The 2026 Missouri Valley Conference men’s soccer tournament title was won in dramatic fashion Saturday night, as the top-seeded Bowling Green outlasted No. 3 seed Western Michigan in 10 rounds of penalty kicks, 7-6, after a 1-1 draw in two overtimes.
 
Western Michigan’s Joseph Min scored in the 28th minute of the match, as the Broncos held the 1-0 advantage for most of the game. With 1:04 left, Bowling Green’s Tyson McCoy drew a foul in the box, before Aiden Ptacek buried the equalizing penalty kick to knot the match and send it to overtime.
 
Two overtimes were not enough, as the match went into 10 rounds of penalty kicks to decide a winner. It marked the 10th time in league history that the title match has gone into at least one overtime, and the fifth time going to multiple. The 2026 title match went to two overtimes for the first time since 2014, and it was the first time since 2010 that the champion was decided by PKs.
 
During the first nine rounds of penalty kicks, both goalkeepers – Jason Ball (BGSU) and Alex Lindewirth (WMU) – made two impressive saves each to keep their team alive. Western Michigan’s 10th attempt of the night hit the crossbar, before Bowling Green’s Sawyer Wilbanks drilled the winning PK to help the Falcons earn their first Missouri Valley Conference tournament title.
 
The 2026 title match was the first all-affiliate matchup in the championship game since 2004, when SMU and Tulsa faced off. Bowling Green’s tournament title marked its fourth Conference championship in program history, and first since the Falcons won three-straight tournament titles from 1995-97.
 
The top seed has now won the MVC men’s soccer tournament title in five of the last eight seasons. The regular-season and tournament championship sweep by Bowling Green marks the 19th time in league history, and second time in four seasons, that the feat has been accomplished.
 
With the win, the Falcons have earned The Valley’s automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament and will learn of their opening round opponent during Monday afternoon’s Selection Show.
 
2026 MVC Men’s Soccer All-Tournament Team
Nate Mefford, Belmont
Tomas Butkovic, Drake
Devin Shepherd, Evansville
Alex Tura, Evansville
Alan Alonso, UIC
Owen Cornell, UIC
Jordan Klein, Western Michigan
Alex Lindewirth, Western Michigan
Joseph Min, Western Michigan
Mads Christensen, Bowling Green
Aiden Ptacek, Bowling Green
Joshua Saavedra, Bowling Green
 
Most Valuable Player: Jason Ball, Bowling Green
 
Elite 18 Award: Caue Ramos, Bowling Green