Springfield Standard

Missouri State University’s men’s soccer team will host Central Arkansas on Sunday, September 7 at 6:00 p.m. at the Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium in Springfield, Missouri.

The Bears enter the match with a 2-1 record this season. Their most recent win came against Penn State, where they secured a 3-1 victory. Senior Diego Real scored his first goal for Missouri State, while fellow senior Fumiya Shiraishi added two more goals. Earlier in the season, Missouri State defeated Seattle 4-1, with Shiraishi scoring all four goals to tie the school’s individual match record and earning him the American Conference Offensive Player of the Week award.

Shiraishi has played a significant role in the team’s offense so far this year, contributing to seven out of eight total goals either by scoring or assisting. He currently leads NCAA Division I in both goals per game (2.00) and points per game (4.33).

Missouri State holds a historical advantage over Central Arkansas with a record of 13 wins, five losses, and three draws. The Bears have won their last four meetings against Central Arkansas, including a 2-0 victory on September 10 last year.

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 boasts an overall record of 85-16-10 (.811), leading Division I programs during that period. The team also has the best conference record (46-2-4; .923) and ranks sixth nationally for home victories (46-8-5; .822). In 2024, their win percentage was fifteenth-best in the nation at .722.

Missouri State is one of only seven Division I teams—including Clemson, Georgetown, Indiana, Marshall, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh—to have qualified for every NCAA tournament since 2019.

The Bears were ranked in each of the first two United Soccer Coaches Polls this season and have appeared in at least one poll for eight straight years.

In terms of shot accuracy, Missouri State has ranked among the top eight teams nationally over each of the past two seasons. Last year they placed fourth by putting nearly half their shots on target (118 out of 239 attempts). In 2023 they had an even higher accuracy rate (.517).

Senior goalkeeper Will Lowry finished fifth nationally last year for goals against average (.674), conceding just nine goals across more than 1,200 minutes played. Defensively as a whole last season, Missouri State allowed only fifteen goals—tied for ninth-fewest nationwide.

This year marks Missouri State's first season competing in the American Conference after spending thirty-four years in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). During their time in MVC play since 1997, they claimed twelve regular-season titles and four conference tournament championships along with nine NCAA Tournament appearances.

For their inaugural American Conference campaign this fall, preseason polls predict Missouri State will finish fifth—with one first-place vote—and just two points separate them from second place overall. Alex Matthews earned preseason all-league honors and is listed among twenty-nine players on this year's Hermann Trophy Watch List recognizing college soccer’s top player.

Returning talent includes four all-Missouri Valley Conference selections from last season: first-team honoree Alex Matthews plus second-team picks James Jennings, Fumiya Shiraishi and Will Lowry.