Bradley Soccer pregame huddle vs. Notre Dame

Bradley University Marketing

Braves and Bulldogs to Open Valley Tournament

Bradley will face its most-common opponent, Drake, in the opening round of the 2016 MVC Men's Soccer Championship Tuesday

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Soccer 11/7/2016 3:40:00 PM

SPRINGFIELD, MO - Bradley has a long road to travel in pursuit of its foruth Missouri Valley Conference tournament title when the Braves open the 2016 MVC Men's Soccer Championship with a first-round game Tuesday against Drake. The Braves enter the 2016 tourney tops among the league's seven current teams with 19 all-time MVC Tournament wins and three championships, but Bradley will have to win four games in six days to add its fourth Valley tournament title.

GAME DETAILS | 2016 MVC MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP | FIRST ROUND
7-Bradley Braves (2-14-3, 0-7-1 MVC) vs. 6-Drake Bulldogs (5-11-1, 2-5-1 MVC)
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016
Time: 12:00 p.m. CT
Location: Springfield, MO | Allison South Stadium

COACHES
Bradley Braves
Jim DeRose (Johnson State '89)
Career Record: 223-171-43 (21st season)
at Bradley: Same
vs. Drake: 14-14-3

Drake Bulldogs
Gareth Smith (University of Abertay
Career Record: 18-16-6 (2nd season)
at Drake: Same
vs. Bradley: 3-0-1

BRADLEY LEADS THE PACK
Bradley is tops among The Valley's seven current members with 19 all-time MVC Tournament wins and the Braves lead the pack with three tournament titles ... In fact, Bradley's three MVC Tournament titles are two shy of the combined total of the league's other six current members: Drake (2009, 2015), Evansville (1996), Missouri State (1999) and SIUE (2014) ... Bradley enters the 2016 MVC Men's Soccer Championship with a 19-14-6 (.564) all-time tournament record and the 19 victories are second only to Creighton's 33 postseason wins.

NOT A MVC TOURNAMENT IF BRADLEY AND DRAKE DON'T MEET
By meeting in Tuesday's opening round, Bradley and Drake will square off against one another in the MVC Men's Soccer Championship for the ninth time in the last 15 years ... The teams will meet in the MVC Tournament for the third consecutive year and for the fourth time in years ... Bradley is 6-1-1 all-time in the postseason against Drake and the Braves won the shootout following the lone tie in 2006 ... Despite the numerous matchups, 2016 marks just the second time the teams have faced one another on a neutral field (Drake's lone postseason win against Bradley was a 1-0 victory in last year's semifinal round at SIU Edwardsville) ... While Bradley and Drake have faced each other in the MVC Tournament eight times previously, Bradley has faced the other five current Valley teams a total of 11 times in the league's postseason tournament: Central Arkansas (0-1-0), Evansville (2-0-1), Loyola Chicago (0-0-0), Missouri State (1-2-1) and SIU Edwardsville (1-1-1).

SERIES HISTORY
41st Meeting | Drake leads 20-15-5 | Bradley leads 6-1-1 in the MVC Tournament
Drake is the most common opponent in Bradley Soccer history and Tuesday's MVC Tourney game will be the 41st meeting in the all-time series ... Drake is the only team Bradley has played in every season of the program's 30-year history ... The series has been dominated by runs: Drake won the first five meetings and went 8-1-2 against the Braves in the first 11 meetings ... Bradley responded by posting an 11-2-2 record against the Bulldogs from 1998-2007 ... Since the start of the 2008 season, Drake owns a 10-3-1 record against Bradley and the Bulldogs are unbeaten (4-0-1) in the last five series meetings.

FAMILIAR FOES
Given the series history, it is only fitting that Drake becomes the first-ever team Bradley will have played three times in one season ... A product of The Valley's new unbalanced schedule format, Drake now becomes Bradley's opponent for the third time in the last eight games ... Drake earned a 1-0 victory Oct. 11 in Des Moines, followed by a 2-1, double-overtime decision Oct. 26 at Shea Stadium ... After squaring off in the 2015 regular-season finale and the semifinals of the 2015 MVC Tournament, Bradley now faces Drake for the fifth time in its last 22 games ... In other words, 22.7 percent of Bradley's last 22 games will have been played against Drake.

BRADLEY MVC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Bradley is making its 20th appearance in the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Championship ... The leader among The Valley's seven current members, Bradley (19-14-6) ranks second in all-time tournament history with 19 wins ... Of the 14 teams who have competed in the 24 previous MVC Tournaments, Bradley is one of just four teams - Creighton (33-8-1), SMU (9-2-2) and SIUE (5-4-2) - to boast a winning all-time tourney record ... The Braves are responsible for six of Creighton's (3), SMU's (2) and SIUE's (1) 14 combined tournament losses, as well as three of the five ties by the trio ... Bradley owns three MVC Tournament titles - 2007, 2010 and 2013 - and the Braves have advanced to the championship game nine times in the last 16 years ... The Braves have played in the semifinal round in 16 of the last 18 years.

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