ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Andrew Riggs, a sophomore goalkeeper on the Missouri State men's soccer team, was honored as the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday (Sept. 10). 

The St. Peters, Mo., native led the Bears to their fifth consecutive shutout on Sunday at the University of Dayton Marriott Classic. It is just the second time in school history that the team has registered five shutouts in-a-row.

On Friday, Riggs pulled in six saves as Missouri State went on to blank former MVC affiliate Eastern Illinois, 2-0. In the tournament finale, the Bears played to a scoreless draw against Green Bay and the sophomore keeper recorded another half-dozen saves to help MSU remain undefeated. 

Appearing in two matches and playing limited minutes as a back-up last year, Riggs has opened the 2012 campaign in convincing fashion. After six matches, he has allowed just one goal and leads the Missouri Valley Conference in four different categories including goals against average (0.16), save percentage (.955), shutouts (5) and shutouts per game (.083).

Missouri State will finish up its tournament slate this weekend with the TLC Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Lobo Invitational, hosted by the University of New Mexico. On Friday (5:30 p.m. CST), the Bears will square off with UC Irvine, who was ranked No. 11 nationally in the Sept. 4 poll, followed by a Sunday match at 11:30 a.m. CST against Dartmouth.

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