Tag Archives: Eric Martin

Bears Shut Out Memphis, Bradley Visits Saturday!

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Dan Williams, Missouri State Bears (2014)

Dan Williams, Missouri State Bears (2014)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri State men’s soccer team (6-5-2, 3-0-1) wrapped up the non-conference slate with a 2-0 shutout of Memphis (3-10-1) at Plaster Field on Tuesday night.

The Bears took the lead in the 12th minute on a nice combination of passes. David Buckenheimer centered the ball to Dan Williams at the top of the box. Williams one-touched the ball forward past the defenders where Heath Melugin ran on to it and beat the Tigers’ keeper. The goal was Melugin’s team-leading sixth of the year. NOTE: check OzarksFirst.com, they showed the goal on the 10pm news and it was a beautiful one-touch pass from freshman Dan Williams into Melugin, sending him in alone on the keeper (Williams is pictured from the Evansville game above)

Missouri State continued to control the ball and play the remainder of the half and were outshooting Memphis four to two at halftime.

The Bears doubled the lead in the 65th minute. Junior Gerard Barbero handled a throw-in on the far right side near the endline and Dan Williams picked up the attempted clearance, slipping it back to Barbaro on the touchline. From their Barbero found space and slotted a cross into the box where Eric Martin rose to meet it, heading the ball past Memphis’ keeper for his first goal of the season.

Senior goalkeeper Alex Riggs was relatively untested in the shutout win. He made three saves, all in the second half. The shutout is Riggs’ sixth of the year and seventh for Missouri State. Paul Paradise led all Bears with three shots in the match. Martin added two for Missouri State.

“Memphis came out strong tonight and I think we weathered the storm early tonight,” stated head coach Jon Leamy. “We got into a rhythm and it was great to get the goals tonight.”

The Bears wrap up the current four-game home stand against conference rival Bradley on Saturday, October 30, at 7:00 p.m. Then a trip to No. 9 Creighton next Wednesday, November 3 awaits before Missouri State’s regular season finale against SIU Edwardsville on Saturday, November 6. The Bears’ 7:00 p.m. match with SIUE is the “Living Our Legacy” match to benefit the Ozarks Honor Flight.

Missouri State Bears Fall in Double OT at SMU

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Gerard Barbero, Missouri State Bears (2012)

Gerard Barbero, Missouri State Bears (2012)

From the Missouri State Bears website: DALLAS, Texas – After a more than two and a half hour delay in Dallas, the Missouri State men’s soccer team finally got the regular season underway. The Bears got off to a fast start, but SMU stormed back to defeat the Bears 3-2 in double overtime Wednesday night at Westcott Field.

The Bears got on the board first, when junior Heath Melugin headed in a corner kick from fellow junior Gerard Barbero. The goal put the Bears up 1-0 in the 30th minute. Freshman Callen Roselieb scored the Bears’ second goal of the match just five seconds before halftime. Roselieb drilled a rebound past the Mustang keeper after a corner kick by Edin Sabic. SMU was attempting to clear the ball when Roselieb intercepted and found the back of the net through heavy traffic.

But the Mustangs rebounded in the second half. Zach Barnes got the Mustangs on the board just 37 seconds into the second half. Juan Castillo would tie the match in the 87th minute of play and the teams would head to overtime.

After a scoreless back and forth first overtime period, SMU would find the back of the net to win the match in the 103rd minute. TJ Nelson would beat Missouri State keeper Alex Riggs with a shot into the lower left corner of the net.

Riggs would make eight saves for the Bears, all of which occurred in the second half and overtime. His best save came in the first overtime period when he stopped a point-blank shot by Arthur Ivo a minute and a half in to keep the match tied. Barbero registered three of the Bears’ nine shots in the match. After outshooting SMU six to two in the first half, the Mustangs would pile up 18 second half shots and add six more in overtime to overcome the 2-0 deficit.

Missouri State will travel to UMKC on Monday, September 6, for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. The Bears’ regular season home opener is against Green Bay next Friday, September 10, at 7:30 p.m. at Plaster Field.

OLE’S NOTES – my roster call in advance of the game was on target as the Bears started Vania and Roselieb in the middle with Griffiths and Clark on the back line. Two freshman along with a sophomore and junior. Griffiths and Vania were the only players, besides Riggs in goal, to play the entire 103 minutes. Eric Martin and Edin Sabic were the only substitutes to play more than 13 minutes, with both clocking 39 minutes during the course of the match.

Giving up the goal 37 seconds into the second half and in the 87th minute, allowing the Mustangs to tie the game, are the kinds of things that can lead to hair loss and more in coaches. Let’s see how the boys handle it in Kansas City on Monday.

Missouri State Tigers Sign Eric Martin

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Eric MartinFrom NWA News

Former Bentonville midfielder Eric Martin signed a letter of intent recently to play soccer at Missouri State University.

