Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) tournament play kicked off this weekend with two quarterfinals matchups on Sunday.
No. 4 Western Michigan matched up with No. 5 Evansville, and No. 3 Bowling Green faced No. 6 University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC).
QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
Western Michigan entered their matchup with Evansville as the higher seed, therefore hosting Sunday’s competition.
Both teams fired five shots in the first half, but the game remained scoreless at the break.
The first goal finally came in the 74’, scored by WMU sophomore midfielder Noah James.
The Broncos only held the lead for about five minutes, until fifth-year forward Kai Phillip headed home an equalizer for the Aces, sending the game into overtime.
Evansville outshot Western Michigan 2-0 in the first overtime period but were unable to capitalize. With less than three minutes left in the second overtime, freshman defender Martin Wurschmidt connected on a corner kick, burying the golden goal.
Bowling Green hosted UIC later in the day, as the higher seed of the two sides.
It only took BGSU senior midfielder Jake Bergin 33 seconds to open the scoring, and the Falcons would hold the lead for the remainder of the 90 minutes.
Freshman midfielder Ryko Bodurov had a five-point game, contributing two goals and one assist on the night.
Sophomore forward Bennett Painter netted his 13th season goal in the 81’, securing the 4-1 win for the Falcons.
SEMIFINALS MATCHUPS:
No. 2 Drake vs. No. 3 Bowling Green:
Bowling Green advances to the semifinal to face Drake on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The semifinals will be hosted by Missouri State, the number one seed in the playoffs.
Drake finished second in the MVC, earning a bye in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs escaped conference play with only one loss, coming in their season finale against No. 1 Missouri State.
Bowling Green has totaled seven goals in their last two conference matches, allowing one.
The two sides last met on Oct. 12, drawing 0-0.
No. 1 Missouri State vs. No. 5 Evansville:
Evansville advances to the semifinals to face Missouri State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Missouri State was the regular season champion and will be hosting the tournament semifinals and finals.
The Bears were the sole undefeated team in conference play, only dropping two points with a tie against Western Michigan, earning a bye in the quarterfinals.
Missouri State ranked at No. 11 in the most recent UnitedSoccerCoaches poll.
The two teams recently competed on Nov. 1, when Missouri State dismantled Evansville 6-1.
Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ and the winners will advance to the finals on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
