Missouri State enters the week in sole possession of first place, sitting at 3-0-1 (10 pts) in The Valley standings. Western Michigan (2-0-1, 7 pts) and UIC (2-1-1, 7 pts) enter the week trailing the Bears by three points. Bowling Green (2-1-0, 6 pts) and Belmont (2-2-0, 6 pts) are four points back entering the week. Evansville (1-2-1, 4 pts), Drake (1-2-1, 4 pts), Northern Illinois (0-2-1, 1 pt) and Bradley (0-3-0, 0 pts) round out the standings.
Following Sunday's 0-0 draw with UIC, Missouri State is riding a 28-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 43-1-4 in matches vs. Valley teams (includes MVC tournaments), which is the best conference run nationally over that time period.
Upcoming Valley Schedule
This week’s conference slate includes four matches on Saturday as the league schedule hits the midpoint. League-leader Missouri State has the weekend off and will return to Valley action on Oct. 18.
MVC STATS
NCAA Leaders
Valley goalkeepers have been elite this season in save percentage. The Valley has five teams ranking among the top 40 nationally. Missouri State paces The Valley teams, ranking 10th nationally with a save percentage of .833.
NCAA RPI UPDATE
According to the latest RPI Update from the NCAA, the MVC has five teams sitting in the Top 100 of the RPI. Missouri State sits 30th in the RPI with UIC also in good position at 34. Western Michigan sits 56th. Belmont (79) and Bowling Green (100) also sit among the Top 100. The MVC ranks 10th 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. 16 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 (Oct. 10), No. 15 in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll and No. 20 in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25.
Western Michigan sits No. 30 in this week's College Soccer News Top 30. The Broncos were also receiving votes in last week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25.
MVC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Belmont Bruins
- With Belmont’s 3-1 victory at Bradley Friday night, the Bruins earned their first MVC road win of the season. It was the program’s first-ever triumph at Shea Stadium in Peoria, Illinois.
- Belmont’s three-match win streak is the Bruins’ first since winning four in a row Sept. 10-24 last year.
- Belmont has scored three or more goals on three occasions this season, including two of its last three outings.
BRADLEY Braves
- Following a 1-1 draw with Wisconsin, BU will now begin a stretch of playing three of four games on the road in MVC play. BU holds a 4-1-1 record on the road this season.
- With Charlie Dickerson's goal against Wisconsin, BU now has 10 different goal scorers this season with eight of them being newcomers to the roster.
Bowling green Falcons
- Senior GK Brendan Graves has played every second of the Falcons’ last 34 matches – a total of 3080 minutes. No other BGSU player has been between the posts since Oct. 22, 2021.
- Since the start of the 2009 season (when Eric Nichols arrived at BGSU), the Falcons are 86-9-7 when scoring two or more goals in a match. In fact, even when scoring just one goal or more, BGSU is unbeaten in the last 14 matches (11-0-3) dating to late in the 2021 season.
DRAKE Bulldogs
- Drake will put their unbeaten home record to the test again this week with a Tuesday night non-conference clash against St. Thomas. The Bulldogs are currently 2-0-2 when playing in Des Moines and will host the Tommies at 6 p.m. tonight.
- The Bulldogs will then hit the road again for another MVC tilt when they visit league-newcomer and current second place squad Western Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 14.
EVANSVILLE Purple aces
- Robbe Tarver is officially the Head Coach of the Aces after the University of Evansville removed the interim tag on Monday afternoon. Tarver has been with the Aces program since the 2020 season, first as an Assistant Coach and Associate Head Coach under Marshall Ray, and then as Interim Head Coach since mid-March. Tarver is Evansville's seventh program Head Coach and sixth at the Division I level.
- The Aces continue to have a blistering offense in 2023, leading the Missouri Valley Conference in shots on goal per game. UE is averaging 6.5 SOG with a shot accuracy percentage of 51.4%. Along with leading the MVC in shots on goal per game, Evansville is 15th among all Division I schools.
UIC Flames
- Wednesday’s loss at DePaul was the first time this season the Flames lost a match in which they scored the opening goal (previously 7-0-1).
- The Flames are outscoring their opponents 13-7 in the first half of play, and 9-6 in the second 45 minutes.
- UIC boasts a top-25 national scoring offense, as the Flames average two goals per match.
MISSOURI STATE Bears
- The Missouri State Bears (6-1-3, 3-0-1 MVC) sit at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference following a hard-fought draw to No. 25 UIC in a ranked matchup. The Bears outshot the Flames 19-4 and are now outshooting opponents 128-35.
- Missouri State is second in the nation in goals against average (0.300) and third in the country in shutout percentage (.700). The Bears have only allowed three goals this season, tied with Bryant for the least in Division I.
- The Bears will conclude its longest home stand of the season at three games when they welcome the Ohama Mavericks (4-4-3, 1-1-1 Summit League) on Wednesday, October 11 at 6 p.m. CT.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS Huskies
- Angel Rodriguez’s 87th minute goal against Drake (Oct. 7) marks the first time this season that the Huskies have come from behind to get a result. The team that scored first in each of NIU’s first nine games of the season had gone on to win the contest. Rodriguez has scored in the final 15 minutes of each of NIU’s last two games, which includes a 79th minute winner at Marquette (Oct. 2). The Elgin, Ill., native has come off the bench in both games, scoring the two goals in a combined 50 minutes of play.
- Atahan Arslan is unbeaten in three games played in goal for NIU. Arslan, who has started each of the last two games, has recorded a 1.00 goals against average and a .786 save percentage. The NIU freshman goalkeeper posted his first career shutout against Marquette (Oct. 2) in a 1-0 victory and the lone goal he conceded last time out at Drake (Oct. 7) came on a penalty kick in a 1-1 draw.
Western michigan Broncos
- The Broncos continued their undefeated stretch after losing to #12 ranked University of Vermont on August 24, a month and a half ago. Western Michigan has now completed 10 games without a loss and has matched last year's best unbeaten streak of 10 games.
- The Brown and Gold are now one game away from tying the program record for the most games without a loss (11).
- The record has been set on two occasions: First in the 1983-84 season and last matched during the 2017 campaign.