Springfield Standard

Missouri State University's men's soccer team will host Charlotte in a regular season finale at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium on Sunday, November 2 at 6:00 p.m. The match marks senior night for the Bears as they compete in an important American Conference fixture.

Missouri State enters the game with a record of 6-5-3, aiming to continue its streak of nine consecutive winning seasons. The team has achieved three straight shutouts, including a recent tie against Tulsa and wins over Memphis, Drake, and South Florida. Victories over Drake and South Florida were significant as both teams suffered their first losses of the season against Missouri State.

The Bears are currently tied for fifth place with Tulsa in the American Conference standings, each holding 10 points. A win against Charlotte could allow Missouri State to finish as high as third place, which is critical since only the top six teams advance to the conference tournament next week.

Fumiya Shiraishi has played a major role this season by scoring or assisting on 11 of the team's 19 goals. He has been named American Conference Offensive Player of the Week three times this year—making him the first Bear to receive three offensive weekly conference awards in one season.

Senior goalkeeper Will Lowry holds an average of 0.73 goals allowed per game at Missouri State, ranking third all-time for the program. Michael Creek holds the record with a 0.69 average from 2018-2021. In 2024, Lowry ranked fifth nationally with a goals-against average of .674 after conceding just nine goals in over 1,200 minutes played.

This upcoming match will be the first-ever meeting between Missouri State and Charlotte's men's soccer teams.

Since 2019, Missouri State has posted one of Division I's best overall records at 89-20-13 (.783), along with strong conference (49-5-5) and home (50-9-6) records. The team has qualified for six consecutive NCAA tournaments since 2019—a distinction shared only by Clemson, Georgetown, Indiana, Marshall, Wake Forest, and Pittsburgh among Division I programs during that period.

Missouri State appeared in United Soccer Coaches Polls earlier this year and continues an eight-season streak of being ranked in at least one poll annually.

This season marks Missouri State’s debut campaign in the American Conference after spending more than three decades competing in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). In MVC play since 1997, Missouri State won twelve regular season titles and four conference tournament championships while making nine NCAA Tournament appearances.

In preseason polls for their new conference home this year, MSU was projected to finish fifth but received one first-place vote; Alex Matthews was named a preseason all-league selection and is also on this year's Hermann Trophy Watch List honoring college soccer’s top player.

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