Belmont (5-3-1, 1-1-0) at VMI (1-9-0, 0-2-0) | Saturday, Oct. 2 | 1:00 p.m. CT
Lexington, Virginia | Patchin Field
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Belmont Match Notes
LEXINGTON, Va. – Returning to Southern Conference play, the Belmont University men's soccer team hits the road this weekend for a Saturday matinee matchup at Virginia Military Institute. Competing outside of the Music City for just the second time since Aug. 29, the visiting Bruins take on the host Keydets at 1 p.m. CST on Patchin Field in Lexington Virginia.
The road affair will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Jeremy Franklin providing play-by-play of the match. Live in-game statistics of the contest will be available via VMIKeydets.com.
What's Bruin
- After going 5-1-1 in the month of September, Belmont looks to continue its fine play as the Bruins seek their first road victory of the fall.
- On Wednesday night, Belmont (5-3-1, 1-1-0) won its program record fifth straight at E.S. Rose Park with a 1-0 non-conference triumph over visiting Bellarmine University. Improving to 5-0 on their home turf this season, the Bruins claimed their fourth one-goal shutout of the season.
- Sophomore forward Esteban Leiva found the back of the net after getting free on a right-side breakaway late, scoring his first goal donning the Blue and White in the 73rd minute. His game-winning strike was his third goal of his collegiate career after transferring to the Music City from reigning Sun Belt Conference champion Coastal Carolina.
- Senior midfielder/defender Jack Shaw delivered the pass on the late game winner after the play was set up by senior forward Niccolo Dagnoni. It was Shaw's third assist of the fall.
- Earlier Friday, senior goalkeeper Drew Romig became the first Belmont player in program history to earn monthly honors from the SoCon when he was tabbed SoCon Defensive Player of the Month for September.
- Anchoring the Bruins' defense, Romig has been outstanding this season. He allowed just four goals, made 23 saves and registered four clean sheets across 664:58 minutes in goal during the month. The Midlothian, Virginia, product's heroics Wednesday led directly to Belmont's win over the Knights when he made a diving save in the final minutes on a Bellarmine penalty kick. Earlier in September, Romig notched a career-high tying seven saves in the Bruins' 1-0 SoCon opening shutout of East Tennessee State at home.
- Currently ranked 16th nationally in shutouts, Romig is among the top 50 NCAA Division I goalkeepers in minutes played (844:58), goals against average (0.85) and save percentage (.784) this year.
- Tallying his fourth assist of the season and 19th of his career Wednesday night on Leiva's game-winning shot, Dagnoni moved to within six of Nico Olsak (2010-13) for the most ever by a Bruin. With a team-best 10 points this fall, the Milan, Italy, native owns 49 career points and is in sole possession of third place among Belmont's all-time points leaders. He needs only five more points to move into a tie for second place on the all-time list.
- Dagnoni is 2-for-2 on penalty kicks this season and owns a team-high three goals after punching in his 15th career goal last Saturday in the second half at Furman University. The striker is tied with Dan Meacock (2008-11) for the fifth-most goals in program history.
- The Bruins are 6-1-1 all-time versus VMI and hold a 1-0-1 record against the Keydets in Virginia. Saturday's midday match will be Belmont's first in Lexington since a 3-0 win at VMI on Oct. 26, 2019.
- On a six-match win streak in the series, the Bruins defeated the visiting Keydets 5-0 on March 16 last season. Five different players scored in the unique late-winter match with Dagnoni (9'), senior forward Ares Marlonsson (14') and sophomore midfielder AJ Chastonay (14') all finding the back of the net in the first half, before senior midfielder/defender Esteban Lestido (57') and sophomore forward Austin Yowell (88') recorded goals in the second half.
- Tuesday morning it was announced by Belmont President Dr. Gregory Jones that Belmont would join the Missouri Valley Conference as its 11th member institution. The Bruins will begin competition in the MVC in the fall of 2022. The MVC is comprised of Missouri State, Loyola University Chicago, SIUE, Drake, Bradley and Evansville for men's soccer. Belmont will make up the seventh member in the league.
About the Keydets
- VMI (1-9-0, 0-2-0) enters Saturday after picking up its first victory of the fall Tuesday night. Stepping out of conference action, the Keydets got a 3-1 road win at Division III Eastern Mennonite in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
- Having given up 38 goals in 10 matches this season, the Keydets are allowing 3.8 goals and 8.7 shots on goal per outing. Through two SoCon matches, VMI has allowed 15 goals and 27 shots on target.
- Both of the Keydets' league matches have been on the road with VMI falling 8-1 at Wofford (Sept. 18) and dropping a 7-0 decision at UNC Greensboro last Saturday.
- Picked to finish seventh in the seven-team SoCon, the Keydets went 2-9 overall and 0-6 in conference play during the unique 2020-21 spring season.
- Junior midfielder Nathan Lam leads VMI with three of the Keydets' five goals on the season.
Up Next
The Bruins begin a four-match homestand Tuesday evening when they step back out of SoCon play and welcome IUPUI to Rose Park for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Follow Belmont men's soccer on social media - @BelmontMSoccer on Twitter and @belmontmsoccer on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
#ItsBruinTime
