the MVC regular season championship. Gutierrez provided an assist on the game-winning goal Thursday at Murray State.

Camielle Day, Sr., GK, Missouri State (Dardenne Prairie, Mo.) Day had another weekend of back-to-back shutouts. The senior goalkeeper allowed only one goal during conference play and got the Bears through the regular season with only one loss. Day shattered the MSU record books last week with the most shutouts in a season and the most consecutive shutouts in a season.

Jenna Anderson, Jr., M, Missouri State (Overland Park, Kan.) Anderson scored her first goal of the season against Evansville. She only needed one shot to get the job done. Anderson also had her first assist of the season in the Bears win over SIU. The junior's defensive efforts held the Salukis to two shots and the Purple Aces to three as the Bears recorded another set of back-to-back shutouts.

MVC Composite Schedule

The 2023 MVC Women’s Soccer Championship will be conducted at sites of the higher seeds, and eight of 11 teams will qualify for the field. The eight-team tournament will be held over two weekends. The 1 and 2 seeds will have byes in the first two rounds. The semifinals and finals (Nov. 2 and Nov. 5, respectively) will take place at the site of the No. 1 seed. The 2022 Regular-Season Champion was Valparaiso, while the 2022 Tournament Champion was Missouri State. The Bears lost to Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament Opening Round.

Champ Central