Bruins Earn Road Result at Bellarmine Wednesday Evening

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – An action-packed final 30 minutes of play resulted in a 1-1 draw Wednesday night at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky, as the Belmont University men's soccer team picked up a road result at Bellarmine University. The Bruins (5-3-5) extended their non-conference unbeaten streak to four following a 64th-minute goal off the left foot of senior forward Liam O'Brien.
 
In an evenly played affair that saw the two teams finish with the same number of shots (10) and shots on target (3), Belmont nearly came away with three points and a win, but a pair of late-match strikes just missed.
 
The host Knights (6-3-4) evened things up in the 67th minute on a penalty kick.
 
Claiming their fourth road result of the season, the Bruins threatened early and kept Bellarmine from creating any real chances until late in the first half. Neither club earned a corner kick until the 41st minute when Belmont had two opportunities to score right before the half. Both of the Knights' corners came in the second half.
 
Bellarmine nearly took a 1-0 lead within the first three minutes of the second half when midfielder Brock Pope hit the crossbar only two-and-a-half minutes in. The Bruins' third and final corner of the match came in the 61st minute following a well-struck ball from O'Brien on a counter-attack that collided with the left post. Only moments later, O'Brien scored the go-ahead goal.
 
Freshman forward Brock Kiper registered his first career assist with a nifty pass to O'Brien in the upper right-hand corner of the box and O'Brien launched a rocket into the upper left of the net to put Belmont in front in the 64th minute. However, the lead would be short lived as the Knights drew a foul in the six-yard box on a cross.

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— Belmont Men's Soccer (@BelmontMSoccer) October 20, 2022

  Bellarmine forward Nolan McGrath punched in the equalizing PK before both squads had chances to take a lead in the closing 20 minutes.
 
Junior defender Case Cox had a header hit the top woodwork on a free kick from senior midfielder Jansen Wilson in the 85th minute and junior attacking midfielder AJ Chastonay's would-be game winner sailed barely high and left in the 88th minute. The Son of Knights' head coach Tim Chastonay, AJ nearly played hero on his father's home turf from 30 yards with only two-and-a-half minutes remaining. Bellarmine set up for a corner with about 100 seconds to go but couldn't get a shot off.
 
Both goalkeepers made a pair of saves.

Of Note
The Bruins found the back of the net for the first time since Oct. 1. Belmont has earned a tie in three of its last five matches. The draw halted the Bruins' two-match slide. O'Brien's second-half goal was the 21st of his five-year Belmont career, moving him within a goal of second-place program goals leader Fernando Castellanos (22). He is 10 goals from the most ever by a Bruin (31 - Brandon Tarr). The Freehold, New Jersey (YSC Academy), native owns 46 career points, good enough for sixth place in program history.
 
Up Next
Belmont returns to the Music City this weekend and steps back into Missouri Valley Conference play for senior day at E.S. Rose Park Sunday versus 18th-ranked Missouri State. The Bruins' six-man class will be honored prior to the match with kickoff set for 2 p.m. The home contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
Follow Belmont men's soccer on social media – @BelmontMSoccer on Twitter, @belmontmsoccer on Instagram and Belmont University Men's Soccer on Facebook – 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.