The 2017 Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer season was the 27th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference.
The Loyola Ramblers were the defending regular season champions, while the SIU Edwardsville Cougars (now in the Mid-American Conference) were the 2016 tournament champions.
With the results of the games of Saturday, October 28, Missouri State secured the top seed in the MVC Tournament with Central Arkansas seeded second. MoSt then won the regular season title with a draw at Drake on November 4.
On Sunday, November 12, the Central Arkansas Bears defeated the Missouri State Bears 1–0 in overtime at Shea Stadium in Peoria, Illinois to with their first MVC Championship and advance to their first NCAA tournament since moving to Division I in 2007.
Changes from 2016 The Valparaiso Crusaders joined the MVC on July 1 after spending the past ten years in the Horizon League. At the time, Valpo became the eighth team in MVC men's soccer.
The MVC lost SIU Edwardsville (SIUE) to the Mid-American Conference, returning the MVC to seven men's soccer teams. The Cougars had initially been announced as joining MAC men's soccer in 2018, but less than a week after the initial announcement, the MAC indicated that SIUE men's soccer would instead join in 2017.
Teams
Team Location Stadium Capacity Head coach Uniform supplier Bradley Braves Peoria, Illinois Shea Stadium Jim DeRose adidas Central Arkansas Bears Conway, Arkansas Bill Stephens Track/Soccer Complex Ross Duncan adidas Drake Bulldogs Des Moines, Iowa Cownie Sports Complex Gareth Smith adidas Evansville Purple Aces Evansville, Indiana Arad McCutchan Stadium Marshall Ray adidas Loyola Ramblers Chicago, Illinois Loyola Soccer Park Neil Jones Nike Missouri State Bears Springfield, Missouri Robert W. Plaster Stadium John Leamy adidas Valparaiso Crusaders Valparaiso, Indiana Brown Field Mike Avery Nike
Season outlook 2017 Preseason MVC Coaches' Poll Rank Team (1st-place votes) Points 1 Loyola (5) 47 2 Evansville (1) 38 3 Missouri State (1) 34 4 Central Arkansas 30 5 Drake 18 6 Valparaiso 15 7 Bradley 14
2017 Preseason MVC All-Conference Team' Player School Position Class Hometown (High school) Zac Blaydes Evansville Junior Forward Midway, Kentucky (Woodford County) Niklas Brodacki Central Arkansas Sophomore Forward Norrkoping, Sweden (IFK Norrkoping) Elliot Collier † Loyola Forward Junior Hamilton, New Zealand (Saint Paul's Collegiate) Steven Enna Drake Senior Forward Overland Park, Kansas (St. James Academy) Ramone Howell Valparaiso Senior Midfielder Portmore, Jamaica (Jamaica College) Alec Lasinski Loyola Junior Forward Ann Arbor, Michigan (Skyline) Ian McGrath Evansville Senior Midfielder New Lenox, Illinois (Lincoln-Way West) Marc Olsen Central Arkansas Sophomore Goalkeeper Copenhagen, Denmark (Brondby Gynamsium) Richard Olson Bradley Senior Forward Park Ridge, Illinois (Maine South) Grant Stoneman Loyola Junior Defender St. Charles, Illinois (Wheaton Academy) Simon Waever Evansville Sophomore Defender Holte, Denmark (Skovlyskolen) † = Also on 2016 Preseason MVC All-Conference Team
Regular season
Rankings
United Soccer Coaches National Poll Source =
+ Legend Increase in ranking Decrease in ranking Not ranked previous weekor no change in ranking
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 FinalBradley — — — — — — — — — — — — — —Central Arkansas — — — — — — — — — — — — — —Drake — — — — — — — — — — — — — —Evansville — — rv — — — — — — — — — — —Loyola — rv — — — — — — — — — — — —Missouri State — — — — — — — rv — — — — — —Valpo — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
West Region rankings Source = Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Bradley — — — 7 5 5 6 6 7 8 9 8Central Arkansas — — — — — — — — — — — —Drake — — — — — — — — — — — —Evansville 9 7 7 6 7 6 7 — — — 7 7Loyola 4 5 6 — 8 — — 9 9 7 8 —Missouri State — — — 8 6 3 2 3 3 4 4 6Valpo — 9 10 9 — — 8 8 8 9 — —
