After an exciting week of action in the Missouri Valley Conference, another week of action is here with plenty of matchups to talk about it.
Let’s dive in:
AJ Chastonay and the Bruins vs. Tomas Butkovic and the Bulldogs:
Belmont (2-2-3, 0-0-1) takes on Drake (5-2-1, 1-0-0) at 2 PM EDT on Sunday in an intense MVC matchup. Belmont shocked the conference last weekend with a draw against No. 9 Western Michigan, putting a target on their backs as Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play continues. Drake defeated Evansville 2-1 in their first MVC game and currently lead a five-game winning streak. Their last defeat came against Northwestern, who was ranked No. 12 at the time.
Drake freshman goalkeeper Tomas Butkovic was awarded MVC defensive player of the week, following a pair of strong performances last week. Butkovic tallied six saves, four of which came in a shutout over Kansas City and two in their victory against Evansville. The Australian goalkeeper leads the Missouri Valley in shutouts (three) and will be a key player in Sunday’s competition.
Belmont has also seen strong individual performances, with senior captain midfielder AJ Chastonay being recognized as the MVC offensive player of the week. Chastonay has been instrumental in Belmont’s recent matches, scoring the lone goal in their draw at Bellarmine and assisting on the Bruin’s goal against No. 9 Western Michigan. Chastonay also leads the Bruins in goals, with five so far this season.
Drake leads the series 3-1-0, but Belmont won their most recent matchup 2-1.
Northern Illinois at Western Illinois:
Northern Illinois (2-5-0, 0-1-0) travels to Macomb on Friday to take on in-state rival Western Illinois (3-3-1) in a non-conference matchup at 6 PM EDT. NIU is coming off an exciting 1-0 performance against Mercyhurst, scoring 26 seconds into the match and spoiling Mercyhurst’s three-game win spell. Western Illinois recently defeated a strong Gonzaga side, who had previously taken down No. 9 Seattle.
The Huskies are 0-3 on the road this season and hope to end this streak with a result on Friday. NIU dominates the all-time series 27-5-0, defeating the Leathernecks 1-0 last season.
UIC hosts Missouri State:
UIC (4-3-0, 0-0-0) joins conference play on Saturday, hosting Missouri State (4-2-0, 1-0-0) at home at 8 PM EDT. Both teams boast a three-game win streak and enter the competition with similar records. Missouri State redshirt senior goalkeeper Will Lowry made his first career start in the Bears’ previous game against Bradley, claiming a shutout in their first conference victory.
“Super happy for him,” stated associate head coach Danny Frid. “I’m not surprised that he did keep a clean sheet and that he was super confident because that’s what he’s been doing every day.”
UIC has never defeated Missouri State, trailing in the series 0-5-1 and losing 1-0 last season.
Bradley vs. No. 24 Bowling Green:
Bradley (3-4-1, 0-1-0) hosts No. 24 Bowling Green (5-1-1, 1-0-0) in a conference matchup on Saturday at 8 PM EDT. Bowling Green was ranked No. 24 in Tuesday’s United Soccer Coaches poll but tied Northern Kentucky later that day, 1-1. Bradley is coming off a third-consecutive loss, falling to SIUE 0-2 on Wednesday.
Bradley junior goalkeeper Drew Berry made three saves against the Cougars and has been a crucial player for the Braves. Berry leads the Missouri Valley in Save % (.828) and saves per game (4.80) with 24 saves in five games played.
No. 9 Western Michigan vs. Evansville:
No. 9 Western Michigan (5-0-3, 0-0-1) returns home to face Evansville (4-3-1, 0-1-0) on Sunday at 2 PM EDT. Western Michigan earned a result in their last 29 games, but tied their last two matches 1-1, at Belmont and Dayton. Evansville is also coming off a 1-1 draw with Indiana, ending their three-game losing streak which included a 1-2 result against Drake. Last time the teams met, the match ended in a 2-2 tie.
