Three's A Charm: Braves Meet Valparaiso for "Third" Time

Bradley Soccer will line up across from Missouri Valley Conference rival Valparaiso for the third time in less than a month Sunday afternoon at Shea Stadium

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Soccer 10/26/2019 11:34:00 AM

BRADLEY BRAVES (4-5-4, 3-3-2 MVC)
vs.
Valparaiso Crusaders (3-9-1, 2-4-0 MVC)

Date: Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019
Time: 1:00 p.m. CT
Location: Peoria, IL
Venue: Shea Stadium (natural grass)
Tickets: $6 adults, $4 youth; FREE Bradley students, faculty and staff; FREE active military and immediate family | Information
Promotion: FREE general parking
Live Stats: SidearmStats via BradleyBraves.com
TV: The Valley on ESPN | ESPN3

BRADLEY SOCCER TICKETS
Single-Game Adult: $6
Single-Game Children (K-8th grade): $4
Kaboom!'s Club: FREE (with $10 annual membership) | Click HERE for information
Bradley students, faculty and staff (with valid ID): FREE
Active Military and Immediate Family (with valid ID): FREE
For Complete Information: Click Here

BRADLEY SOCCER TICKET BANK
• Supporters of the Bradley Soccer program, led by the Friends of Bradley Soccer, have made more than 5,000 complimentary tickets available for not-for-profit organizations, youth teams, schools and individuals who otherwise may not be able to attend Bradley Soccer home games.
• If you or your organization would like to request tickets from the Bradley Soccer Ticket Bank to utilize during the 2019 season, CLICK HERE and complete the request form and you will be contacted by a representative of the Bradley Soccer program.
• Please submit requests at least 48 hours prior to the selected game.

THREE'S A CHARM
• Sunday's Missouri Valley Conference matchup against Valparaiso technically will be the second game of the year between the two teams, but the reality is the Braves and Crusaders are mee ng for a third me in less than a month.
• Valparaiso held a 1-0 lead in the 66th minute Sept. 29 at Shea Stadium when the game was halted due to lightning.  
NCAA rules regarding the requirement to complete 70 minutes for a game to become official and the me limit to restart a game (three hours from the kickoff me) forced the abandonment of that game.  
• The teams made up the game from its beginning two days later at Valparaiso, where Bradley pulled out a 2-1 victory in double over me Oct. 1, and the originally-scheduled trip to Valpo now is being played in Peoria Sunday.
• Sunday's game also will close out Bradley's three-game Valley home stand, which began with a 2-1 loss to #14 Missouri State Oct. 19 and con nued with a scoreless draw Wednesday night against Loyola Chicago.

VALLEY LOG JAM
• As the Missouri Valley Conference race draws to a close, Bradley (3-3-2) is locked in a 3-way ba le to earn the No. 2 seed and first-round bye for next month's MVC Men's Soccer Championship.
• With two games remaining in its league schedule, Bradley (3-3-2) enters Sunday's game ed for third with Loyola Chicago (3-1-2) in the league standings with 11 points, just one behind second-place Drake (4-4-0).
• Bradley can max out its points total in the league standings at 17 by winning its final two games at home against Valparaiso and Evansville (Nov. 9).
• Drake also has two games remaining, Sunday at Loyola Chicago and Nov. 9 versus #9 Missouri State, giving the Bulldogs the opportunity to reach 18 points.
• Loyola Chicago has highest points ceiling (23) among the threesome as the Ramblers still have four games remaining: Sunday vs Drake, Wednesday at home against Evansville, Nov. 3 at Missouri State and Nov. 9 at Valparaiso.
• Six points clear in the league standings and the only perfect team remaining in the country, Missouri State also has four Valley games remaining with a chance to secure the maximum 30 standings points.

SWEEP OPPORTUNITIES
• Sunday's matchup against Valparaiso will close out the season series against the Crusaders, officially a 2-game set created as part of the Missouri Valley Conference's new double, round-robin league schedule format.
• Each of the league's six men's soccer members will play a home-and-home series against one another, creating a 10- game regular-season conference table.
• Bradley earned a 2-1 win in double over me Oct. 1 at Valparaiso and will be playing for its first 2-game season sweep of another Valley opponent since 2017, when the Braves beat Drake in the regular season and again in the first round of the MVC Tournament.
• Bradley never has beaten the same team twice in the regular season as its 11 previous second wins versus the same opponent have come in the postseason, either the MVC Men's Soccer Championship or the NCAA Tournament.
• The Braves will get a second chance at a Valley sweep Nov. 9 in the regular-season finale against Evansville.

200TH VALLEY GAME
• Sunday's game versus Valparaiso will be the 200th Missouri Valley Conference game in program history.
• As original Valley men's soccer programs, Bradley and Drake both will become charter members of the 200 MVC Games Club Sunday, while Missouri State will follow Nov. 3 when the Bears host Loyola Chicago.  

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