Women’s Soccer Opens Conference Play in Iowa

On the Pitch

• Missouri State will begin its final season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference with a weekend spent in the Hawkeye State. The Bears will face Drake on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 1:00 p.m. before heading to UNI on Sunday, Sept. 22 for a noon match.
• Drake leads the series 12-6-6 all-time against the Bears. Last season the two teams dueled in Springfield where neither team was able to score a goal through 90 minutes.
• MoState leads UNI 25-6-0 all-time. Last season, the Bears beat the Panthers 1-0 at home.
• Missouri State is coming off of a loss to Oral Roberts where sophomore Reilly Heman made her third career goal. In 2023, she made her first career goal against Oral Roberts.
• Heman leads the Bears in shooting. The sophomore has 17 total shots with eight on-goal. Heman is tied for fifth in the conference for total shots and 10th for shots on-goal.
• Grace O’Keefe leads the Bears in shots on-goal with a 11 out of 13 being on-target. G. O’Keefe is tied for second in the conference for shots on-goal.
• MoState was picked to finish first in the MVC preseason poll for the second year in a row with seven first place votes and 116 points.
• The Bears’ had six players give MVC preseason honors. Carly Raunig, Camielle Day, Jenna Anderson and Grace O’Keefe were all named to the preseason All-MVC team. Kaeli Benedict and Gabbi Schlapper received honorable mentions.