Springfield Standard

Missouri State University's women's soccer team will travel to Edwardsville, Illinois, to face SIUE on Sunday, August 24 at Ralph Korte Stadium. The Bears enter the match with a record of 0-2-1, while SIUE stands at 1-1-1.

In their last meeting on August 17, 2023, Missouri State defeated SIUE 2-0, with Julia Kristensen scoring for the Bears. The previous matchup in Springfield ended in a 1-1 draw on September 16, 2016.

Missouri State has started its season with a draw against Nebraska and a narrow loss to Kansas City. Offensively, Abby Hansen, Rowann Law and Maggie O'Keefe have each scored one goal so far this season. On defense, Maddie Schneiderhahn and Kayla Smith have contributed to limiting opponents’ opportunities. Goalkeeper Ella Becker has recorded 14 saves and holds a save percentage of 70%.

The Bears’ schedule features several challenging non-conference games, including a home rematch against Iowa on September 7. This game is notable as Iowa was Missouri State's opponent in the opening round of last season’s NCAA Tournament.

Last year saw different champions emerge from Conference USA over three seasons: Rice in 2022, New Mexico in 2023 and FIU in 2024 (https://conferenceusa.com/standings.aspx?path=wsoc).

Julia Kristensen was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2024 after leading the team with eight goals and thirteen assists—a single-season program record—and moving into second place all-time for career assists at Missouri State. She also scored the decisive goal in the MVC Tournament final against Drake and finished among national leaders for total assists and assists per game according to NCAA statistics (https://www.ncaa.com/stats/soccer-women/d1/current/individual/107).

Jane Hansen received MVC Freshman of the Year honors after playing every game and starting sixteen times during her first season. Maddie Schneiderhahn earned All-MVC Third Team recognition for her consistent play across twenty-one appearances.

The coaching staff was honored as MVC Coaching Staff of the Year following Missouri State’s first-ever regular-season conference title. The team completed a two-year unbeaten streak in MVC play spanning twenty matches; their last conference loss came on October 23, 2022.