Springfield Standard

Missouri State University's men's soccer team will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to face the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in an American Conference match on Saturday, September 27. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at PNC Field.

The Bears currently hold a record of 3-2-2 this season. In their most recent matches, they lost to FIU with a score of 1-0 and drew against No. 7 Saint Louis, 1-1. They opened their American Conference campaign with a 4-0 victory over Temple.

Fumiya Shiraishi has played a significant role in the team's offense, having contributed to nine out of the team's thirteen goals this season through either scoring or assisting. He ranks third nationally in NCAA Division I for points per game (2.57) and second for goals per game (1.14). Shiraishi is also the first player in program history to be named American Conference Offensive Player of the Week three times in one season.

Senior goalkeeper Will Lowry recently became Missouri State's career leader in goals-against average after surpassing the minimum requirement of 1,600 career minutes during the match against FIU. His average stands at 0.64, overtaking Michael Creek's previous record of 0.69 set between 2018 and 2021. In the previous year, Lowry ranked fifth nationally with a goals-against average of .674 and allowed only nine goals across more than 1,200 minutes.

The all-time series between Missouri State and UAB stands at two wins for UAB, one win for Missouri State, and one draw. Their last meeting was in 2017 and ended in a scoreless tie after two overtimes.

Under head coach Michael Seabolt, Missouri State has achieved three consecutive seasons with at least twelve wins. Since the start of the 2019 season, Missouri State has posted an overall record of 86-17-12 (.800), which is the best among Division I teams during that period. The Bears have also recorded a conference mark of 47-3-4 (.907) and have had strong performances at home with a record of 48-8-6 (.823). In the previous season, they held the fifteenth-best win percentage nationally (.722).

Missouri State has qualified for six straight NCAA tournaments since 2019, joining Clemson, Georgetown, Indiana, Marshall, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh as one of only seven Division I programs to achieve this streak.

Defensively this season, Missouri State has conceded just two second-half goals and ranks thirty-fourth nationally in team goals-against average (0.857). Last year’s defense allowed only fifteen goals throughout the season—tied for ninth-fewest nationwide.

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

In preseason polling for their new conference home, MSU was picked to finish fifth but received one first-place vote; Alex Matthews was named as a preseason all-league selection and appears on the Hermann Trophy Watch List—a recognition given annually to college soccer’s top player.

Returning players include four who were recognized by the MVC last year: first-team selection Alex Matthews along with second-team honorees James Jennings, Fumiya Shiraishi and Will Lowry.