Box Score SoCon Championship Bracket | Championship Central
GREENSBORO, N.C. – For the third consecutive season, the Belmont University men's soccer team will be playing in the Southern Conference Championship semifinals. The fourth-seeded Bruins defeated fifth-seeded East Tennessee State University 1-0 Friday evening at UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina, by way of sophomore midfielder AJ Chastonay's goal at the 18-minute mark.
With its 12th victory of the fall, Belmont (12-4-1) set the program record for most wins in a season, surpassing the Bruins' only other 11-win season in 2008 (11-8-2).
Despite a slow start offensively, Belmont's defense once again rose to the occasion and came up with impressive stops from the start. Fending off 14 Buccaneer shots over the 90 minutes, the Bruins got six saves from two-time defending SoCon Defensive Player of the Month Drew Romig. The senior goalkeeper did not allow any of ETSU's six shots on goal to pass as Belmont made several plays on its defensive back line.
Senior defender Jack Shaw came up with a big play early, making a remarkable effort on a ball inside the six-yard line to assist Romig with a tough save in the first two minutes of action. The Bruins' composed, well-organized defense transitioned into formidable attacks towards the midway point of the opening half.
Senior forward Niccolo Dagnoni drove a ball from Belmont's defensive third through midfield and into the attacking zone before dumping it off to Chastonay just outside the 18-yard line. Approaching the 18th minute of the match, Chastonay swiftly wove through defenders before clearing a direct line to the goal. Striking the ball with his left foot, Chastonay drove in his nation-leading seventh game winner of the season.
Credited with the assist on Chastonay's differentiating goal, Dagnoni's ninth helper of the year set the program's single-season assist record. He now owns 24 assists for his career and is only one shy of tying Nico Olsak (2010-13) for the most ever by a Bruin.
Both teams tallied a trio of shots on target in the first half and Belmont had the lone corner kick after 45 minutes of action.
The Bruins had several opportunities to make it a 2-0 match in the second half and perhaps none were closer than senior midfielder Kyle Barks' left-footed launch just over nine minutes in that barely missed wide left. After Belmont applied plenty of pressure on its attack early in the half, the Buccaneers (4-8-3) regained offensive momentum and posted six of their nine second-half shots in the final 17 minutes of the match. ETSU sent three of those shots on goal and had three corners in the half. However, Romig and the Bruins' defense held.
Both Dagnoni and Chastonay were issued yellow cards in the 74th minute.
Of Note
Belmont is now 12-2-1 over its last 15 outings and claimed its program record ninth shutout of the season. The win was just the Bruins' third away from Nashville this fall. Improving to 4-3 all-time in SoCon Championship matches, Belmont is now 2-0 in the conference tournament's quarterfinal round. Romig entered the match ranking fifth in the nation in save percentage, 12th in shutouts, 21st in goals against average and 27th in saves. He now has a save percentage of .843, while extending the school's individual single-season shutout record with his eighth clean sheet of the year. The Midlothian, Virginia, product improved his goals against average to 0.75 and now has 70 saves on the season. To go along with his nine assists, Dagnoni has found the back of the net five times in 2021. He leads the team with 19 points this fall and now owns 58 points for his career, the second-most ever by a Bruin. The Milan, Italy, native is also tied for the third-most goals in program history with 17 across his four-year Belmont career.
Up Next
With Friday evening's SoCon Men's Soccer Championship quarterfinal triumph, the Bruins will now face No. 1 seed the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Sunday at 5 p.m. CT in the semifinals. The host Spartans (13-3-1) are ranked 25th in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll. Belmont is attempting to make its second-straight SoCon Championship title match appearance. Sunday's semifinal matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ and admission into UNCG Soccer Stadium is free.
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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