Missouri State men’s soccer is in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth-straight season and it will host an NCAA Tournament match for the third time in the last five seasons.
The Bears will play Omaha on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium in the first round. The winner will travel to play No. 16 Stanford on Sunday.
Missouri State reached the tournament as an at-large bid with a record of 11-3-3 after finishing as the runner-up in the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament. The Bears lost to Western Michigan (15-1-3) in the MVC Tournament on Saturday to snap their streak of three-straight MVC Tournament championships.
Omaha (8-7-4) made the tournament as an automatic qualifier after winning the Summit League Tournament as the No. 3 seed.
More: All of our 2023-24 Missouri State, high school basketball preseason coverage in one place
Missouri State and Omaha met in Springfield this season with the Bears winning 2-1 on Oct. 11 with senior forward Jesus Barea kicking in a game-winning goal in the 75th minute.
The MSU soccer program is in its second season under Michael Seabolt following the retirement of longtime head coach Jon Leamy. Seabolt has helped keep the Bears as a nationally respected program that has been ranked in the top 25 for the majority of the season.
Eight Missouri State players were awarded 2023 All-MVC honors last week. Jack Denton was named the league’s midfielder of the year with Tyler Caton named the league’s top freshman. Denton and Barea both made the league’s first team with five others, including goalkeeper Harry Townsend, named to the All-MVC Second Team.
How to watch Missouri State vs. Omaha in NCAA Tournament
- Where: Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium; Springfield
- When: Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
- Watch: ESPN+
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at [email protected] or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He’s also the host of the weekly “Wyatt’s World Podcast” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms
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