Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A hard-fought 110 minutes of non-stop action on the pitch two miles south of Belmont University ended in a 1-1 tie between the Bruin men's soccer team and 22nd-ranked Lipscomb Tuesday night.
Playing its second-straight double overtime match, Belmont (3-2-1) found the back of the net in the 37th minute with its first penalty kick of the season. However, the host rival Bisons (4-0-2) scored in the 61st minute before the two teams played to an even draw.
Fending off 28 Lipscomb shots, 24 of which came in the second half and in extra time, the Bruins' defense once again shined. Senior goalkeeper Drew Romig was sensational, coming up with a season-high five saves as Belmont's back line thwarted multiple aggressive Bison attacks.
A strong first half by the Bruins led to a 1-0 lead for the visitors through 60 minutes of play at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex. With both teams backed by boisterous support from the crowd, Belmont nearly notched the first goal of the match in the 28th minute on a fantastic shot by sophomore forward AJ Chastonay on the right side.
Chastonay's near miss came on the heels of a Lipscomb free kick that just missed to the right of the pole 26 minutes in.
Sophomore defender Case Cox sprinted up the field and weaved through defenders before being fouled inside the upper left of the Bisons' penalty box, giving the Bruins their first PK attempt of the season in the 37th minute. Senior forward Niccolo Dagnoni put toe to leather and launched a beautiful strike into the left side upper 90 for his second goal of the season.
Belmont nearly took a 2-0 lead before the half with a missile from Chastonay ricocheting off Lipscomb goalkeeper Michael Sibley in the 44th minute.
Tallying seven first-half shots, four of the Bruins' five on target for the match came in the first 45 minutes. Belmont also recorded four of its five corner kicks in the first half, while the Bisons had just four shots with none on goal and a single corner.
The second half proved to be much different. Lipscomb came out of the break determined and controlled the ball for the majority of the second 45 minutes of play. Senior forward Liam O'Brien, who was tabbed Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week earlier Tuesday, had the Bruins' lone shot in the second half but his try went wide left.
The Bisons had a chance in the closing seconds of the second half with a left-side corner, but Romig punched the ball out on a cross. Lipscomb collected 18 shots and had 10 corner kicks in the second half alone, but only six of those attempts were on target.
Both teams had near missis in the opening overtime period. After a free kick was earned by sophomore forward Esteban Leiva approximately seven minutes into overtime, senior midfielder/defender Jack Shaw set things up directly above the penalty box. His scorching shot barely missed left with the Bisons' Sibley getting a small sliver of the ball. Moments later, Lipscomb had a shot go just over the crossbar with a minute left in the first period of extra time.
Once again, the Bisons nearly ended the game in the 107th minute but defender/midfielder Louis Robinson's shot drifted right and hit the post.
Belmont didn't have a shot or a corner in the final 10 minutes, while the hosts posted four shots in the second overtime. The waning seconds of the match were somewhat chaotic as Lipscomb had a corner kick with about 20 seconds to go and then earned a throw-in with under 10 seconds remaining. Off the throw-in, the Bisons got a header cross that wound up near the back post before being shoved out by Romig. Lipscomb did find the back of the net off the rebound, but time had already expired.
The in-town rivalry match saw five yellow cards, two of which were on the Bruins and three issued to the Bisons.
Of Note
Tuesday night's draw marked the first time in program history Belmont ended in a tie with a nationally-ranked opponent. The draw was the third in the Battle of the Boulevard's 24-match history. Lipscomb leads the all-time series 11-10-3. Dagnoni's first-half goal was the 14th of his career. He is now tied with Carlos Macioch (1997-01) for the sixth-most goals in program history. Now with 46 career points, Dagnoni is only one point shy of moving into a three-way tie for third place on the Bruins' all-time points leaders list.
Up Next
Belmont begins SoCon play Saturday when it hosts ETSU at E.S. Rose Park for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The match will be 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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