Martin was a two-year starter for the Tigers in 2007 and 2008 before finishing his high school career at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, Minn.

Shattuck-St. Mary’s features one of the top youth soccer programs in the country, competing against other club teams in the fall and spring seasons. Martin played for the U18 program that went 21-12-8 and advanced to the semifinals of Minnesota’s state cup. While at Bentonville, the 6-foot-1 midfielder was one of the more talented players in the area. As a junior, he scored 12 goals for the Tigers and was called “the pick of the bunch” by BHS head coach Mike Devaney. “When Eric is really, truly in the mood to play, he will be a real handful for other teams,” Devaney said before the 2008 season. Martin scored four goals as a sophomore in 2007. Martin also played club soccer for the Arkansas Comets for several years. Martin is a part of a seven-man signing class at Missouri State ready to compete next fall. The Bears were 7-10-5 last season.

Missouri State Bears Soccer Announces 2009 Recruits

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bearhead_125.jpgMissouri State men’s soccer coach Jon Leamy announced the addition of six student-athletes to the 2009 squad Monday. Francesco Capone, Jarred Clark, Jared Gain, Kenny Giacobbe, Eric Martin and Trevor Spangenberg have elected to play their college soccer at Missouri State and will be eligible to compete in the 2009 season.

Francesco Capone (D/M • Toronto, Ont. • Shattuck – St. Mary’s School (Faribault, Minn.)E

Capone was a two-year starter at Shattuck – St. Mary’s prep school in Faribault, Minn., and was selected as a team captain his senior season. As a junior, he started on an under-18 club team that won state and regional championships while finishing as a national finalist. He also started on an under-17 club team that won their U.S. regional, the American Soccer League tournament and appeared in the semi-finals of the Dallas Cup. As a freshman and sophomore he was on the Ontario Provincial team and the Canadian national team.

Jarred Clark (D • Atlanta, Ga. • Chamblee HS)

Clark was a two-year starter and three-year letterwinner at Chamblee (Ga.) High. As a junior, he led the Bulldogs to a 3-A state championship with 18 assists and 10 goals. In his sophomore season, he tallied 10 assists and eight goals in his team’s elite eight appearance in which the team finished 15-6 on the season. His freshman season, the team finished 14-4 and was state runner-up in class 4-A. Clark also earned a letter as the kicker on the Bulldogs’ football team his senior season.

Jared Gain (M • O’Fallon, Mo. • Fort Zumwalt West HS)

Gain was a four-year starter at midfielder for the Fort Zumwalt West Jaguars. As a senior he led the team in assists, earning him team offensive MVP, first-team all-conference, first-team all-metro and second-team all-state accolades. In his junior and sophomore seasons he earned first and second team all-conference honors respectively. Gain was named to the all-academic team and honor roll all four years of his prep career. NOTE: Jared’s older brother Jake played for the Drury Panthers

Kenny Giacobbe (M • Glen Carbon, Ill. • Edwardsville HS)

Giacobbe was a three-year starter and four-year letterman at Edwardsville (Ill.) High, where he led the Tigers to three conference championships and three regional championships. As a senior, he led the Tigers to a state-runner up finish a top-10 regional ranking and top-50 national ranking, earning him a first-team all-conference and all-state selection. Giacobbe was also named Player of the Year by the Belleville News Democrat and Alton Telegraph. Giacobbe was a team captain in both his junior and senior seasons while earning team MVP honors in his final three seasons with the Tigers. As a junior he earned first team all-conference and all-sectional honors. He earned all-conference and all-region accolades as a sophomore as well.

Eric Martin (F • Bentonville, Ark. • Shattuck – St. Mary’s School (Faribault, Minn.))

As a senior, Martin played forward for Shattuck – St. Mary’s prep-school in Faribault, Minn. Prior to his senior season he attended Bentonville (Ark.) High where he was a two-year starter and letterwinner as a midfielder. Eric was selected all-conference and all-state as a sophomore and junior. He was also a three-year starter at midfielder for the Arkansas Comets club team, finishing as state runner-up in all three of his seasons.

Trevor Spangenberg (GK • Valparaiso, Ind. • Boone Grove HS)

Spangenberg had an outstanding prep career at Boone Grove High in Valparaiso, Ind., where he started every game of his four-year high school career at goalkeeper. As a senior, he led the Wolves with 12 shutouts and a 0.27 GAA en route to an undefeated season with a 15-0-1 record and a conference championship. For his efforts he was named team captain, team MVP, first-team all-conference in both the Northern Indiana Conference and Porter County Conference, top player in the Northern Indiana Conference and first-team all-area. He also played on the Chicago Fire Juniors during the club season. As a junior, he recorded 10 shutouts and a 0.62 GAA to finish 13-3-1 on the way to first-team all-conference honors. His sophomore season he finished ranked in the top 10 in the state with a 0.76 GAA.