NOTEBOOK (PDF)
Loyola, Missouri State and Central Arkansas have each officially earned a spot in the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament which will be held November 7, 9 and 11 at the University of Evansville. The top six teams in the standings will advance to the league tournament.
Two weeks remain in the regular season schedule. The winner of Saturday’s Valpo at Evansville match will secure a bid, while a Drake win over Missouri State would lock up a spot for the Bulldogs. Valpo could also secure a spot with a draw against the Purple Aces.
Loyola can lock up the program’s second outright regular season title and first since 2016 with a win at Central Arkansas Saturday.
Red Hot Ramblers
Since starting the season with a 1-3 record, Loyola has posted a 7-1-2 record and holds an RPI of 47 entering this week’s action. The Ramblers have four straight wins and are unbeaten in their last six, outscoring opponents 9-0 in the month of October.
Strong in Net
Loyola goalkeeper Josh Lagudah is quietly having one of the best seasons in program history. He has logged seven shutouts in his first year to put him in a tie for 7th among single-season leaders in program history and is carrying a scoreless minute streak of 402:11 across his ongoing four straight shutout streaks. Lagudah is tied for 8th nationally in shutouts (7) and is 7th in goals against (.572).
Big Comeback
Trailing 2-0 in the 74th minute, Central Arkansas struck twice in a three-minute span to steal a point on the road and clinch a MVC Tourney spot. The two-goal comeback was the biggest for the Bears in the 70th minute or later since moving to Division I.
Unbeaten Streak
Valpo advanced its unbeaten streak to four with last week’s 2-2 draw with Central Arkansas at Brown Field. Valpo is 2-0-2 during a four-game streak that marks the program’s longest stretch without a loss since 2016, when Valpo went six straight without a setback from Sept. 24 to Oct. 11.
Perfect in Non-Con
Despite a 1-4-0 record in MVC play, Bradley is a perfect 6-0-3 in non-conference play this season, increasing its win streak to 10-straight against non-league opponents. The Braves last suffered a non-conference defeat back on Oct. 17, 2017 against UIC.
NCAA RPI Report
The latest NCAA RPI report has been released and The Valley has four teams featured in the top-100. Loyola leads the league at No. 47, while Missouri State (No. 61), Bradley (No. 96) and Drake (No. 99) are also among the nation’s top-100. The MVC ranks 12th among 24 conferences.
MVC in Regional Rankings
The MVC has four teams currently ranked in the latest United Soccer Coaches West Regional rankings released on Tuesday (Oct. 23). Loyola sits No. 5 in the region, while Missouri State (6th), Bradley (8th) and Drake (9th) also appear in the poll.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week are Bradley's Gerit Wintermeyer and Albert Reinwart.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Gerit Wintermeyer, So., F, Bradley
Wintermeyer contributed to three of Bradley’s four goals last week, capped by his 100th-minute game-winning header Saturday night at Drake. Wintermeyer assisted both of Younes Dayekh’s two goals in Tuesday’s 3-1 win against Omaha, including the game-winner in the 46th minute. With Bradley facing a must-win situation Saturday at Drake, where the Braves had not won since 2002, Wintermeyer headed home the golden goal from the penalty spot at 99:03 to give Bradley a 1-0 victory. Saturday’s goal at Drake was Wintermeyer’s fourth game-winning goal of the season. He now leads the Braves with six goals and 15 points.
Other Notable Performances: Moiad Ankir (UCA); Aidan Megally (LUC); Josh Dolling (MSU); Adan Garcia (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Albert Reinwart, Jr., GK, Bradley
Reinwart came through with nine saves, including a penalty kick stop, helping the Braves to a pair of victories last week. Omaha (16-7) and Drake (20-11) combined to outshoot Bradley 36-18 in the two games last week, but aided by Reinwart’s work between the pipes, the Braves won the combined scoring battle, 4-1. With Bradley leading 2-1 in the 76th minute Tuesday, Omaha was awarded a penalty kick and Reinwart stopped the potential tying goal with a dive to his left and promptly started a scoring sequence with his outlet pass, leading to the final 3-1 margin. With Bradley facing a must-win situation at a place the Braves had not won since 2002, Reinwart came up with six saves Saturday at Drake to record his fourth shutout of the season.
Other Notable Performances: Grant Stoneman (LUC); Jake Laird (MSU)