Courtesy: The Valley http://www.mvc-sports.com/

Entering the final week of Missouri Valley Conference regular-season play, five league men's soccer matches remain on the calendar, each with seeding implications for the 2009 State Farm MVC Men's Soccer Championship, Nov. 13 & 15 in Des Moines, Iowa.  

Bradley and Eastern Illinois have been eliminated from contention into the 2009 State Farm MVC Men's Soccer Championship, with Missouri State, Drake, Creighton and Evansville battling for seeds.  Below is a breakdown of the best and worst-case scenarios for each of the four teams vying for position:

Missouri State (6-1-1 MVC) - 19 total points
The Bears currently sit atop the league standings with two MVC matches remaining (UE @ MSU - Nov. 4 and MSU @ EIU - Nov. 7).  With a win in one of its two contests this week, Missouri State will clinch the regular-season conference title and the No. 1 seed.  The Bears can finish no worse than third, even if Missouri State recorded two losses this week. 

Drake (5-3 MVC) - 15 total points
The Bulldogs are currently tied for second-place in the league standings with two MVC matches remaining (DU @ EIU - Nov. 4 and CU @ DU - Nov. 7). 

Creighton (4-2-3 MVC) - 15 total points
The Jays are currently tied for second-place in the league standings, but with just one MVC match remaining (CU @ DU - Nov. 7), have the least room to gain.  Even with a victory this week, for the first time in three seasons, Creighton will not be eligible to share at least a portion of the MVC regular-season title.

Evansville (4-3-1 MVC) - 13 total points
The Purple Aces currently sit in fourth-place in the league standings with two MVC matches remaining (UE @ MSU - Nov. 4 and BU @ UE - Nov. 7). 

Team	Best-Case Scenario	Other Options	Other Options	Other Options	Other Options	Worst-Case Scenario
Missouri State	(2W) - 25	(1W, 1T) - 23	(1W, 1L) - 22	(2T) - 21	(1T, 1L) - 20	(2L) - 19
Drake	(2W) - 21	(1T) - 19	(1W, 1L) - 18	(2T) - 17	(1T, 1L) - 16	(2L) - 15
Creighton	(1W) - 18	(1T) - 16				(1L) - 15
Evansville	(2W) - 19	(1W, 1T) - 17	(1W, 1L) - 16	(2T) - 15	(1T, 1L) - 14	(2L) - 13

 
Last week was highlighted by a 1-0 Creighton win over perennial national power, No. 7 UCLA.  The Jays are now 2-1-0 against the top-25 this year and 14-2-1 against nationally-ranked teams at Morrison Stadium all-time.

This week's Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week are Ethan Finlay and Kyle Deremer of Creighton.

Missouri Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week:
Ethan Finlay, Creighton, F, So., Marshfield, Wis. (Marshfield)
Creighton sophomore Ethan Finlay continued his remarkable offensive season with his team-leading seventh goal of the fall in Creighton's 1-0 win over No. 7 UCLA on Saturday.  Finlay's score early in the second half marked his MVC-leading fifth game-winning goal of the season.  He now has nine career game-winning goals among his 13 career tallies.

Other Notable Performances:  Bryan Gaul, BU; Kenan Malicevic, DU; Austin Andrekus, EIU; Gerard Barbero, MSU.

Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week:
Kyle Deremer, Creighton, D, Jr., Omaha, Neb. (Millard North/Saint Mary's College)
Creighton junior defender Kyle Deremer had a remarkable match against the seventh-ranked team in the NCAA, as the Bluejays shutout UCLA 1-0 last Saturday.  From his center back position, the Omaha native was key in shutting down one of the nation's leading scorers - Kyle Nakazawa.  The Bruin forward, who entered the match ranked in the top 11 in goals per game and points per game, did not even attempt in a shot in the Creighton win.  The Jays allowed just one shot in the first half and out-shot the Bruins 12-5 in the contest, with only two of UCLA's shots going on goal.  Deremer has started all 14 matches for CU in the back this year, helping the Jays to eight shut outs and a 0.47 goals against average.

Other Notable Performances:  Kyle Orne, BU; Jordan Kadlec; DU; Jeff Kupiec, EIU; Nick Dryden, MSU.