NCAA RPI Source = Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 FinalBradley 69 82 105 132 131 124 114 114Central Arkansas 171 172 161 156 167 148 144 154Drake 140 152 138 151 140 121 122 124Evansville 52 76 75 101 114 83 78 75Loyola 133 141 120 124 119 111 120 121Missouri State 41 32 59 61 65 75 89 95Valpo 177 150 141 162 161 163 164 164
MVC Players of the Week DateOffensive Player of the WeekClassPositionSchoolDefensive Player of the WeekClassPositionSchool August 29 Ian McGrath Senior Midfielder Evansville Matthew Keller Senior Goalkeeper Evansville September 6 Rafael Mentzingen Junior Midfielder Valparaiso Nacho Miras Sophomore Goalkeeper Valparaiso September 12 Niklas Brodacki Sophomore Forward Central Arkansas Marius Kullmann Sophomore Defender Loyola September 19 Conor Ingram Junior Forward Missouri State Brandon Barnes Senior Goalkeeper Bradley September 26 Conor Ingram Junior Forward Missouri State Brandon Barnes Senior Goalkeeper Bradley October 3 Pepe San Roman Senior Midfielder Central Arkansas Brandon Barnes Senior Goalkeeper Bradley October 10 Rafael Mentzingen Junior Forward Valparaiso Liam Priestley Senior Goalkeeper Missouri State October 17 Elliot Collier Senior Forward Loyola Jake Bates Freshman Defender Central Arkansas October 24 Niklas Brodacki Sophomore Forward Central Arkansas Grant Stoneman Junior Defender Loyola October 31 Josh Dolling Freshman Forward Missouri State Caden McCullough Freshman Goalkeeper Drake November 7 Niklas Brodacki Sophomore Forward Central Arkansas Brandon Barnes Senior Goalkeeper Bradley
Postseason
MVC Tournament
The 2017 MVC Tournament was played November 7, 8, 10, and 12 at Bradley University's Shea Stadium in Peoria, Illinois.
Second seeded Central Arkansas defeated top-seeded Missouri State 1–0 in overtime to earn the MVC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
NCAA tournament
Seed Region School 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship — 3 Central Arkansas Bears @ Southern MethodistLost 2–0 — — — — —
2018 MLS SuperDraft
Round Pick # MLS team Player Position College Other 3 49 Chicago Fire FC Elliot Collier FW Loyola Chicago
Honors
2017 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men's All-West Region teams Source:
Player School Position Class Hometown (High school/Previous college) First Team Nick Burtenshaw Missouri State Defender Senior Hatfield Hertfordshire, England (The Harefield Academy)Niklas Brodacki Central Arkansas Forward Sophomore Norrkoping, Sweden (IFK Norrkoping) Ian McGrath Evansville Midfielder Senior New Lenox, Ill. (Lincoln-Way West) Second Team Kyle Hiebert Missouri State Midfielder/Defender Sophomore La Salle, Manitoba, Canada (Glenlawn Collegiate School) Rafael Mentzingen Valparaiso Midfielder Junior Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Bryan) Liam Priestley Missouri State Goalkeeper Senior Essex, England (St. Thomas More) Simon Waever Evansville Defender Sophomore Holte, Denmark (Skovlyskolen) Third Team Adan Garcia Valparaiso Forward Sophomore Dallas, Texas (Episcopal School of Dallas) Conor Ingram Missouri State Forward Junior Oxford, England (Fitzharrys School) Roman Schindler Bradley Forward Sophomore Vienna, Austria (BRG4 Waltergasse School/Indiana Tech) Jacob Taylor Bradley Defender Senior Dunlap, Ill. (Dunlap)
2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America teams Source:
The six athletes named Academic All-Americans from the Missouri Valley Conference was the most from any of the 24 soccer playing conferences; the twelve team Atlantic Coast Conference was second with five members.
First team Clark Emerson. Bradley University, 4.00, Business (Finance)
Second team Aleksi Tuominen, Drake University, 4.00, Health Sciences
Third team Liam Priestley, Missouri State University, 3.52, Finance
Kyle Hiebert, Missouri State University, 4.00, Accounting
Chris Holmes, University of Central Arkansas, 4.00, Health Services Administration
Ryan Merideth. Drake University. 3.86. Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
2017 CoSIDA Academic All-District teams Source:
Only All-District players are eligible for the Academic All-America ballot.
