After two weeks of MVC action, Missouri State sits atop the league standings with an unblemished 3-0 record, while Central Arkansas is alongside the Bears with nine points and a 3-1 record. Bradley remained unbeaten in league play with a 1-0 win over Drake and a 2-2 draw with Evansville and sits 2-0-1

This week's conference slate is highlighted by three Saturday night battles, as Missouri State (3-0) travels to Bradley (2-0-1), Evansville (0-1-1) visits Valparaiso (2-2) and Loyola (0-3) heads to Drake (0-3). 

NCAA RPI Report
The first edition of the NCAA RPI report for the 2017 season has been released and the Valley has three teams featured in the top-70. Missouri State leads the league at No. 41, while Evansville (No. 52), and Bradley (No. 69) are also among the nation’s top-70.

Streaks
After another win last week, Missouri State currently has the fifth longest win streak in the NCAA, sitting at five-straight. The Bears also have the sixth-best conference win streak in the country.

Longest Active Win Streaks (NCAA)
8 - North Carolina
7 – Wake Forest
6 – California, Dartmouth
5 -- Missouri State, Washington

Longest Active Conference Win Streaks (NCAA)
8 – Wake Forest (ACC)
7 – Butler (Big East)
5 -- North Carolina (ACC), UNLV (WAC), Harvard (Ivy)
4 -- Missouri State (MVC), 4 other teams

Home Shutout Streak
For the second time in program history, Bradley has posted five consecutive home shutouts. The Braves have recovered from a 2-1, double overtime loss to Gonzaga Aug. 27 at Shea Stadium by blanking their last five home opponents. The only other time Bradley has posted five consecutive home shutouts came 20 years ago in the first five games of the 1997 season. The sixth home game in 1997 was a 3-1 win against Northwestern.

Three Is A Magic Number
With a pair 3-1 win over Drake on Tuesday and a 3-2 defeat of Loyola on Saturday, Central Arkansas improved to 4-0 in matches where they have scored at least three times this season. Since head coach Ross Duncan took over the program in 2012, the Bears have scored at least three goals in 14 matches, compiling a record of 12-2-0, good for an .857 winning percentage.

Milestone Win
Missouri State head coach Jon Leamy eclipsed his 250th career win Saturday night with a 1-0 win over Valparaiso. Leamy has headed the Bears for 26 seasons making him the program’s longest tenured men’s soccer coach.

B1G In-State Showdown
Evansville will travel to Bloomington to race No. 1 ranked Indiana Tuesday evening. In the 35-match history between the two programs dating back to 1978, Indiana leads the series over Evansville, 28-4-3. The Hoosiers have won 14-straight over the Purple Aces and are 17-0-1 in the last 18 matches. The last win for Evansville in the series came on Nov. 25, 1990 - a 1-0 win in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

This week's Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week are Central Arkansas' Pepe San Roman and Bradley's Brandon Barnes.

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Pepe San Roman, Sr., M, Central Arkansas
Central Arkansas senior Pepe San Roman had a big week as the Bears earned a pair of wins to push their Missouri Valley Conference winning streak to three straight matches. The senior got the Bears going in their 3-1 win over Drake on Tuesday, firing off a beautiful free kick that curled around the wall and then dove to the right, just out of reach of Drake keeper Caden McCullough from 25 yards out. San Roman delivered again on Saturday, gathering a pass from Blake Stricker and delivering a strike from the edge of the 18-yard box to beat Loyola keeper Aidan Aylward and give the Bears their first-ever win at Loyola since 2012.

Other Notable Performances: Roman Schindler (BRAD), Ian McGrath (UE); Lucas Imrie (LUC); Josh Dolling (MSU); Alex Brown (VALPO)

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Brandon Barnes, Sr., GK, Bradley
Bradley senior Brandon Barnes continues to shine between the pipes in his first year with the Braves as a graduate transfer. His shutout streak was snapped at 333-minutes, 50-seconds by an Evansville penalty kick in the 61st minute Wednesday, but he still came through with 10 saves in the eventual 2-2 draw on the road for his second consecutive game posting double-digit saves. Barnes came up with six saves Saturday, leading the Braves to a 1-0 shutout against Drake, his sixth shutout of the season and all in the last eight games. For the season, Barnes has improved to 7-3-1 with six shutouts, a 0.79 goals against average and 0.877 saves percentage.

Other Notable Performances: Liam Priestley (MSU)