Photo credit: Jason Evans
The University of Denver men’s soccer team, champions of the Summit League, travel to Springfield, Missouri Thursday, November 21st to face Missouri State University.
𝓛𝓮𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓫𝓮𝓰𝓲𝓷
MSU hosts Denver in the NCAA first round on Thursday, Nov. 21 at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium!
⚽️ #MSUBears pic.twitter.com/sSNoWb1D4m
— Missouri State Men’s Soccer (@MSUBearsMSoccer) November 18, 2019
Missouri State is 17-0-1 and plays in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears are #11 in the men’s RPI and #9 in the Coaches’ Poll.
With common opponents, MSU beat Omaha (1-0 2/OT’s) and Tulsa (2-1) and tied St Louis in an exhibition. Denver defeated Omaha twice (2-0, 1-0 in the Summit championship), tied Tulsa 1-1, and lost to St Louis 1-0. As usual, expect a tight match.
The Pioneers will head to Missouri State for the first round of the @NCAASoccer Tournament. #PioneerTogether pic.twitter.com/LWMF7tEIEo
— Denver MSoccer (@DU_MSoccer) November 18, 2019
This is the entire bracket was released Monday morning:
The winner advances to play Central Florida (14-2-2) in the second round.
This is a tough draw, but given how poor DU’s record is this year, it’s not at all surprising.
The Pioneers are going to need to play a perfect game to beat Missouri State – who is undefeated and playing at home. The Bears, with an RPI of 11, are a legitimate top 10 level team who probably should be seeded in the top 16, but weren’t, due to NCAA committee snubbing. That will provide a chip on their collective shoulders, for sure.
The Pios won’t get many opportunities to score, so they need to make them count when they do.
That said, DU has played a lot of great soccer teams this year, and with a strong defensive effort, may be in a position to upset MSU.
Winner gets a trip to Florida. Dunker likes us, 1-0. It’s not like MoSt is a contender
Mo State is certainly a contender – The Bears’ RPI is #11 and they haven’t lost a game all year.
It will take a perfect game from DU to upset them in Springfield.
Any TV or streaming options for the game?
MoSt has as much a chance to win the NCAA soccer tourney as does Omaha of winning the Frozen Four. MO is good, but big boys back east or Stanford will take them down.
Twister – Check Out ESPN 3 for the game. Also, you can link to live stats on DU’s Game Day link.