In its first year as a league member, Western Michigan secured at least a share of the regular season title and top seed in the upcoming Valley tournament with a 5-0 win over Belmont Friday. The Broncos enter the regular season finale riding a five-match winning streak and have not lost a match since their season opener at Vermont.

Missouri State has secured the No. 2 seed in the tourney field and can claim a share of the title with a win vs. Drake along with a WMU loss at Bradley.

Tournament seeding for the upcoming MVC Men’s Soccer Championship will be announced Wednesday evening following the conclusion of the regular season matches. Seeds 3-6 will take part in the quarterfinal round Sunday, Nov. 5 at each high seed. Top seed Western Michigan will host both semifinals on Nov. 8 along with the title match on Nov. 11.

Seed Ranges for MVC Tournament (WEBSITE)
The top six teams at the end of the regular season Wednesday will qualify for the MVC Tournament. Western Michigan, Missouri State, Bowling Green and UIC have secured a spot in the field.

Team                                   Points                  Range   Match Remaining
Western Michigan               19                          1            @BRAD
Missouri State                     16                          2            DU
UIC                                     14                          3-4         None
Bowling Green                    12                          3-5         @NIU
Belmont                                9                          4-out      UE
Northern Illinois                    7                          5-out      BGSU
Evansville                             7                          5-out     @BEL
Drake                                    4                          6-out     @MOST
Bradley                                 4                          out         WMU

According to the latest RPI Update from the NCAA, the MVC has five teams sitting in the Top 100 of the RPI. Missouri State sits 20th in the RPI with Western Michigan also in good position at 21. UIC sits 37th, Belmont 75th and Bowling Green 90th. The MVC ranks 9th as a conference.

The last time the MVC finished the season with four teams sitting in the Top 100 of the RPI was 2012 (Bradley, Creighton, Evansville, SIUE) and the last time with five was 2010 (BRAD, DU, MOST, SIUE, CU).

Missouri State and Western Michigan both continue to appear in all three national polls this week. Missouri State sits No. 18 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 (Oct. 24), No. 21 in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll and No. 15 in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25.

Western Michigan sits No. 23 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 (Oct. 24), No. 17 in this week’s College Soccer News Top 30 and No. 13 in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Jesus Barea, Missouri State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Oren Asher, UIC