Box Score JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Belmont men's soccer extended its unbeaten streak to seven matches with a scoreless draw against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers Tuesday afternoon at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
The Bruins (5-0-2, 2-0-1 SoCon) further solidified their positioning in the Southern Conference standings, as they logged their third consecutive shutout and fifth clean sheet overall this season.
Junior forward Niccolo Dagnoni led Belmont with four shots and three shots on target, while senior goalkeeper Drew Romig corralled one save in his third straight shutout. The Bruins outshot the Buccaneers (2-4-2, 2-1-1 SoCon) by a 13-9 margin with six shots on frame.
Belmont applied pressure early on, as it logged three corner kick attempts within the first nine minutes of the first half. Freshman midfielder AJ Chastonay fired the Bruins' first shot of the afternoon in the 18th minute, but it fell off target.
Following another corner kick, Dagnoni forced the ETSU goalkeeper to make his first save of the day in the 26th minute. Senior midfielder Esteban Lestido nearly found the back of the net just one minute later, but it was saved to keep the match scoreless.
Romig grabbed his lone save in the 41st minute on a shot from the Bucs, as the two teams remained knotted at 0-0 through 45 minutes of action.
To open the second half midfielder Michael Saunders' first shot in the 54th minute, Dagnoni tallied his second shot on goal in the 63rd minute. Junior forward Liam O'Brien followed up with another shot on goal less than a minute later.
Down the stretch, Saunders and senior midfielder Jack Shaw tabbed shots, neither of which tested the ETSU keeper. Chastonay's final shot attempt for Belmont in the 88th minute soared over the crossbar to end regulation.
In the first overtime, Dagnoni's third and final shot on goal was saved in the 99th minute, as the two teams battled into the second overtime. The Bruins' final shot from Saunders was saved in the 105th minute, as they finished with a 0-0 result through 110 minutes of play.
Five Belmont players logged a full 110 minutes on the pitch, as the physical match featured 29 combined fouls. The Bruins also finished with a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.
CLEAN SHEET KINGS: With a shutout on Tuesday, Belmont marked its fifth clean sheet of the season, good for the most in a single year since 2013.
THE RUN CONTINUES: The Bruins' best start in program history continues, as they extended their unbeaten streak to a program-best seven matches on Tuesday.
UP NEXT: Belmont travels to face UNC Greensboro on Saturday at 4 p.m. for its final road match of the spring 2021 season.
