With the quarterfinal round of the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament in the books, there are now four remaining teams, but only one will take home the MVC Tournament Championship and receive an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Men’s Soccer College Cup.
After two quarterfinal matches with very different stories, now the four best in the MVC remain.
NO. 1 MISSOURI STATE VS NO. 5 EVANSVILLE
For the first knockout match on Sunday, it was the number five-seeded Evansville Purple Aces who upset the nationally ranked and four-seeded Western Michigan, 2-1 in Kalamazoo.
It took two overtime periods, but Evansville’s resilience paid off. The Purple Aces were down a goal in the 74th minute after Western Michigan’s Noah James found the back of the net.
Just four minutes later, Kai Phillip equalized for Evansville. Then, in the second overtime period, Martin Wurschmidt got on the end of a corner kick, blasting the ball into the net for the game-winning goal in the 108th minute.
Not only did Evansville book their trip to Springfield, Missouri, to face the Missouri State Bears, they became the first team to beat Western Michigan at WMU Soccer Complex since 2022.
I’m just a proud coach,” stated Evansville head coach Robbe Tarver postgame. “These guys have worked so hard to set a new standard for the program. We’re happy to have more time together this season.”
With the result, the MVC regular-season champions and number-one seed Missouri State will welcome Evansville to Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium for the semifinal round.
The Bears enjoyed a bye-week heading into this match after posting an impressive 12-2-2 regular-season record and were unbeaten in MVC play with a 7-0-1 record.
Missouri State has been spearheaded by forward Jesus Barea all season long, who is third in the nation in goals with 15 on the year. Arguably the best
Winning their 12th MVC regular-season championship, which is tied for the most all-time, Missouri State head coach Michael Seabolt understands the importance of having home-field advantage in the tournament.
“The most important thing is being in Springfield in front of our fans, our school, our city, and our state,” said Seabolt. “We play for Missouri State University and the city of Springfield. We’re just so excited to be in front of them and bring the Missouri Valley Tournament to Springfield one last time.”
When both these teams met earlier this season, it was a 6-1 thrashing in favor of Missouri State. Despite Evansville scoring early in their match this season, the Bears scored six unanswered goals and outshot the Purple Aces 24-5 on the night.
Can David beat Goliath? Missouri State has been a powerhouse all season long, but Evansville has already upset one nationally-ranked team this tournament, don’t count out the Purple Aces.
NO. 2 DRAKE VS NO. 3 BOWLING GREEN
The second quarterfinal match took place at Cochrane Stadium in Bowling Green, where the Falcons took care of business against the sixth-seeded UIC Flames, defeating the Flames 4-1.
Bowling Green led from the opening 33 seconds of the match and never looked back with a long-range blast from Jake Bergin to open up the scoring.
UIC had plenty of chances throughout the game and was, at times, even the better side. But Bowling Green was more clinical in the final third.
Freshman Ryko Bodurov made it 2-0 BG before halftime; then, in the second half, he got himself a brace after a spectacular back-heel goal to extend Bowling Green’s lead to three.
The Flames got on the board through a goal from Bart Muns, but it was all too late as Bowling Green’s Bennett Painter headed home their fourth and final goal.
Bowling Green’s win was their first-ever MVC Tournament win in program history, and now will have a date with the second-seeded Drake Bulldogs in Missouri.
“I enjoyed the turnaround at halftime from the guys, they dug down, they could’ve easily tried to coast, and they didn’t, said BGSU head coach Eric Nichols postgame. “They knew they needed to be better and I was much more pleased with the second half than the first.”
Drake is the only team that Bowling Green did not beat at home this season. After nine home matches played, the Orange and Brown were 8-0-1. Their only draw? A 0-0 tie against Drake in October.
The Bulldogs earned a bye-week as well, heading into the MVC Tournament after a 5-1-2 conference record and 9-4-3 overall. Drake was one win away from winning the MVC regular season but was defeated by the champions, Missouri State, 1-0 at home to close out the regular season.
With only 17 goals conceded all season, Drake has been anchored by their backline and freshman goalkeeper Tomas Butkovic, who leads the MVC in shutouts with six.
The last time these two sides met was a cagey affair with not a lot of chances. Playoff games are defined by moments, and taking advantage of the opportunities given. What could ultimately decide who advances to the MVC Tournament final, may be who capitalizes on their chances first.
WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH
Both of the semi-final matches will take place on Wednesday, November 13. Starting with Bowling Green vs Drake at 4 p.m., and then Missouri State vs Evansville at 7 p.m. Both are streaming on ESPN+.
