SPRINGFIELD, MO – Missouri State (12-1-4) claimed the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship and secured a trip to its fourth straight NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 victory over Evansville (8-5-6) Sunday at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium.
The Bears (12-1-4) and the Purple Aces were locked in a defensive stalemate throughout the first half of MSU's fourth-straight MVC title match, neither able to break through the other's strong backfield. Uncharacteristic of the usual aggressive attacking Bears, MSU only got three shots off in the opening 30 minutes and couldn't get one to land.
In the 32nd minute, MSU finally earned a scoring chance. An Evansville foul inside the box set up a penalty kick for the Bears, but UE goalkeeper Landon Amick guessed right, as
Kian Yari's shot sailed into the hands of the backup goalie.
MSU and Evansville went into the break tied at zero.
James Jennings' goal in the 58th minute was his third of the season and was the only scoring needed to claim the title
With today’s win, Missouri State captured the program’s third-straight MVC Tournament title and fourth overall.
- Missouri State joins Creighton as the only programs to win back-to-back-to-back Valley tourney titles. Creighton won four-straight from 1992-95.
- Sunday’s shutout was the Bears’ 12th shutout of the season, setting a new program record.
- Since the 1991 season, the regular-season MVC champion has now won the MVC Tournament in the same season 17 times. Missouri State joins former league members Creighton as the only teams to accomplish this feat more than twice. The Jays were crowned both regular-season and tournament champions on eight different occasions, Missouri State has four.
- Missouri State has surrendered only nine goals all season (T-3rd nationally). Only Western Michigan (8) and Duke (7) have allowed fewer goals this season.
MVC All-Tournament Team
Missouri State’s Harry Townsend was named the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament MVP, after leading the Bears’ to a 1-0 win over Evansville in the MVC Men's Soccer Tournament title and a 2-0 win over Bradley in the semifinals. Townsend posted a pair of clean sheets in the tournament, notching his 11th and 12th shutouts on the season.
The 14-member All-Tournament team is listed below:
Damian Segura, Drake
Oskar Lenz, SIUE
Paul Brauckmann, UIC
Jackson Fyda, Bradley
Erik Catus, Bradley
Dylan Steely, Belmont
Michael Saunders, Belmont
Ethan Garvey, Evansville
Lewis Green, Missouri State
Jose Vivas, Evansville
Michael Peck, Missouri State
Ola Arntsen, Evansville
James Jennings, Missouri State
Harry Townsend, Missouri State (MVP)
Elite 17 Winner
Giacomo Sala, Missouri State (3.90 GPA in International Business Administration)
NCAA Selection Show
The NCAA will announce the men’s soccer tournament field of 48 at 12 PM (CT) on Monday, November 14 on NCAA.com. 23 of the 48 spots will be AQ’s with the final 25 teams being at-large selections. The teams will be seeded so that 16 of the 48 teams will receive a First-Round bye and automatically advance to the Second Round.