Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Another superb defensive effort, a 17th-minute goal and a dazzling second-half save led to the Belmont University men's soccer team's program record seventh shutout of the season Saturday evening at E.S. Rose Park in the Music City. The Bruins claimed a 1-0 victory over visiting Wofford College in Southern Conference action for their fourth-straight shutout, tying the most consecutive wins in school history and setting the program record for consecutive shutouts.
Improving to 8-3-1 on the year and 3-1-0 in league play, Belmont has won the most matches in a single season since 2008. The triumph also extends the longest home win streak in Bruin history to eight as Belmont improved to 7-0 at Rose Park this fall.
Sophomore defender Case Cox headed in the lone goal of the evening in the 17th minute off a set piece from senior forward Niccolo Dagnoni and the Bruins fended off eight second-half shots by the Terriers (3-6-1, 1-1-1).
Keeping Wofford out of the attacking third of the field, Belmont held the Terriers to only one shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes. With the visitors not getting within distance of a shot attempt for nearly the first 20 minutes of play, Wofford's first shot on target didn't come until 40 minutes in.
Dagnoni lined up a free kick well outside the 18-yard box on the left side of the field facing goal following a Terrier foul 16-and-a-half minutes into the match. Driving the ball into the box with a right-footed strike, Dagnoni found Cox just outside the six-yard line. Rising up for his first career goal, Cox headed the ball into the back of the net to give the Bruins a 1-nil lead they would not relinquish.
Both teams earned a corner kick opportunity in the first half with Wofford holding a slight 6-5 edge in total shots. The second half proved to be much more challenging for Belmont's defense as the Terriers got into the attacking zone often and tallied four shots on goal. However, senior goalkeeper Drew Romig was up for the task.
Coming up with four second-half saves and five total for the match, Romig and his instincts were invaluable. The Midlothian, Virginia, native made a pair of saves in the final 15 minutes of the contest after Wofford was held without a shot for the first 18 minutes of the second half.
In the 86th minute with about four-and-a-half minutes to go, Romig made the save of the match off a would-be equalizing shot from Terrier forward Brandon Oddy. Leaping to his left, Romig kept Oddy's well-struck ball from crossing the goal line with a fully-extended deflection. After the ball struck the post, Romig quickly smothered the ball to keep Wofford away from the tie.
The Terriers would get two more shots in the closing minutes, but one was off target and the other blocked. Wofford earned its third corner kick of the second half in the last 30 seconds but committed a foul inside the box to allow the Bruins to run out the clock.
Both squads were carded twice in the match with both of Belmont's yellow cards coming in the second half.
Of Note
Belmont is now 8-1-1 across its last 10 matches. Winning 10 of their last 12 home matches, the Bruins have gone 16-7-3 at Rose Park since the start of the 2018 season. Now with a team-best six assists this season and 21 for his career, Dagnoni is only four away from tying Nico Olsak (2010-13) for the most ever by a Belmont player. With a trio of goals, the Milan, Italy native now owns 12 points on the season and 51 for his career. He is third among all-time Bruins in points and needs just three more to move into a tie for second. Dagnoni is also tied with Dan Meacock (2008-11) for the fourth-most goals in program history with 15 for his career. Ranked in the top 25 nationally in shutouts (6), save percentage (.837) and goals against average (0.66), Romig has now recorded 41 saves this fall. The first Belmont goalkeeper to record five shutouts in a single season since Grayson Rector in 2013, Romig tied Ron Gravely (2007) and Matt Renfrow (2003) for the single-season shutout record Saturday with his sixth shutout. He also has a combined shutout with junior Nate Logan - at VMI (5-0) last Saturday.
Up Next
The Bruins continue their four-match homestand Tuesday night when they step out of SoCon play and welcome the University of Evansville to Nashville for a future Missouri Valley Conference matchup. Kickoff form Rose Park is slated for 6:30 p.m. with the match 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.
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