Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont Bruins played to a 3-3 draw with the Wofford Terriers on Senior Day after two overtimes Saturday at E.S. Rose Park.
Sophomore forward Niccolo Dagnoni recorded his first-career hat trick as a Bruin to open Southern Conference play, which included a pair of first-half goals.
Belmont also had four assists on the night from sophomore defender Brett Royster, junior forward Jordan Dozzi, junior midfielder JP Armbruster and sophomore forward Ares Marlonsson.
With six saves on 17 shots faced, junior goalkeeper Nicolo Dini secured the fifth-most career saves in Bruins soccer history (154).
Freshman forward Adrian Roseth led the way for the Terriers with a hat trick of his own, as each of his goals found the back of the net in the second half.
It took just 17 minutes for Belmont to get on the board on its first shot, as Dagnoni netted a header on a throw in from Royster and a deflection from Dozzi. The Bruins went on to fire three more shots in the half, while they held Wofford to just one shot through the first 45 minutes.
Dagnoni logged his second goal of the night on a service from Armbruster in the 40th-minute to give Belmont a 2-0 lead going into the half.
The Bruins surrendered their first goal of the night in the 51st minute from Roseth, but it did not take Belmont long to respond. Just five minutes later in the 55th minute, Dagnoni completed his hat trick on a rebound from Marlonsson's shot to tally a 3-1 advantage for the Bruins.
Roseth countered with a pair of goals in the 72nd and 82nd minute for Wofford to knot the match up at 3-3 and send it to overtime. In total, there were 19 shots sent flying by the two teams in the second half.
Belmont nearly found the back of the net in the first overtime, as its high-octane offense tallied a 4-2 edge in shots. Junior midfielder Kyle Barks ripped a volley on target that almost secured victory for the Bruins in the 100th minute.
The Terriers held the shot advantage in the second overtime by a 3-1 margin, but still neither team registered a sudden-death goal to end the night with a draw.
With 17 shots in the match and 10 on goal, the Bruins came one shot shy of tying their season-high shot total, which came against Faulkner at home on Sept. 28. Overall, Belmont has combined for 35 shots in its last two home matches.
Dagnoni now has a team-high six goals and 15 points on the year, as Dozzi leads the Bruins with a team-high four assists. Armbruster also tacked on his first-career assist for Belmont.
SOCON STREAK: The Bruins extended their unbeaten streak in Southern Conference openers to two seasons with a tie on Saturday. Belmont notched a 2-2 tie with UNC Greensboro to open its conference schedule last year.
DEFENDING ROSE: With a 2-1-1 record at Rose Park, the Bruins have not lost a home match in nearly a month at Rose Park. Belmont's lone home loss this season came against Memphis on Sept. 17.
UP NEXT: The Bruins stay home to take on the UNC Greensboro Spartans next Tuesday for the final contest of their two-match conference homestand. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Rose Park.
QUOTES:
David Costa, Head Coach
"We had some exceptional performances this evening and are very disappointed to not walk away with all three points. We have to figure out how to put together a full 90 minutes and execute in key moments on both sides of the ball."
