Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. -The Belmont Bruins notched its first victory of the season in a 2-0 rout over the Presbyterian Blue Hose Saturday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park. The shutout comes as David Costa's first win as a head coach.
The Bruins were guided by two goals in the final 25 minutes from sophomore forward Liam O'Brien (68th minute) and junior forward Jordan Dozzi (83rd minute), who recorded his first-career goal at Belmont.
Sophomore forward Niccolo Dagnoni and junior midfielder Jack Shaw each tallied assists on the afternoon. Junior goalkeeper Nicolo Dini logged his second clean sheet of the season behind the Bruins stout defense with a total of six saves.
Belmont got off to a hot start, as Dagnoni nearly found the net on the first shot of the match for the Bruins in the second minute. Junior midfielder Esteban Lestido kept the pressure on the Blue Hose with another near-goal in the fourth minute.
To round out the first 45 minutes, Belmont saw three more shot attempts, but were unable to convert. The Bruins also registered the lone corner kick of the first half in the 39th minute.
Overall, Belmont led Presbyterian at the halftime break in shots (5) and corner kicks (1), as the two teams tallied an equal number of saves (2).
Following 22 minutes of scoreless action, O'Brien found the top-right corner of the net in the 68th minute to give the Bruins a 1-0 advantage. Dagnoni registered his first assist of the season on the service to O'Brien.
Belmont saw two more shot attempts before finding the net just 15 minutes later from the boot of Dozzi. A pass in the box from Shaw set up Dozzi in the 83rd minute to give the Bruins a convincing 2-0 lead.
The Blue Hose went on to test Dini just three times in the second half, as Dozzi's strike sealed the match for Belmont.
In total, the Bruins finished with 11 shots on the afternoon, as Lestido and Dagnoni logged four shot attempts each. Four separate Belmont players recorded shots on goal in the victory: Lestido (2), Dagnoni (2), O'Brien (2) and Dozzi (1).
SPREAD THE LOVE: All five of the Bruins goals this season have come from different sources: O'Brien, Dozzi, Dagnoni, Lestido and sophomore forward Pablo Martin Virgilio.
UP NEXT: Belmont hits the road Tuesday for a 3 p.m. road contest against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at Lakeside Field. The Bruins return home to Rose Park next Saturday, Sept. 28 for a non-conference bout with the Faulkner Eagles at 6:30 p.m.
QUOTES:
David Costa, Head Coach
"We are pleased to earn a positive result against a very well-coached team. This team has shown tremendous resiliency throughout the last several weeks and speaks to the character of the young men involved in this program. It is always great to earn a shutout at home and it required contributions from the entire team. We will enjoy this for today and then turn our attention to Eastern Illinois on Tuesday."
