Late Barea goal keeps No. 15 Missouri State atop the conference:
No. 15 Missouri State (10-2-1, 5-0-1) and Bowling Green (9-3-2, 3-1-1) faced off on Sunday night in a top of the conference showdown.
Although the Bears outshot the Falcons 9-1 in the first 45 minutes, the score remained 0-0 going into the break.
However, in the 58th minute, Missouri State senior forward Fumiya Shiraishi sent a driven shot past BG goalkeeper Brendan Graves, giving the Bears a one-goal advantage.
In the 72nd minute, BGSU sophomore forward and Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Offensive Player of the Week Bennett Painter netted his 10th goal of the season, bringing the scoreline level.
With only six minutes remaining, MSU senior forward Jesus Barea found the game-winner for the Bears, his 13th goal of the season.
Barea ranks second in the nation in total goals (13), goals per game (1.00) and total points (28).
As a team, Missouri State is fourth nationally in win-loss-tie percentage (.808) and sixth in shot accuracy (.506) and goal differential (18). With 13 points, the Bears stay on top of the conference standings.
“Bowling Green showed that tonight how good a team they are,” said Missouri State head coach Michael Seabolt after the match. “They’re a top, top team. We’ve played a lot of good teams this year, and they’re very good.”
Following the defeat, the Falcons fell to third place in the standings with 10 points.
Their next conference test will come on Friday as the Orange and Brown take on Evansville. Notably, junior forward and co-leading scorer Trace Terry will be on the sidelines against the Aces after earning a second yellow card in the final minute of Sunday’s competition.
Mefford’s goal earns Belmont their first MVC victory:
Belmont (4-7-3, 1-4-1) traveled to take on UIC (6-6-0, 2-3-0) on Friday night.
The first half was scoreless, seeing one shot on goal combined for both teams.
However, in the 57th minute, a header by redshirt sophomore defender Nate Mefford gave the Bruins the lead. The score would remain 1-0 until the final whistle, earning Belmont their first victory of MVC play.
Although UIC outshot Belmont 17-6, the Flames only tallied one shot on goal to Belmont’s three.
UIC and Belmont rank sixth and seventh in the MVC, respectively, with six and four points. Belmont now totals 12 goals this season, the lowest in the conference.
Drake remains undefeated in MVC after late comeback victory:
Drake (7-3-3, 3-0-2) faced Bradley (4-7-2, 1-4-0) in an MVC conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.
Bradley struck first with a 9th-minute goal by sophomore forward Ian Ferguson.
The match would remain 1-0 for over 70 minutes until junior forward Eloge Iradukunda equalized for the Bulldogs.
Five minutes later, sophomore midfielder Dalton Visconti headed the ball into the goal, securing the win for the Bulldogs.
Drake is one of three teams that remain undefeated in MVC play, occupying second place in the conference standings. Bradley comes eighth, totaling three points.
Northern Illinois extends losing streak to six:
Northern Illinois (2-11-0, 0-5-0) hosted Evansville (7-5-2, 3-2-0) on Saturday evening, searching for their first conference victory.
The Aces opened the scoring with a free kick in the 23rd minute, buried by redshirt freshman midfielder Jacopo Fedrizzi.
The scoreline remained unchanged until the 82nd minute when sophomore forward Sam Divis poked the ball past the Evansville goalkeeper to level the scoreline.
The Aces responded quickly, pulling ahead once again with a goal by sophomore winger Audun Engen Vik in the 85th minute.
“In the second half, I thought NIU came out really strong and they were pressing us, and credit them for getting the equalizer,” said Evansville head coach Robbe Tarver. “But the way that we responded was fantastic. Winning on the road is hard, so we’re super pumped to have nine points.”
Evansville freshman goalkeeper and MVC Defensive Player of the Week, Michal Mroz, totaled four saves on the night.
He leads the conference in saves per game (3.93), with 55 saves in 14 matches.
The Huskies lead a six-game losing streak and are the only team in the MVC without a conference win.
Evansville occupies fifth place in the conference with nine points, while NIU takes last with zero.
