BOX SCORE

KALAMAZOO, MI - Western Michigan claimed the program's first MVC tournament title in its first year as a league member, claiming a 2-1 win over Missouri State Saturday afternoon.   Hehind two goals from forward captain Charlie Sharp, the Western Michigan men's soccer team clinched an automatic berth to the 2023 NCAA tournament. 

Western Michigan would never trail throughout the entirety of the contest Saturday, as the Broncos were able to get on the board just over 12 minutes into Saturday's MVC Tournament Final. Defender Jonathan Robinson would provide Sharp a service ball which in turn landed in the back of Missouri State's net to give the Broncos the early advantage. After the first half of play at WMU Soccer Complex, the Brown and Gold took a 1-0 lead heading into the final 45 minutes of play.

The Bears and the Broncos ramped up the offensive attack in the second half, combining for 22 strikes in the game's final 45 minutes. As the contest neared its conclusion, Sharp would strike again, providing an insurance goal for the Western Michigan in the 88th minute. With his strike, Sharp captured his fifth multi-goal game of the season--his second consecutive overall on Saturday.  During the goal, Sharp's teammates Dylan Sing and Robinson were credited with an assist each. Sing has now recorded seven assists this season, which ties his career high for assists in a campaign.
 

• Saturday’s win marked the first MVC Tourney title for the Broncos, including third overall in program history (two as MAC members)
• WMU’s Charlie Sharp scored a total of four goals in only two tournament matches, equaling the MVC tournament record.  Sharp became just the second player in tourney history to net four goals in two matches joining Creighton’s Keith DeFini in 1992.
• Since the 1991 season, the regular-season MVC champion has now won the MVC Tournament in the same season 18 times.
• Tournament hosts have now won the championship 11 times (10-16-1 record) in league history. Missouri State won three-straight at home before Western Michigan capturing the title Saturday.  
• Saturday was the first time since Nov. 13, 2005 (#22 Creighton at #17 Bradley) that the MVC title match featured a pair of teams ranked in the Top 25 of the United Soccer Coaches poll. 
• The Broncos will enter the NCAA Tournament riding an 18-match unbeaten streak, including a streak of eight-straight wins. 

 
MVC All-Tournament Team
Western Michigan’s Charlie Sharp was named the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament MVP, after leading the Broncos to a 2-1 win over Missouri State in the MVC Men's Soccer Tournament title and a 3-1 win over Northern Illinois in the semifinals. Sharp scored both goals in the title match, including the game winner in the final minutes.  Sharp finished the tournament with four goals, equaling the tournament record for most goals scored in a MVC tournament.  
 
The 13-member All-Tournament team is listed below:
Jansen Wilson, Belmont
Nathan Masters, Bowling Green
Juan Gutierrez, UIC
Ezau Millan, UIC
Jakub Rojek, Northern Illinois
Luis Hernandez, Northern Illinois
Nick Stone, Western Michigan
Tyler Caton, Missouri State
Landon Fisher, Western Michigan
Jesus Barea, Missouri State
Noah Janes, Western Michigan
Gijs Hovius, Missouri State
Charlie Sharp, Western Michigan (MVP)
 
Elite 17 Winner
Ollie Bate, Missouri State (3.97 GPA in Exercise & Movement Science)
 
NCAA Selection Show
The NCAA will announce the men’s soccer tournament field of 48 at 12 PM (CT) on Monday, November 13 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.

Multi Bid MVC
The Missouri Valley Conference is in position for multiple bids to the 2023 NCAA Men’s Soccer College Cup.  Western Michigan (13), Missouri State (15) and UIC (35) (as of Nov. 11) are all sitting in the Top 35 of the NCAA RPI and are in position to earn at large bids.  The Valley has produced multiple bids on 17 occasions, including four occasions of three bids (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004).
 
Against the Field
The MVC held a .500 or better record vs. 11 other leagues during non-conference play this season and posted an overall winning percentage of nearly .600 (.593) vs. non-conference competition this season. The Valley went 3-0-2 vs. the A10, 3-2-3 vs. the Big East, 5-2-3 vs. the Horizon, 6-0-3 against the Ohio Valley and 7-1-2 vs. the Summit. The MVC was also unbeaten vs. the WAC (2-0), Sun Belt (1-0), SoCon (1-0-1) and Big West (1-0).

Poll Position
Missouri State and Western Michigan both continue to appear in all three national polls. Missouri State sits No. 15 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 (Nov. 7), No. 18 in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll and No. 16 in the Top-Drawer Soccer Top 25. Western Michigan sits No. 16 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 (Nov. 7), No. 16 in this week’s College Soccer News Top 30 and No. 13 in the Top-Drawer Soccer Top 25.