Eight of the nine conference squads have had their first taste of Valley action following last week's play. Missouri State, UIC, Western Michigan and Drake each sit 1-0 in league play following wins over the weekend. Four more MVC matches appear on the schedule Friday and Saturday, including a battle of two 1-0 squads as Drake visits UIC at 7 PM Saturday on ESPN+.
Upcoming Valley Schedule
Valley men’s soccer teams are taking care of business on their home pitches this season. Valley teams enter the week sitting 13-1-10 overall at home during non-conference play. During the opening weekend of league play, home teams won two of the four Valley matches.
The impressive home success will be put to the test on Tuesday as the non-conference slate features a home match vs. a Top 25 team. Evansville will look to stay unbeaten at home as #5 Louisville comes to town.
MVC STATS
NCAA Leaders
Western Michigan's Charlie Sharp and Missouri State's Harry Townsend each enter the week ranking top three in the nation in a statistical category.
- Charlie Sharp (WMU): 2nd nationally in total goals (7)
- Harry Townsend (MOST): 3rd nationally in GAA (.200)
Polling
Missouri State enters the top 10 at No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 (Sept. 19) this week. The Bears comes in at No. 8 in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll and No. 15 in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 this week.
UIC is making its first appearance in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 this week, appearing at No. 25 in the poll.
Western Michigan moved into the College Soccer News Top 30 poll this week, sitting at No. 28.
Belmont Bruins
- UIC snapped Belmont’s 20-match home unbeaten streak, which was the second-longest in the country, on Saturday with a 2-0 win over the host Bruins. It had been exactly 900 days since Belmont’s last defeat at E.S. Rose Park – March 30, 2021.
- In non-conference action last Tuesday, the Bruins earned their second shutout of the season with a 4-0 road victory at Southern Indiana. All of Belmont’s goals were scored in the opening 33 minutes of the match. It marked the first time since Aug. 27, 2017, the Bruins had scored four goals in a single half. The four goals were the most for Belmont in a single match since the Bruins defeated IUPUI 4-0 at home on Oct. 5, 2021.
BRADLEY Braves
- Ethan Beauman-Anash earned a spot on top drawer soccer’s national team of week this past week. He became BU’s first selection in 10 years and first ever freshman to be named.
- Peoria will see two of their local soccer heros return to the Hilltop this weekend with Myles Sophanavong of Green Bay, and Wes Gibson of SIUE playing the Braves this weekend. Both played for USL2 Peoria City the last two years.
Bowling green Falcons
- Two of BGSU’s three wins this season to date have been come-from-behind victories. The 2023 campaign marks the first time BGSU has picked up two come-from-behind wins in a season since 2016. BGSU has not recorded more than two comeback wins since at least 1997.
- Entering Tuesday night’s Wright State match, the Falcons have an overall record of 45-27-14 over the last 86 games, dating to midway through the 2018 season. BG has 20 multiple-goal victories and just 10 multi-goal losses during that time.
DRAKE Bulldogs
- The Bulldogs started their 2023 conference slate on a high note with a 2-1 victory over Evansville at home. 2023 Preseason All-MVC selection AJ Franklin bookended Drake’s win with an early score to take the lead in the 8th minute and a clutch game-winner in the 86th minute to secure the win.
- The Bulldogs will hit the road for their next two matches in MVC play with trip to UIC on Saturday, Sep. 23 and Belmont on Sunday, Oct. 1.
EVANSVILLE Purple aces
- Tuesday night’s game will be the first time in five years that UE has welcomed a Top 5 team to Arad McCutchan Stadium. The last time the Aces had a Top 5 team at home was against then No. 2 Indiana in 2018 for a 5-0 loss.
- UE is still keeping up a brutal offensive attack despite only recording a goal over the weekend. The Aces are 66th in the nation in shots per game averaging 12.71 over 90 minutes. Evansville’s attack is good for 2nd in the Missouri Valley Conference, less than a shot behind leaders UIC.
UIC Flames
- The Flames are in the midst of their best start to a regular season since 2008, when they went 7-0-2 to start the year.
- UIC is undefeated in matches In which they score two or more goals (5-0-1), and boast the same record in matches they score the first goal
MISSOURI STATE Bears
- The No. 15-ranked Missouri State Bears (4-0-1) are coming off its most dominant performance as it opened conference play with a 3-0 win over Northern Illinois. Three different Bears scored, and all three goals came via an assist. Jesus Barea scored for the second straight game and also came up with an assist at the end of the game. Senior forward put a beautiful kick over the outstretched goalkeeper to hit the top-left corner for his first goal of the season. Finally, sophomore forward Gijs Hovius scored his first goal as a Bear on a rebound shot that bounced off the goalkeeper.
- Missouri State has now outshot its opponents 53-14 and is outscoring opponents 7-1. The Bears are tied for third in the nation in shutout percentage (.800) and team goals against average (.200). Senior goalkeeper Harry Townsend is tied for eighth in the country in save percentage (.857) and is also tied for third in shutouts (4) and goals against average (.200).
- The Bears once again have one conference matchup this week as they will return home to welcome the Belmont Bruins (3-2-2) on Friday, September 22 at 7:00 p.m. CT at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS Huskies
- Taisei Arima scored his second goal of the season last week against Milwaukee (Sept. 12). Arima is tied for the team lead with seven points (two goals, three assists). Arima has recorded points in four of the last six games and had his three-game point streak ended in the conference opener against Missouri State (Sept. 16).
- NIU goalkeeper Jakub Rojek ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference, and 32nd nationally, with 4.33 saves per contest. The Chicago native has started six-of-seven games for the Huskies in goal this season and has recorded five-or-more saves in three of those contests. Rojek has made 26 saves overall this season, fourth best in the MVC and 29th in the nation.
Western michigan Broncos
- The Broncos climbed inside the top 30 in the College Soccer News rankings for the second time in 2023, sitting 28th. Previously, WMU ranked 22nd this season in the preseason rankings on August 21.
- The Brown and Gold have been off to a hot start to begin the 2023 campaign, winning five of their first seven matches by an average of two goals in their victories. This past week, Western Michigan saw wins over Dayton (5-4), Detroit Mercy (5-0), and Bowling Green (1-0) en route to the team's first three-game win streak of the season.