Springfield – Head Coach of Men's Soccer, University of Missouri Michael Sebold The Bears announced their 2024 schedule, which includes a 16-game regular season, eight at home, seven on the road and one at a neutral site. The Bears are one of nine Division I teams looking to reach their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
“On behalf of Missouri State, Springfield and all of our supporters, we are excited for the fall 2024 season,” said Seibold. “We feel we have one of the toughest schedules in the country and we aim to remain among the best in the country. It's important that we take each game at a time so we stay focused on our short-, mid- and long-term goals.”
As per usual, the Bears will kick off fall play with three exhibition games at Betty & Bobby Allison Stadium before the start of the regular season. Missouri State will open with two games against Newman University and Oral Roberts University (Aug. 13) and close with an exhibition match against Lindenwood University (Aug. 16).
Missouri State will open the regular season on the road for the second consecutive year, hosting UC Santa Barbara for the second of three season openers on Aug. 22. The Bears and Gauchos played to a 1-1 draw in the 2022 season opener in Springfield.
The Bears will open their regular season with a three-game homestand against the Rockhurst Hawks at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium on Aug. 27. The two teams most recently met in Springfield on April 13, the conclusion of Missouri State's spring exhibition season.
Missouri State then plays the second half of a home-and-home series in Springfield against Kansas City (Sept. 2) and Tulsa (Sept. 6). Missouri State beat Kansas City 1-0 on the road last August and then played Tulsa to a 1-1 draw at Hurricane Stadium almost exactly one year ago last season.
The schedule returns to a trip to Missouri Valley Conference rival Central Arkansas (Sept. 10) to face the Bears for the first time since 2021. Missouri State has won its past three regular season games against UCA. The two teams played on April 6 as part of a spring exhibition schedule.
“In the spring of 2024, we put a lot of emphasis on being the Bears,” Seibold said. “We've always had a strong team and family identity, but we wanted to build on that. Being a cohesive team is also a very important part of leading the way on the field.”
The Valley season kicks off with a three-game conference series, beginning with the MVC home opener against Bradley on Sept. 15. The Bears have won 15 straight games against the Braves, including six without conceding a goal, and Missouri State allowed a season-high six goals in a shutout win in Peoria last season.
The Bears begin a three-game road trip with an away conference game against UIC (Sept. 21). Both teams finished in a scoreless draw in Springfield last season as top 25 teams in the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
Another stiff test will be a matchup against defending MVC champion Western Michigan University on Sept. 28. The Broncos are in their second season in the conference after two consecutive appearances in the NCAA Sweet 16. The Bears will return to last year's MVC Tournament site for a chance to take down a Broncos team that finished last season ranked 12th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
Missouri State will finish the road against Creighton University on Oct. 1 in the regular season's lone neutral-site game at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, where the two teams played a fall exhibition match last season and also met in the 2021 and 2022 NCAA Tournaments.
The Bears return to home play just one game in 35 days, hosting Northern Illinois University (Oct. 6) in what will mark NIU's first regular-season game in Springfield. MSU will soon be on the road again, taking on Belmont University in Nashville (Oct. 12).
The MVC schedule has a day off with an away game against Memphis of the American Athletic Conference on Oct. 15. The Tigers beat the Bears, 1-0, at Betty and Bobby Allison Stadium last October and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a win over then-unbeaten SIUE in the opening round.
Missouri State has another long stretch at the end of the season, starting with a trip to Bowling Green State (Oct. 20) in the third meeting between the two teams and the second as conference opponents, before the Bears move on to a premier matchup against St. Louis (Oct. 23), hosting the Billikens for the first time after playing the first 15 games of the rivalry on the road.
The Bears' Senior Day will be against Evansville on Nov. 1, exactly one year after last year's Senior Fest. The regular season will close with a matchup against Drake (Nov. 6) for the second consecutive year, this time with a trip to Des Moines.
“Please come out and support the Bears men's soccer team,” Seibold said.
The 2024 MVC Men's Soccer Tournament will begin with the quarterfinals on Sunday, November 10th at the higher seeded venue, followed by the semifinals on Wednesday, November 13th at the #1 seeded venue and the final on Saturday, November 16th.
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