Springfield Standard

The Missouri State University Bears men's soccer team, currently ranked No. 23 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, will play Penn State on Monday, September 1 at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pennsylvania. The match is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and will be available to watch online.

Missouri State enters the game with a 1-1 record this season. In their opening match, they secured a 4-1 victory over Seattle, with senior Fumiya Shiraishi scoring all four goals. This performance tied the individual match school record and earned Shiraishi the American Conference Offensive Player of the Week award. In their subsequent game against Kansas City, which ended in a 2-1 loss for Missouri State, Shiraishi assisted on Ollie Bate's goal.

This contest marks only the second meeting between Missouri State and Penn State; their previous encounter was in 2001 when Penn State won by a score of 1-0.

Under head coach Michael Seabolt, Missouri State has recorded three consecutive seasons with at least twelve wins. Since the start of the 2019 season, Missouri State holds an overall Division I record of 84-16-10 (.809), has achieved a conference record of 46-2-4 (.923), and ranks sixth nationally in home win percentage at .822 during that span. The Bears posted a .722 win percentage in 2024.

Missouri State has qualified for six straight NCAA tournaments since 2019. They are one of only seven Division I programs—alongside Clemson, Georgetown, Indiana, Marshall, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh—to have reached every tournament during this period.

In recent seasons, Missouri State has consistently ranked among the top eight teams nationally in shot accuracy. Last year they put nearly half (49%) of their shots on target; in 2023 they were fourth nationally with just over half (52%) on target.

Senior goalkeeper Will Lowry finished fifth nationally last year in goals against average (0.674), conceding nine goals across more than 1,200 minutes played. The team's defense allowed just fifteen goals last season—tied for ninth fewest nationwide.

This year marks Missouri State’s first season competing in the American Conference after thirty-four years as part of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). During its time in the MVC since 1997, Missouri State claimed twelve regular-season championships and four conference tournament titles while making nine NCAA Tournament appearances.

Preseason polls project MSU to finish fifth in its new conference but just two points separate them from second place. Alex Matthews received preseason all-league honors and is one of twenty-nine players named to this year's Hermann Trophy Watch List for national player of the year consideration.

The Bears return four all-MVC selections from last season: first-team pick Alex Matthews and second-team honorees James Jennings, Fumiya Shiraishi and Will Lowry.