TOURNAMENT NOTEBOOK (PDF)
The Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Championship will kick off with quarterfinal round matches on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at Loyola Soccer Park on the campus of Loyola University Chicago
All five matches of the 2019 MVC Men's Soccer Championship, including two quarterfinals on Wednesday, two semifinals on Friday and the championship match on Sunday, will be available for fans to follow via live streaming on
ESPN+. Sean Wheelock (play-by-play) and Ty Keough (analyst) will call the matches on Wednesday live from Loyola Soccer Park, while Kyle Peach (play-by-play) and Ty Keough (analyst) will call the Friday and Sunday matches.
Missouri State Crowned
Missouri State earned its eighth Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title after a 3-2 overtime win at Valparaiso on Oct. 30. The Bears finished league play with a 10-0-0 record, becoming the first team to finish Valley play with 10 wins. MSU ends the regular season with a 16-0-0 record, giving the Bears the first perfect regular season recorded by an NCAA Division I men’s soccer team since Akron in 2009.
Unbeaten Champs
Missouri State became just the sixth team in Valley history, and first since 2004, to complete the conference season with no losses or ties. The Bears’ 10 league wins this season set a new Valley record, beating SMU’s 9-0-0 mark in 2001.
Perfect MVC Regular-Season Champions
1991 Tulsa 4-0-0 %
1993 Creighton 5-0-0 %
1996 Creighton 5-0-0 #
2001 SMU 9-0-0 %
2004 SMU 8-0-0 %
2019 Missouri State 10-0-0
% Won MVC Tournament
# Reached College Cup but did not win MVC Tournament
Regular-Season Champs
Three current members of the MVC have earned regular-season titles. Missouri State (eight, in 1997, 1999, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017 & 2019), Bradley (four, in 1998, 2005, 2006 and 2007) and Loyola (one, in 2016) all have titles. Former league members Creighton (12), SMU (4), SIUE (1), Central Arkansas (1) and Tulsa (1) are the only other schools to have been crowned MVC regular-season champions.
MVC Tourney History
Four current league members have won the MVC Tournament title, including Bradley (three, in 2007, 2010 and 2013), Drake (two, in 2009 and 2015), Evansville (one, in 1996) and Missouri State (one, in 1999).
Host Success
Tournament hosts have won the championship just six times (6-16 record) in league history. Former league member Creighton won the MVC Tournament three times on its home field (in six opportunities), while Bradley has taken home the MVC Tournament crown twice in eight tries and Drake won in its lone hosting opportunity (2009). Two other league members, including Evansville (0-3) and Missouri State (0-2) have failed to win the MVC Tournament in the year(s) it hosted. This year marks Loyola’s first time hosting.
Double Champions
Since the 1991 season, the regular-season MVC champion has won the MVC Tournament in the same season 14 times. Former league members Creighton and SMU are the only two teams to accomplish this feat more than one time, as the Bluejays were crowned both regular-season and tournament champions on eight different occasions, while the Mustangs achieved it twice. Current league members Bradley and Missouri State, and MVC member Tulsa and Central Arkansas, have each accomplished this once.
MVC Tournament Resumes
Below is a look at the MVC Men’s Soccer Tournament history of each of the six competing teams:
Bradley
22nd MVC Tournament appearance
20-15-7 overall record
18 semifinal appearances (9-8-1 record)
Nine title match appearances (3-6 record)
Three MVC Tournament championships
Drake
24th MVC Tournament appearance
14-19-2 overall record
14 semifinal appearances (3-9-2 record)
Three title match appearances (2-1 record)
Two MVC Tournament championships
Evansville
21st MVC Tournament appearance
7-17-3 overall record
Eight semifinal appearances (3-4-1 record)
Three title match appearances (1-2 record)
One MVC Tournament championship
Loyola
Seventh MVC Tournament appearance
3-5-1 overall record
Four semifinal appearances (1-2-1 record)
one title match appearance (0-1 record)
Missouri State
24th MVC Tournament appearance
16-20-6 overall record
18 semifinal appearances (7-7-4 record)
Nine title match appearances (1-8 record)
One MVC Tournament championship
Valparaiso
Third MVC Tournament appearance
0-2 (.000) overall record
Last Team Standing
Missouri State extended its winning streak to 16 games with Saturday’s win over Drake. The winning streak ranks first nationally and sets a new program record. Missouri State is the first MVC program to start a season 16-0-0 since SMU started the 2001 season 21-0-0 before suffering its only loss in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals to St. John’s. The Bears are the only team still sitting perfect in all of NCAA Division I. Missouri State’s 16-0 start is the best start in NCAA history since the 2009 Akron team opened its season by going 23-0 (lost in national championship to Virginia).
Historical Win Streak
Missouri State finished 10-0-0 in Valley play, becoming the first team in league history to go 10-0-0 in league play. The streak is the longest league win streak in Valley history.
