Bruins Host No. 18 Missouri State for Senior Day Sunday Afternoon

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Stepping back into Missouri Valley Conference action and returning to the friendly confines of E.S. Rose Park, the Belmont University men's soccer team welcomes 18th-ranked Missouri State to the Music City Sunday afternoon for senior day. Kickoff of the MVC matchup is slated for 2 p.m.
 
The matinee match will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Reily Chestnut on the call. Live statistics of the contest will be available on BelmontBruins.com.
 
Thank You, Seniors
Prior to Sunday's kickoff versus the nationally-ranked Bears, the Bruins' six-man 2022 senior class will be recognized at midfield. Graduate midfielder JP Armbruster, senior defender John Bannec, senior midfielders Kyle Barks and Corey Lavinder, graduate goalkeeper Nate Logan, and senior forward Liam O'Brien will all be honored. Each has played a significant role in the program over the last three-five years.
 
JP Armbruster
A local native of Nashville (Father Ryan HS), Armbruster has made 46 starts for the Bruins and played in 59 matches over the last four seasons. Logging over 3,500 minutes on the field, Armbruster has assisted on a pair of goals while captaining the club each of the last two seasons. A CoSIDA Academic All-America^® selection and CoSIDA Academic All-District^® First Team pick, Armbruster has achieved an unblemished 4.0 grade-point average as both an undergraduate and graduate student. He will be receiving his Master of Accountancy degree in December.
 
John Bannec
A native of Bloomington, Indiana (Bloomington South HS), Bannec has logged over 4,000 minutes on the pitch for the Bruins and started all 44 matches he's donned Belmont's jersey. With a goal and an assist this season, the lockdown defender has compiled 20 total shots and five shots on target over the last three seasons. A 2021 All-Southern Conference Second Team selection, Bannec was named MVC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13. He will be graduating in December with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
 
Kyle Barks
A native of St. Louis, Missouri (De Smet Jesuit HS), Barks has scored four goals on 11 shots on target while making 52 starts in 56 matches as a Bruin. With over 4,500 minutes played at Belmont, Barks has competed for nearly 5,000 minutes throughout his five-year collegiate career. A two-time SoCon All-Tournament Team member, Barks will be graduating in December with a finance degree.
 
Corey Lavinder
An east Tennessee native of Bristol (Christ School), Lavinder has accounted for a goal and a pair of assists over the last three seasons. Appearing in 15 matches and logging nearly 300 minutes on the pitch, Lavinder is a two-time SoCon Academic Honor Roll member. He is double majoring in entrepreneurship and economics.
 
Nate Logan
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio (LaSalle HS), Logan has started every match in front of goal this season for the Bruins and posted four clean sheets. Logan's 38 saves this fall are among the top 100 goalkeepers in the nation and his 1,170 goalie minutes played rank 30th in the country. A two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 30 and Sept. 27), Logan owns a 1.08 career goals against average and a .722 career save percentage. He will be graduating in May with his Master of Sport Administration degree.
 
