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The Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Championship will kick off with semifinal round matches on Tuesday, Apr. 13. 

All three matches of the 2020-21 MVC Men's Soccer Championship, including two semifinals on Tuesday, April 13 and the championship match on Saturday, April 17 will be available for fans to follow via live streaming on ESPN+. 

2020-21 MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, Apr. 13 - Semifinals (at high seed)
No. 3 Loyola at No. 2 Drake (ESPN+) – 2 PM CT
No. 4 Bradley at No. 1 Missouri State (ESPN+) – 6 PM CT

Saturday, Apr. 17 - Championship (at high seed)
Championship (ESPN+) - TBD 

Regular-Season Champs 
Three current members of the MVC have earned regular-season titles.  Missouri State (nine, in 1997, 1999, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019 & 2020), 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.

Regular-Season Championships
12 - Creighton (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012)
9 - Missouri State (1997, 1999, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020)
4 - Bradley (1998, 2005, 2006, 2007)
4 - SMU (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004)
1 - Loyola (2016)
1 - Central Arkansas (2018)
1 - SIUE (2015)
1 - Tulsa (1991)

MVC Tourney History 
All Five 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), Missouri State (one, in 1999) and Loyola (one, in 2019). 

Tournament Championships
13 - Creighton (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012)
3 - Bradley (2007, 2010, 2013)
3 - SMU (2001, 2003, 2004)
2 - Drake (2009, 2015)
2 - SIUE (2014, 2016)
2 - Central Arkansas (2017, 2018)
1 - Evansville (1996)
1 - Loyola (2019)
1 - Missouri State (1999)
1 - Tulsa (1991)

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 former 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 four competing teams:

#1 Missouri State
25th MVC Tournament appearance
17-20-7 overall record
20th semifinal appearance (8-7-4 record)
10 title match appearances (1-8-1 record)
One MVC Tournament championship

#2 Drake
25th MVC Tournament appearance
15-20-2 overall record
16th semifinal appearance (3-10-2 record)
Three title match appearances (2-1 record)
Two MVC Tournament championships

#3 Loyola
8th MVC Tournament appearance
4-5-2 overall record
6th semifinal appearances (2-2-1 record)
Two title match appearances (0-1-1 record)
One MVC Tournament championship

#4 Bradley
23rd MVC Tournament appearance
21-16-7 overall record
20th semifinal appearance (9-9-1 record)
Nine title match appearances (3-6 record)
Three MVC Tournament championships

Streak Ended    
With the loss on Thursday, Missouri State saw its 25-game regular-season winning streak (longest in Valley history) come to an end.  It also marked the first time MSU had been defeated by a Valley opponent in the regular season since a Nov. 3, 2018 match against Central Arkansas. 

NCAA RPI
The latest RPI data leading into the upcoming MVC tournament features Missouri State at No. 5, Loyola at No. 40, Drake at No. 44 and Bradley at No. 162.The MVC sits No. 6 as a league. 

Poll Position
Missouri State is No. 8 in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll (Apr. 5).  The Bears are No. 9 in this week’s Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 rankings (Apr. 12) and sit No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 (Apr. 5). 

BRAD: Youth Movement
As Bradley prepares for Tuesday’s MVC Tournament semifinal game at Missouri State, Bradley’s 31-man roster includes 23 student-athletes who have never appeared in a postseason game for the Braves … Only five current Braves have ever started a MVC Tournament game and none of the team’s four goalkeepers have appeared in a conference postseason game … Graduate forward Gerit Wintermeyer has scored four career goals in the MVC Tournament, the only current Brave to register a postseason point .

With four MVC regular-season titles and three postseason tournament championships to its credit, Bradley enters the tourney as the only active Valley men’s soccer member to boast multiple regular-season AND tournament league championships.

DU: Second Place Finish
Drake is going into the MVC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and its second-place finish is its highest finish since 2013. The Bulldogs’ four goals against Evansville are tied for the most scored in a match this season in the MVC.
 
LUC: Streak Breakers
Led by goals from junior Billy Hency and redshirt sophomore Andrew Schweinert, Loyola handed No. 8 Missouri State its first defeat of the 2021 last Thursday, downing the Bears by a final count of 2-0 in Springfield, Mo.  The result not only brought an end to Missouri State’s perfect season, but also snapped the Bears 25-game regular-season win streak.  The Ramblers, who have won each of their last three games, will begin play in the MVC Men’s Soccer Championship on Tuesday afternoon when they battle second-seeded Drake in Des Moines, Iowa.   

MSU: Tourney’s Top Seed  
Top-seeded Missouri State will play a home MVC Tournament semifinal-round match for the first time since 2016 when Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium played host to the conference tournament.  The Bears are 8-7-4 in semifinal matches, including a 1-0 win over Drake in the 2019 tournament.

This week's Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week are Drake's Istvan Wilhelms and Loyola's Michael Hong. 

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Istvan Wilhelms, Sr., M, Drake
Drake senior midfielder Istvan Wilhelms led the Bulldogs during the regular season finale 4-0 win at Evansville Tuesday. Wilhelms was one of four players to score in the win against the Aces, finding the back of the net in the 64th minute to give Drake a 2-0 lead.  The senior also assisted on a pair of goals in the 4-0 win, assisting on Braden Allen’s goal to give Drake a 1-0 lead late in the first half as well as assisting on the game’s third goal.  The senior leads the Bulldogs with three goals and eight points this season and ranks second on the team with two assists. 

Other Notable Performances: Billy Hency (LUC)

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Michael Hong, R-So., D, Loyola
Loyola redshirt sophomore Michael Hong played put in another rock-solid effort as the Ramblers’ picked up a 2-0 win over No. 8 Missouri State this past Thursday in Springfield, Mo.  Hong, the reigning MVC Defensive Player of the Week, played all 90 minutes as the Maroon & Gold limited the Bears to just two shots on goal.  Thursday’s contest marked the first time since November 3, 2018 that Missouri State was held scoreless in a game.  Hong, who has started in all 11 games this season, has played in 1,017 out of a possible 1,033 minutes for a Rambler defensive unit that has racked up an MVC-best seven shutouts.

Other Notable Performances: Lucas Bartlett (DU)