Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Senior forward Niccolo Dagnoni launched a missile off his right foot into the far right-side upper 90 in the 11th minute at 12th-ranked Missouri State Thursday night to give the Belmont University men's soccer team a 1-0 road lead in its season opener. His goal, which was assisted by sophomore defender Case Cox, would be the Bruins' lone score of the night as the top-15 ranked Bears scored two goals within 40 seconds of each other in the second half to prevail 3-1.
Just 10:08 into its fall 2021 campaign Belmont (0-1-0) benefited from artistic footwork and pinpoint accuracy from Dagnoni with the first shot of the night by either team finding the back of the net.
However, host Missouri State (1-0-0) would score just nine minutes later in the 20th with national preseason player of the year candidate Kyle Hiebert scoring on a Kian Yari assist. The two teams entered the half deadlocked at 1-1. All three of the Bruins' first-half shots were on target.
Limited to only two second-half shots, Belmont kept the Bears off the frame until the 72nd minute when Missouri State forward Jon Koka drilled a shot from Jack Denton into the top-right corner of the goal. Giving the Bears a 2-1 lead with his go-ahead boot, Koka added an insurance goal moments later at the 72:08 mark with a bouncing kick that found its way between the poles.
Missouri State out-shot the Bruins 11-5 and had four corner kicks, three of which came in the second half. The Bears finished with seven shots on goal and posted six total shots in the final 45 minutes of play.
Two of Belmont's four shots on goal on the night were courtesy of Cox.
Of Note
With his first-half goal, Dagnoni moves into a seventh-place tie for goals in program history. He now has 13 career goals and is tied with both Brian Holmes and Channing Twyner. With 41 career points, Dagnoni is in sixth place in program history in all-time points. Cox's assist on Dagnoni's strike was the first of both his Bruin and collegiate career.
Up Next
Belmont heads to ASUN Conference member Central Arkansas Sunday for an evening tilt at 6 p.m. in Conway, Arkansas. The match will be streamed live on UCASports.com.