District 5 (IL, IN, MI, OH) Clark Emerson. Bradley University, 4.00, Business (Finance)
District 6 (AR, IA, LA, MN, MO, MS, ND, SD, WI) Liam Priestley, Missouri State University, 3.52, Finance
Kyle Hiebert, Missouri State University, 4.00, Accounting
Daltyn Knutson, University of Central Arkansas, 3.95, Finance
Aleksi Tuominen, Drake University, 4.00, Health Sciences
Chris Holmes, University of Central Arkansas, 4.00, Health Services Administration
Ryan Merideth. Drake University. 3.86. Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
2017 NSCAA NCAA Division I Men's Scholar All-America teams Source: Position Name Class School Major GPA Hometown
NSCAA 2017-18 College Team Academic Award Source:
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) annually recognizes college and high school soccer programs that have excelled in the classroom by posting a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher. — of the MVC's seven teams were honored this year. The schools, their head coaches, and their team GPAs are:
—TBA—
2017 MVC awards Source= 2017 MVC Men's Soccer Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the YearNiklas Brodacki, Central ArkansasOffensive Player of the YearNiklas Brodacki, Central ArkansasDefensive Player of the YearNick Burtenshaw, Missouri StateGoalkeeper of the YearLiam Priestley, Missouri StateFreshman of the YearYounes Dayekh, BradleyCoaching Staff of the YearCentral Arkansas (Ross Duncan, Mitch McKay, Jordan Bates, Nick Doyle) MVC Fair Play AwardMissouri State
2017 MVC All-Conference First Team
Player School Position Class Hometown (High school/Previous college) Liam Priestley Missouri State GK Sr. Essex, England (St. Thomas More) Simon Waever# Evansville D So. Holte, Denmark (Skovlyskolen) Grant Stoneman% Loyola D Jr. St. Charles, Ill. (Wheaton Academy/Wisconsin) Nick Burtenshaw Missouri State D Sr. Hatfield Hertfordshire, England (The Harefield Academy) Niklas Brodacki% Central Arkansas F So. Norrkoping, Sweden (IFK Norrkoping) Conor Ingram Missouri State F Jr. Oxford, England (Fitzharrys School) Pepe San Roman Central Arkansas M Sr. Madrid, Spain (I.E.S. Margarita Salas) Ian McGrath+% Evansville M Sr. New Lenox, Ill. (Lincoln-Way West) Elliot Collier%!* Loyola M Sr. Hamilton, New Zealand (St. Paul's Collegiate) Kyle Thomson$* Loyola M Sr. Park Ridge, Ill. (Maine South) Rafael Mentzingen Valparaiso M Jr. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Bryan) %First-team selection in 2016; $Second-team selection in 2016; #HM selection in 2016; *Second-team selection in 2015; +HM selection in 2015; ! Second-team selection in 2014
2017 MVC All-Conference Second Team
Player School Position Class Hometown (High school/Previous college) Brandon Barnes Bradley GK Gr. Cary, Ill. (Prairie Ridge/Seton Hall) Jacob Taylor+ Bradley D Sr. Dunlap, Ill. (Dunlap) Mason Leonard Drake D Sr. Overland Park, Kan. (Blue Valley Northwest) Ben Stroud Missouri State D So. Christchurch, New Zealand (Scots College) Adan Garcia Valparaiso F So. Dallas, Texas (Episcopal School of Dallas) Donald Benamna Central Arkansas F Jr. Bangui, Central Africa Republic & Silver Springs, Md. (Montgomery Blair/San Jacinto JC) Fabian Lifka*# Loyola M Jr. Kelkhelm, Germany (Taunusgymnasium Koenigstein) Ramone Howell Valparaiso M Sr. Portmore, Jamaica (Jamaica College) Frank Bak+ Bradley M Jr. Glenview, Ill. (Glenbrook South) Younes Dayekh Bradley M Fr. Brentwood, Calif. (Heritage) Chris Holmes Central Arkansas M Jr. Conway, Ark. (Little Rock Catholic) #HM selection in 2016; *Second-team selection in 2015; +HM selection in 2015
2017 MVC All-Tournament Team Source=
2017 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament MVP–Niklas Brodacki, Central Arkansas