Soccer Set to Host #8 Missouri State

Bradley Soccer will begin its second loop around the MVC schedule by hosting a top-10 at Shea Stadium for the first time since 2013.

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Soccer 3/17/2021 1:20:00 PM

PEORIA, IL - Bradley Soccer will begin its second loop around the Missouri Valley Conference double round-robin schedule Thursday when the Braves host nationally-ranked Missouri State at Shea Stadium. Ranked as high as No. 8 in this week's national polls, the Bears become the highest-ranked team to visit Shea Stadium since #6 Cal State Northridge during the 2013 season.

Game 6: #8 Missouri State (4-0-0, 3-0-0 MVC) at Bradley (2-3-0, 1-3-0 MVC)
Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: Peoria, IL (Shea Stadium)
TV/Video Streaming: ESPN+
Audio: N/A
Live Stats: BradleyBraves.com
Tickets: $10 Pod of 2 | $15 Pod of 3 | $20 Pod of 4

Setting the Stage
• Bradley begins its second loop around the Missouri Valley Conference double round-robin schedule Thursday when the Braves host #8 Missouri State at Shea Stadium.
• The Bears will be the highest-ranked team to visit Shea Stadium since the Braves welcomed #6 Cal State Northridge to its home venue Sept. 28, 2013.
• Bradley is 21-48-7 all-time against nationally-ranked opponents, including 9-20-1 at home, and will be looking to snap a 6-game losing streak to nationally-ranked opposition since earning a 3-2, overtime win at #3 Northwestern Oct. 2, 2013.
• The Braves have dropped consecutive, 2-0 decisions to Valley rivals Drake and Loyola Chicago and also suffered a 3-0 loss at Missouri State in the league opener for both squads Feb. 27 at MSU's Allison South Stadium.
• Thursday's game will be the latest matchup between the two winningest coaches in MVC men's soccer history: Bradley's Jim DeRose owns 252 wins in his 25 years with the Braves, while Missouri State's Jon Leamy owns 284 victories in his 29th year at the helm for the Bears.

Series History
40th Meeting | Missouri State leads 26-9-4 | Missouir State leads 11-5-1 at Bradley
• Missouri State has won six consecutive meetings since Bradley's last series victory, a 4-0 win Oct. 17, 2015 at Shea Stadium.
• Since securing the most-lopsided win in series history in that 2015 victory, Bradley has totalled only two goals in the last six meetings against the Bears.
• Missouri State is 6-3-1 against the Braves at Shea Stadium since the stadium opened for the 2003 season.
• The teams have split the last six meetings at Bradley's home field, dating to Bradley's 1-0 win Oct. 26, 2011.
• Missouri State's 26 wins in the series are the most by one team against Bradley in the program's 34-year history.

Against the Ranked
• Missouri State enters Thursday's game ranked as high as No. 8 (CollegeSoccerNews.com) in this week's national men's college soccer polls.
• Bradley is 1-2-1 all-time against No. 8 teams, most-recently earning a 2-1, overtime victory versus #8 South Florida Sept. 9, 2011.
• The Braves are 10-16-5 (.403) all-time against teams ranked among the top 10.
• While Bradley's most-recent loss to a top-10 team came at #6 California (3-1) in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament, the Braves also earned a pair of top-10 wins during that 2013 season by knocking off #1 Connecticut (1-0) Sept. 14, 2013 and #3 Northwestern (3-2, OT) Oct. 2, 2013.
• Bradley has never beaten a top-10 team at Shea Stadium, where the Braves are 0-5-0 in such matchups since the venue opened in 2003.

Looking Ahead
• Following Thursday's meeting against Missouri State, Bradley will play two of its final three regular-season games on the road.
• The Braves will visit Evansville Monday, then will return to Shea Stadium March 30 to host Loyola Chicago in the regular-season home finale.
• Bradley will close out the regular season April 4, visiting Drake on Easter Sunday.

Countdown to 1,000
• In his 25th year as Bradley head coach, Jim DeRose is far-and-away the winningest coach in program history.
• Sporting a 252-194-54 overall record, as well as a 80-79-18 mark in MVC games, DeRose is responsible for 83.2 percent of the 303 wins in the program's 34-year history, including 96.4 percent of Bradley's 82 all-time regular-season Valley wins and 100 percent of the program's postseason conference tournament (21) and NCAA Tournament (7) victories.
• The March 14 game at Loyola Chicago was DeRose's 500th game as Bradley head coach, making Thursday's game against Missouri State No. 501 in his career.

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