Springfield Standard

Missouri State University's men's soccer team will play against Drake University at home on Tuesday, October 21, at 6:00 p.m. The match will take place at the Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium in Springfield, Missouri. Following this game, a Springfield Public Schools match is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

The Bears currently have a season record of four wins, five losses, and two draws. In their most recent game, they defeated South Florida 3-1, giving the Bulls their first loss of the season. Missouri State is ranked seventh in the American Conference standings with six points and three matches remaining in the regular season. Their next two opponents are Memphis and Tulsa, both tied for fourth place with nine points each. Missouri State will finish its regular season by hosting first-place Charlotte on November 2.

Fumiya Shiraishi has played a significant role for the Bears this year, contributing to nine out of fourteen goals scored by the team either as a scorer or an assistant. He has been named American Conference Offensive Player of the Week three times this season—the first player in program history to achieve this honor three times in one year.

Senior goalkeeper Will Lowry is third all-time among Bears goalkeepers for career goals-against average at 0.74. Michael Creek holds the program record with an average of 0.69 from 2018 to 2021. In 2024, Lowry was ranked fifth nationally with a goals-against average of .674 after allowing only nine goals over more than 1,200 minutes played.

Missouri State leads its historical series against Drake with twenty-three wins, twelve losses, and nine draws. The Bears won their last encounter during last year's MVC Tournament by a score of 1-0.

Since the start of the 2019 season, Missouri State has posted an overall Division I record of eighty-six wins, twenty losses, and twelve draws—a winning percentage of .780—while holding one of the top conference records nationally and maintaining strong performance at home.

The Bears have qualified for six consecutive NCAA tournaments since 2019. They are among only seven Division I teams—including Clemson, Georgetown, Indiana, Marshall, Wake Forest, and Pittsburgh—to make every tournament appearance during that period.

In addition to being ranked in early United Soccer Coaches Polls this year and maintaining poll appearances for eight straight seasons, Missouri State is competing in its first season as part of the American Conference after thirty-four years in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). During their time in the MVC since 1997, they earned twelve regular-season championships and made nine NCAA Tournament appearances.

Preseason polls predicted Missouri State would finish fifth in their new conference; Alex Matthews received preseason all-league honors and is included on the Hermann Trophy Watch List for national player recognition. Four returning players were selected as all-MVC honorees last year: Alex Matthews (first-team), James Jennings (second-team), Fumiya Shiraishi (second-team), and Will Lowry (second-team).