PEORIA, Ill. – The Drake University men's soccer team plays Valparaiso on Tuesday in the play-in game of the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament hosted by Bradley in Peoria, Ill. The match kicks at noon and will be broadcast on The Valley on ESPN3.
 
Drake (5-10-2, 2-4-2 MVC) is the No. 7 seed in the annual tournament while Valparaiso (8-8-1, 3-5-0 MVC) is the No. 6 seed. If the Bulldogs win on Tuesday, they will play the host school, No. 3 Bradley (10-7-2, 4-3-1 MVC), on Wednesday at 3 p.m., with the winner of Wednesday's match advancing to Friday's semifinal against No. 2 Central Arkansas (8-10-0, 5-3-0 MVC).
 
Drake concluded the regular season with a hard-fought scoreless draw against the league champions, Missouri State, on Saturday night at the Cownie Soccer Complex. The Bulldogs had several good scoring opportunities, including one in the first overtime period, but couldn't net the game winner.
 
Valparaiso rallied for a 3-2 victory over Drake in the first meeting between the schools on Sept. 16. The Crusaders, who are in their first season in the MVC, trailed 2-0 at halftime after Bulldogs goals by Leroy Enzugusi (Marion, Iowa) and Nic Jaimes (Olathe, Kan.). Valpo netted two goals in the second half, and then won midway through the second overtime with a golden goal by Jonas Engler. It is the first Crusaders' win in the all-time series that Drake leads 2-1-1.
 
Bradley held off Drake for a 1-0 win on Sept. 30 in Peoria, Ill. The longtime rivals have met 41 times with the Bulldogs owning a 20-18-3 advantage, including three wins over the Braves last season. Central Arkansas defeated Drake, 3-1, on Sept. 26 in Conway, Ark. The Bears pulled closer in the all-time series which sits at 5-4-1 in favor of the Bulldogs.