Liam O'Brien
A native of Freehold, New Jersey (YSC Academy), O'Brien has scored 21 goals and accounted for 46 points throughout his five-year Belmont career. In third place on the Bruins' all-time goals list, O'Brien ranks sixth in program history for career points. No other Belmont player has played in more matches than O'Brien and with 34 match wins he is tied as the winningest player in school history. A two-time All-SoCon Second Team selection and a preseason All-MVC pick, O'Brien was named to the 2021 SoCon All-Tournament Team. Majoring in music business and marketing, O'Brien will be graduating in December.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (5-3-5, 2-2-2) are looking to get back to their winning ways this weekend following a challenging three-match road stretch that began on Oct. 9 at then 19th-ranked Missouri State.
• Suffering 2-0 setbacks to both the Bears and the Bulldogs of Drake (Oct. 15), Belmont earned its first result since Oct. 5 in non-conference action Wednesday evening at Bellarmine.
• Earning a 1-1 draw, the Bruins extended their non-conference unbeaten streak to four and earned their fourth road result of the season. With junior attacking midfielder AJ Chastonay's father, Tim Chastonay, roaming the touchline as the Knights' head coach, Belmont found the back of the net in the 64th minute when O'Brien struck his fourth goal of the year. Freshman forward Brock Kiper notched his first assist as a Bruin and Belmont scored its first goal since Oct. 1. The Bruins' lead would be short-lived, however, as Bellarmine got an equalizer on a penalty kick in the 67th minute.
• Belmont is seeking its first victory since Sept. 24 after earning draws in its last two home matches versus the University of Illinois Chicago (Oct. 1) and Evansville (Oct. 5).
• In this week's United Soccer Coaches West Region poll, the Bruins are ranked eighth. Belmont is one of four MVC teams ranked in the region's top 10 with visiting Missouri State leading the way in second place, followed by Drake seventh and Evansville ninth.
• In the second NCAA RPI (Ratings Power Index) of the season, the Bruins are ranked 92nd as the second-highest ranked MVC squad. The Bears lead the seven-team league with an RPI of No. 25, while Drake (102) and UIC (107) sit just outside the top 100 in the RPI rankings.
• Belmont enters Sunday with a 16-match unbeaten streak that dates back to March 30, 2021 and has outscored its opponents 24-8 during that span. The Bruins have gotten a result in 18 of their last 20 matches at Rose Park and are 20-7-7 at home since the start of the 2018 season.
• Belmont owns five wins over nationally-ranked opponents in program history, two of which came last fall against the Spartans of UNC Greensboro – at No. 25 UNCG (2-1) on Nov. 7, 2021; versus No. 16 UNCG (2-1) on Oct. 16, 2021; at No. 25 Furman (3-1) on April 9, 2021; versus No. 22 ETSU (3-1) on Sept. 29, 2011; at No. 16 Furman (2-1, OT) on Nov. 2, 2007.
• The Bruins have also tied a nationally-ranked foe twice with their two draws in the annual Battle of the Boulevard – versus No. 17 Lipscomb (0-0) on Sept. 6, 2022, and at No. 22 Lipscomb (1-1) on Sept. 14, 2021.
• Four different Belmont players have collected a total of five MVC player of the week awards this season – graduate goalkeeper Nate Logan (defensive, Aug. 30 and Sept. 27), senior defender John Bannec (defensive, Sept. 13), junior midfielder Michael Saunders (offensive, Sept. 27) and most recently Cox (offensive, Oct. 4).
• Senior midfielder Jansen Wilson has emerged as one of the top facilitators in the nation and ranks among the country's best. His team-leading six assists on the season are 31st-most nationally and he also ranks 39th in the nation in assists per match (0.46).
• With his second-half goal versus the Knights Wednesday, O'Brien is within a goal of second-place program leader Fernando Castellanos for career goals scored (22) and he is 10 goals from the most ever by a Bruin (31 - Brandon Tarr). O'Brien owns 46 career points, the sixth-most in program history, and needs only two more points to move up Belmont's all-time list.
• Additionally, O'Brien is just one Bruin victory away from becoming Belmont's all-time winningest player. He has been involved in 34 match wins over five seasons and is tied with recent program graduates Ares Marlonsson (2017-21) and Esteban Lestido (2017-21) for the most triumphs while donning the Bruin jersey. Armbruster, Barks and Lavinder, who began their Belmont careers in 2019, aren't too far behind with 30 match wins.
• Sunday afternoon will be the ninth all-time meeting between the Bruins and Missouri State with the Bears holding a 5-2-1 lead in the series.
• Missouri State is 1-1 versus Belmont in Nashville with the Bears' last trip to Rose Park taking place on Sept. 7, 2013, a 2-1 Bruin victory in overtime. During the 2000 season when Belmont was an affiliate member of the MVC and Missouri State was known as Southwest Missouri State, the Bears earned a 5-1 win over the Bruins in the Music City.
• Two weeks ago in Springfield, Missouri, Missouri State scored in the 30th minute off a corner kick and added a goal in the 89th minute.

About the Bears

• The Bears are the three-time defending MVC regular season champions and have made six NCAA Championships, reaching the Round of 16 during the unique spring 2021 tournament. Appearing in each of the last three NCAA Championships, Missouri State also won a match in the 2019 NCAA Championship.
• Winning each of the last two MVC Tournaments, the Bears have claimed the league's postseason tournament three times.
• In 2019, Missouri State became the first team to go 10-0-0 in MVC play and repeated the feat last season. In fact, the Bears have won 15-straight Valley matches dating back to the 2020-21 spring season. Missouri State's last conference loss came to former member Loyola University Chicago on April 8, 2021. Since the start of their 2019 campaign, the Bears have gone 32-1-0 in MVC regular season matches, which is the best league run nationally during that time frame.
• Missouri State visits riding a seven-match road win streak, which is tied for the longest active streak in the NCAA.
• Twelve matches into the season the Bears have played just two matches away from home, at Bradley on Oct. 1 (W, 3-0) and at UIC last Saturday (W, 3-1).
• Missouri State's lone loss on the season came on Sept. 20 versus Tulsa (3-0). UC Santa Barbara played the Bears to a 1-1 draw in the opener in Missouri and Air Force battled Missouri State to a scoreless draw on the road on Sept. 2.
• The Bears enter Sunday at 9-1-2 overall and 5-0-0 in MVC play. Missouri State is ranked No. 18 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll, is No. 16 in the nation according to Top Drawer Soccer and is No. 21 in the College Soccer News Top 30.
• With 31 goals on the season and a 2.6 goals per match average, the Bears rank near the top nationally in several statistical categories, including third in shots per outing (18.5), third in shutout percentage (0.667), fifth in shots on goal per match (8) and sixth in scoring.
• Missouri State junior keeper Harry Townsend is among the top goalies in the nation with the fourth-most shutouts on the year (8).
• Boasting five preseason All-MVC selections, the Bears feature 2021 MVC Midfielder of the Year Kian Yari, who has notched a trio of goals and four assists this season. Missouri State senior forward Nicolo Mulatero, a returning All-MVC First Team pick, leads the team in scoring with six goals while senior defender Lewis Green has tallied five goals this fall. Senior forward Aadne Bruseth, another All-MVC First Team performer, and 2021 All-MVC Second Team member Jesus Barea both own four goals on the year.
• Green and Bruseth both found the back of the net when Belmont visited Missouri on Oct. 9.

Up Next
The Bruins close out their regular season home schedule Wednesday when Belmont hosts Eastern Illinois for a non-conference tilt at 6:30 p.m.
 
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