Longest MVC Match Win Streaks (Valley History)
1. Missouri State (2019) 10
2. SMU (2001, 2004) 9
3. SMU (2000) 8
Missouri State’s 16 match win streak is also moving up the Valley historical charts.
Longest Overall Win Streaks (Valley History)
1. SMU (2001) 21
2. Creighton (1993) 19
3. Missouri State (2019) 16
4.. SMU (2000) 14
5. Missouri State (1999) 12
High Scoring Bears
Missouri State has scored 39 goals on the season, marking their best season output this decade. The Bears have only led The Valley in scoring twice in league history, netting 59 goals in 1995 and 49 goals in 1999 (MVC Champs with 17-1-3 record). The 39 goals are the most in The Valley since Creighton netted 39 during their 2012 College Cup run. The last team to net 40 goals in a season was Creighton’s 2011 College Cup team.
Scoring Streak
Matthew Bentley of Missouri State extended his scoring streak to eight-straight matches with the game-winning goal against Drake Saturday. Bentley has scored 11 goals during the eight-match streak, with three multi-goal performances (most in MVC). All 13 of his goals this season have come in Valley play. The MVC record is 10-straight matches by Jimmy Dowell of Tulsa (Sept. 23, 1994 Oct. 25, 1994) (10th longest streak in NCAA History). Dowell was the MVC Player of the Year during that 1994 season.
Elite on Both Ends
The Bears rank 9th nationally with a GAA of .612 (10 goals allowed) and rank 8th in goals per game (2.44). Missouri State joins Saint Mary’s (CA) as the only teams nationally to rank Top 10 nationally in both categories.
RPI Update
According to official RPI Update from the NCAA (Nov. 11), Missouri State sits 11th in the RPI with Loyola coming in at No. 41. The MVC ranks 12th as a conference.
Polling
Missouri State continues to appear in the national rankings this week, sitting in the top 10 at No. 9 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll, No. 12 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 25 and No. 11 in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll. Loyola is receiving votes in the College Soccer News poll.
MVC in Regional Rankings
The MVC has three teams ranked in the latest United Soccer Coaches West Regional rankings released on Tuesday (Nov. 12). Missouri State remained in the top spot in the region and sits No. 1, while Loyola (5th) and Bradley (9th) also appear in the poll.
Special 12th Man
In a tale of two remarkable journeys coming together, the 2019 Missouri State men’s soccer team features an incredible teammate, Nick Heun, as its 12th-man this season. A 10-year old from Bruner, Mo., Nick was diagnosed with immunity and neurological disorders at the age of 5 which requires frequent trips to St. Louis for treatments. Courtesy of Team Impact, Nick joined the Missouri State men’s soccer team on Aug. 14, 2019 with a live-signing in front of family, friends, and his new teammates. Nick and the rest of the Heun family, Amanda (Mom), John (Dad), Matthew (Brother), and Evie (Sister), have joined a Bears’ squad that is in the midst of their greatest start in program history with a 15-0 record. Nick has been at practices and every home soccer match, helping the team get ready in warmups and cheering them on from the sideline. Missouri State held its own special “Nick at Night” for the Oct. 1 match against Omaha, distributing personalized “Nick’s Journey” wristbands for fans as Nick was announced in the starting lineup of the Bears’ 1-0 win. Nick has brought an inspiring energy and positive attitude for the 2019 MSU Bears as we recognize his courage and support as our 12th-man.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week are Bradley's Gerit Wintermeyer and Loyola's Marcel Kampman.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Gerit Wintermeyer, Jr., F, Bradley
Bradley’s active career scoring leader and 2019 scoring leader, Wintermeyer added to his totals with three goals, including both game-winners, leading the Braves to a pair of wins last week. Wintermeyer netted the game-winner with just 23 seconds remaining in regulation Monday at Western Illinois, collecting a flank service with two defenders around him, but freeing himself enough to fire off a shot from 8 yards out to beat the Leathernecks keeper. With a chance to climb into the No. 2 seed for the MVC Tournament, Wintermeyer helped the Braves rally for the 2-1 win Saturday against Evansville by burying a 19th-minute penalty kick and then scoring the game-winner in the 82nd minute by finishing at the far post. Wintermeyer’s brace Saturday versus Evansville was the first by a Brave since he also scored a pair of goals in last year’s regular-season finale versus the Purple Aces. Leading the Braves with seven goals this season, Wintermeyer (21) became the ninth player in program history to total 20 career goals and he moved into a tie for sixth in Bradley history with his eighth career game-winning goal.
Other Notable Performances: Liam Wilson (DU); Justin Sukow (LUC); Matthew Bentley (MSU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Marcel Kampman, Gr., GK, Loyola
Kampman notched his seventh shutout of the season on Saturday in a 3-0 victory over Valparaiso. The graduate student recorded two saves and now has 35 on the season. Kampman is tied for first in the MVC in shutouts with Bradley’s Nathan Wisbey. He still leads all MVC goalkeepers in minutes, playing every minute of all 17 matches this season.
Other Notable Performances: Connor Langan (MSU)