Matchup with Aces

Belmont (8-3-1) vs. Evansville (1-8-1) | Tuesday, Oct. 12 | 6:30 p.m.
Nashville, Tennessee | E.S. Rose Park
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Belmont Match Notes | Evansville Match Notes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On the heels of a program record eighth-straight home victory, the Belmont University men's soccer program returns to match action Tuesday evening at E.S. Rose Park in the Music City. The Bruins step back out of Southern Conference play to host the University of Evansville in a future Missouri Valley Conference matchup. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m.

The third contest in Belmont's four-match homestand will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Will Boling providing play-by-play of the midweek non-conference affair. Live in-game statistics will be available via BelmontBruins.com.

What's Bruin

• With a 1-0 win over visiting Wofford College Saturday evening, the Bruins improved to 8-3-1 overall on the season. Belmont's eighth triumph marked the most wins in a single season since 2008 when the Bruins went 11-8-2.
• Saturday's victory over the Terriers was the fourth-straight shutout for Belmont, tying the Bruins' longest win streak in program history and setting the school record for consecutive shutouts.
• The 1-nil win also gave Belmont its seventh shutout of the season, the most in any season in the program's 30-year history.
• Not conceding a goal since Sept. 25, the Bruins' defense has been superb. In fact, Belmont has not allowed a goal on its home turf since Sept. 10 during a 2-1 double-overtime thriller versus Georgia State. That goal in the non-conference win over the visiting Panthers is the lone score the Bruins have given up at Rose Park this fall as Belmont has outscored its opponents 11-1 at home.
• An unblemished 7-0 at Rose Park this year, the Bruins have won eight in order at home dating back to the final regular season game of the unique 2020-21 season this past spring - a 1-0 decision against Mercer (April 3). Winning 10 of its last 12 home matches, Belmont has gone 16-7-3 at Rose Park since the start of the 2018 season.
• The Bruins are an impressive 8-1-1 across their last 10 matches and have scored 10 goals in their last three outings. Six different players have found the back of the net in Belmont's previous three matches, including senior forward Liam O'Brien (4), sophomore midfielder AJ Chastonay (2), sophomore forward Esteban Leiva (1), sophomore midfielder Michael Saunders (1), senior midfielder/defender Esteban Lestido (1) and sophomore defender Case Cox (1).
• Combined with another elite defensive showing from the Bruins' back line and a dazzling second-half save from senior goalkeeper Drew Romig, Cox's 17th-minute header was the difference in Belmont's 1-0 victory over Wofford Saturday. Receiving a perfect feed off the right foot of senior forward Niccolo Dagnoni on a free kick well outside the box, Cox headed in his first career goal to give the Bruins a lead they would not relinquish.
• In the 86th minute Romig made the save of the match on a would-be Terrier equalizer. Leaping to his left, Romig kept the ball from crossing the goal line just under the crossbar with a fully-extended deflection before quickly smothering the ball after it struck the post. He finished with five saves, including four in the second half.
• The reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Month, Romig has been outstanding all season and tied Ron Gravely (2007) and Matt Renfrow (2003) for the program's single-season shutout record with his sixth shutout Saturday. The first Belmont goalkeeper to record five shutouts in a single season since Grayson Rector in 2013, Romig ranks among national leaders in several statistical categories including ranking seventh in the nation in shutouts, 15th in save percentage (.837), 16th in goals against average (.660) and 36th in saves (41). The Midlothian, Virginia, native also has a combined shutout with junior Nate Logan (Oct. 2 at VMI, 5-0).
• Notching his team-leading sixth assist of the fall and 21st of his career on Cox's goal Saturday, Dagnoni is now only four away from tying Nico Olsak (2010-13) for the most ever by a Bruin. With a trio of goals, the Milan, Italy, striker owns 12 points on the season and 51 for his career. He is third among all-time points leaders in Belmont history and needs just three more to move into a tie for second place with Fernando Castellanos (2002-03). Dagnoni is also tied with Dan Meacock (2008-11) for the fourth-most goals in program history with 15 for his career.
• O'Brien registered his 12th career goal in the second half of last Tuesday's 4-0 rout of visiting IUPUI, moving him into a three-way tie for the seventh-most in school history. The Freehold, New Jersey, native has posted a pair of braces and a hat trick across the last two seasons and leads the Bruins with six goals this fall.
• Tuesday evening will be the 13th meeting between Belmont and Evansville on the soccer pitch with the Purple Aces holding a 10-2 advantage in the all-time series.
• The Bruins last defeated Evansville on Sept. 21, 2006 (1-0) in Nashville but are 1-3 versus the Aces at home. In the two teams' most recent matchup, Evansville came away with a narrow 3-2 win in overtime at Rose Park on Oct. 10, 2017.
• On Tuesday, Sept. 28, Belmont President Dr. Gregory Jones announced that Belmont would be joining 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.
• It will be a return to the MVC for the Bruins in men's soccer as Belmont spent the 2000 season as affiliate league members.
• The tilt with the Aces is a rare occasion as Evansville is both a former and future MVC match for the Bruins. The two squads faced each other in a MVC contest on Oct. 1, 2000, in Evansville, Indiana.

About the Purple Aces

• Evansville (1-8-1) is coming off its first win of the season this past Saturday where the Aces defeated visiting Bradley 2-1 in conference action at home. Trailing 1-0 midway through the second half, junior winger Nkosi Graham found the back of the net to tie things up in the 67th before sophomore midfielder Pablo Guillen connected on the game winner in the 71st minute.
• A scoreless draw at home against MVC adversary Loyola University Chicago on Sept. 18 is Evansville's only other decision this fall.
• Going 0-5 against non-conference opponents, the Aces have faced four teams Belmont has played this season. Winless against Bellarmine (2-1, Aug. 26), Lipscomb (4-1, Sept. 6) and SIUE (4-0, Sept. 29) in Indiana, Evansville fell 2-1 at Missouri State on Sept. 25. The Bruins dropped a 3-1 decision at then 12th-ranked Missouri State (Aug. 26) before defeating both SIUE (Sept. 6) and Bellarmine (Sept. 29) in one goal affairs. On Sept. 14, Belmont played then 22nd-ranked Lipscomb to a 1-1 tie two miles south on Belmont Boulevard.
• Picked to finish sixth in the six-team MVC, the Aces went 0-9-1 overall during the spring and posted a 0-7-1 record in league play.
• Evansville is led by 2021 MVC Freshman of the Year Guillen, a preseason All-MVC selection who has scored three of the Aces' seven goals on the season. Redshirt junior forward Jakub Hall has accounted for two of Evansville's five assists this fall.

Up Next

The Bruins wrap up their four-match homestand with senior day Saturday against nationally-ranked UNC Greensboro. The SoCon matchup will kick off at 5 p.m. from Rose Park and will be broadcast on ESPN+ with seniors honored prior to the contest.

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.

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