No. 9 Men’s Soccer Hosts No. 25 UIC in Ranked Matinee - Missouri State (2024)

SPRINGFIELD - The No. 9 ranked Missouri State Bears (6-1-2, 3-0-0 MVC) looks to redeem itself following a loss at home against the Memphis Tigers last Wednesday and has an opportunity to do so as the No. 25 UIC Flames (7-3-1, 2-1-0 MVC) come to town for a ranked MVC battle on Sunday, October 8 at 1:00 p.m. CT at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Notes

• Missouri State men's soccer holds the best DI overall record of 65-8-7 (.856), best conference record of 36-1-2 (.945) and second-best home record of 37-4-3 (.875) since the beginning of the 2019 season. Only Georgetown (41-3-6, 0.880), has a better record in that span. The Bears have the 13th-best win percentage in 2023 (.778).

• The Bears are ranked No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll for the third straight week. This marks the sixth time in program history that the Bears have been in the top 10. The team has been in the top 25 for five straight weeks. Its highest ranking was No. 3 in 2000.

• After a dominant 6-0 win over Bradley, Missouri State suffered its first loss of the year last time out against Memphis 1-0. Memphis scored in the 65th minute and handed the Bears their first home loss since September 20, 2022.

• The six goals scored against Bradley last week are the most the Bears have scored in a game since defeating Cal State Northridge 7-0 on September 16th of last season. On the other end, the 1-0 loss against Memphis was the first time Missouri State had been shut out in 13 games. The last time was in a 0-0 draw against Belmont on October 23, 2022.

• The Bears' precision offense is 21st in the nation in shot accuracy with 54 of 109 shots being on goal (.495). Missouri State has outshot opponents 109-31 through nine games and is tied for 16th in DI in goal differential (+12), which leads the MVC. The Bears are also third in the conference and 49th in the nation in assists per game (1.78).

• Senior midfielder Jack Denton and senior forward Jesus Barea are both tied for 32d in the nation in game-winning goals (2). Each has scored in consecutive games throughout the year. Denton scored in the first two games against then-No. 14 Maryland and Kansas City. Barea has scored in back-to-back games against VCU and Northern Illinois.

• Jesus Barea is tied for eighth in the country in shot accuracy with 13 of his 19 shots being on goal (.684). He is also sixth in the conference in shots per game (2.11) and fifth in the MVC in shots on goal per game (1.44).

• Senior goalkeeper Harry Townsend has allowed three goals (with one being on a penalty kick) in 810 minutes. Townsend is tied for second in the nation in total shutouts (6), tied for 35th in save percentage (.786), third in goalkeeper goals against average (0.333) and is a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week this season (Aug. 29 and Sept. 26).

• Missouri State's defense has also been strong, only allowing two live goals in its first nine games, both of which were in nonconference play. The Bears are third in the nation in fewest goals allowed, with San Diego State having allowed one and Bryant allowing two. Missouri State is third in the country in shutout percentage (0.667) and team goals against average (0.333).

• Since 2019, Missouri State is 47-0-0 when scoring two or more goals. The last time the Bears scored two goals and lost was Nov. 9, 2018, in the MVC semifinals vs. No. 1 seed Central Arkansas when Missouri State lost in penalty kicks.

• Missouri State has played a clean brand of soccer and is third in the nation in fewest fouls per game (7.89), only behind Pittsburgh (7.80) and American University (7.12).

Series History

• The Missouri State Bears and UIC Flames embark on their fourth all-time meeting on Sunday and only their second since UIC joined the MVC in July 2022. Before the Flames joined, the Bears were 2-0-0 against UIC with a 5-1 home win on October 14, 1989 and a 2-1 neutral site win on September 28, 2007.

• Last season, Missouri State improved its series record to 3-0-0 with a 3-1 road win. The Bears allowed the first goal in the 19th minute to forward Josh Torres, who has four goals in 2023. Missouri State responded in the second half with three unanswered goals, including two from current Bears Jon Koka and Kian Yari.

• Sunday's matinee will be the first time the two play as ranked teams, with the Bears coming in at No. 9 and the Flames sitting at No. 25 on the United Soccer Coaches Poll 6 released on October 3.

• UIC will look for its first-ever win against Missouri State as the Bears have outscored the Flames 10-3.

Scouting the Flames

• The UIC Flames enter Sunday afternoon's game 7-3-1 on the season with a 2-1 MVC record and are 3-2 on the road. The Flames got off to a hot start by beginning the season 4-0-1, including a 2-0 win over Wisconsin, before losing to No. 19 Northwestern on the road, 4-1. UIC owns conference wins against Belmont and Drake. UIC is ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 for the first time since 2014.

• The Flames have outscored opponents 22-13 and are tied for 15th in Division I in goals scored. UIC is tied for 24th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging two goals per game. Constantly on the attack, the Flames are 20th in the country in shots per game (14.91) and 23rd in shots on goal per game (6.45).

• UIC has a handful of names leading its offense. Redshirt junior defender Jesus De Vicente is tied for first in the nation with eight assists. Junior forward Bart Muns is tied for fifth in the MVC with five goals, including two game-winners. He scored two goals in each of UIC's conference wins against Belmont and Drake, but was limited to one shot on goal in the 1-0 loss to Western Michigan on September 30. Muns won MVC Player of the Week on September 26. Junior forward Joshua Torres is tied for third in the league with four goals, including UIC's lone score against DePaul on Wednesday.

• The Flames have had two goalkeepers play this season with Rutgers graduate Oren Asher playing all 90 minutes in 10 of UIC's 11 games. Oren was the MVC Defensive Player of the Week on September 19 for his five-save shutout against Belmont. He has been the only non-Missouri State Bear to win the weekly honor since Western Michigan goalkeeper Ethan Brandt won it the second week of the season. He has four shutouts this season, good for third in the conference. He has allowed 12 goals on 33 saves. Before transferring to UIC, Asher was a five-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and had 14 shutouts. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Andres Vasquez played the full 90 minutes against Chicago State in a 2-1 win. He had one save on six shots faced while allowing one goal in the 63rd minute.

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