Missouri State Bears with an International introduction
#26 Drake Bulldogs – 2
The 25th-ranked Missouri State men’s soccer team (11-3-2, 6-1-1) won its sixth straight game defeating visiting Drake (10-6-1, 5-3-0) in overtime, 3-2, in front of the 1,075 fans at Plaster Field this afternoon. The crowd was the fourth largest attendance in Missouri State men’s soccer history.
Missouri State jumped out to the early lead in the 16th minute on a rush up the left side. Kyle Windmueller sent the ball ahead, where Edin Sabic took a shot from 15 yards out. Sabic’s shot got past Bulldog keeper Jordan Kadlec and an attempted save by a defender was unsuccessful.
In the second half, the Bears would double their lead in the 75th minute. David Buckenheimer took a ball up the left side all the way to the endline before he made a move and centered the ball to Ben Griffiths. Griffiths beat the defender to the ball and took a partial bicycle kick and drilled the ball into the net.
Drake would put goals on the board in the 81st and 82nd minute of play to tie the match and send it into overtime. But Missouri State came out strong in the extra period. Just 21 seconds into overtime, Gerard Barbero stole the ball from a defender and dribbled into the box, drilling a low shot into the net for the game winner.
Missouri State goalkeeper Alex Riggs made three saves and recorded his 11th victory of the season. The Bears outshot the Bulldogs, 10-8, but Drake earned five corners to Missouri State’s one.
“It was a huge win,” said head coach Jon Leamy. “I am proud of our team and the way they responded today. We want to thank all of the fans who came out today and we hope they will be back for our match on Wednesday.”
UPDATE – Here’s the KSPR 33 Report from the game including video of the goal from the far side of the box and interviews with Coach Leamy and goalkeeper Alex Riggs
The Bears will host Evansville on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. to wrap up the home portion of their regular season schedule. Missouri State could clinch the conference title with a win over the Purple Aces on Wednesday. The Bears will travel to Eastern Illinois on November 7 to wrap up regular season play.
On a related note, the Missouri Valley Conference RPI just went up a notch with this result yesterday!
Creighton Blue Jays – 1
#7 UCLA Bruins – 0
OMAHA, Neb. – Ethan Finlay’s goal in the 50th minute and an outstanding effort from the Creighton men’s soccer team earned the Bluejays a 1-0 victory over seventh-ranked UCLA Saturday afternoon at Morrison Stadium. The Bluejays did not allow a shot from UCLA until the 34th minute and out-shot the Bruins 12-5 in the win. Creighton now stands at 7-3-4 on the season, dropping UCLA to 9-3-2.
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To EVERYONE who was involved in today’s Launch A Legacy game, THANK YOU for the overwhelming success you made of this event!
-1,075 crowd, 4th-largest in Bears’ men’s soccer history
-3+ barrels of food & cash donated for Ozarks Food Harvest food bank
-a 3-2 OT win over the #26 team in the country!
I specifically want to thank:
-Katie Streck, Megan Keane, & Tim Bohn from MSU Athletics
-MSU MBA student Zack Larsen
-the students in my MGT 412 class at MSU
-bagpiper Beau Buffington
-the MSU Army ROTC color guard
-anthem singer Jennifer Robinett of Nixa
And last but certainly not least, thanks to SGFsoccer.com and Steve “Ole” Olson for promoting this event through the Web site, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as serving on the advisory committee and providing the sharp-looking commemorative autograph cards to our fans today.
Oh, and it’s probably only appropriate to thank THE 25TH-RANKED MISSOURI STATE BEARS and Coach Jon Leamy and his staff for a thrilling MVC win that held their place AT THE TOP OF THE MVC!!!
IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BE AT PLASTER FIELD AGAIN THIS WEDNESDAY AT 1 P.M. TO ROOT THE BEARS ON TO VICTORY OVER EVANSVILLE! This team has a shot at being special, and THEY DESERVE CONTINUED SUPPORT, just as you did today.
THANK YOU SPRINGFIELD, AND GO BEARS!!!!
Thank YOU Missouri State and Springfield Soccer Community for your support of The Food Bank’s efforts in feeding those in need in Southwest Missouri!
The Food and Funds collected at this game will provide more than 750 meals to men, women and children throughout the Ozarks! On behalf of Ozarks Food Harvest and the 55,000 individuals that we serve each month, THANK YOU for this generous support!