Missouri State played even with No. 9 Tulsa for 89 minutes on Thursday night, unfortunately the 90th minute proved to be the difference as Tulsa slid home a goal for the 1-0 win.

No. 9 Tulsa 1, Missouri State 0

The Missouri State men’s soccer team fell 1-0 at home on senior night to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane despite having an easy scoring opportunity with less than five minutes remaining.  The Bears (6-9-4) gave up the game winning goal with one minute left in the game.

The Bears entered the game with momentum after defeating conference foe Eastern Illinois University in overtime on Saturday (Nov. 1). The 1-0 win gave the Bears a final conference record of 3-1-1. 

Tulsa dominated the first half of the game with steady pressure from their offense.  Tulsa outshot the Bears 6-2 in the first half but the Bears’ defense held the Golden Hurricane.  Goalkeeper Alex Riggs secured four saves in the first half for the 0-0 tie at half time.

In the second half the Bears took control of the game with their offense recording seven shots but were unable to score.  Their best scoring opportunity came with five minutes remaining in the game when Kyle Windmueller beat Tulsa’s goalkeeper Tyrel Lacey.  Windmueller’s go ahead shot missed just left of the open net.   Four minutes later Tulsa’s Ashley Mcinnes crossed a ball from the left wing to the front the net.  The Bears’ defense lost the battle for the ball and Austin Neil tapped in the game winning shot with 59 seconds remaining in the game.

The Bears will be in action again next week in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.  The Bears will either be in action on Wednesday (Nov. 12) or Friday (Nov.14) depending on their seed in the tournament.  The seeding for the tournament will be determined after conference play concludes on Saturday evening (Nov. 8).