Belmont Hosts Evansville in MVC Action Wednesday Night

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Remaining in the Music City before embarking on a three-match road swing, the Belmont University men's soccer team returns to Missouri Valley Conference match action Wednesday night at E.S. Rose Park. The Bruins host the University of Evansville in 6:30 p.m. kickoff.
 
The conference matchup will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Reily Chestnut on the call and Hanley Riggs reporting from the sideline. Live statistics of Wednesday evening's match will be available on BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• Fresh off a weekend draw with the University of Illinois Chicago, Belmont looks to continue its unbeaten streak. Having put together a six-match unbeaten streak, which includes four-straight September wins, the Bruins are just one result shy of tying the program record for consecutive outings without a loss (spring 2021).
• On Saturday evening, junior defender Case Cox returned to the pitch after spending three-and-a-half weeks on the sidelines and registered his first hat trick to preserve Belmont's 15-match home unbeaten streak. Scoring all three of the Bruins' goals in the 3-3 draw with the visiting Flames, Cox headed in a pair of first-half goals (4' and 17') before finding the back of the net in the 89th minute.
• For his efforts against UIC, Cox was named both MVC Offensive Player of the Week and Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Men's Soccer Player of the Week, in addition to landing a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. It marks the second consecutive week a Belmont player has been tabbed TSWA Player of the Week and earned a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week after junior midfielder Michael Saunders (offensive) and graduate goalkeeper Nate Logan (defensive) swept the MVC's weekly honors last week. Saunders also accounted for three Bruin goals the week prior en route to picking up multiple weekly accolades.
• Four different Belmont players have collected a total of five MVC player of the week awards this season – Nate Logan (defensive, Aug. 30 and Sept. 27), John Bannec (defensive, Sept. 13), Michael Saunders (offensive, Sept. 27) and Case Cox (offensive, Oct. 4).
• Saturday's tie with the Flames was the Bruins' first draw versus UIC and kept Belmont both undefeated in MVC play and atop the league standings with a 2-0-1 conference record (7 points).
• For the second-straight week the Bruins are ranked seventh in the United Soccer Coaches West Region poll. Belmont is one of three Valley teams ranked in the region's top 10 with nationally-ranked Missouri State third and Drake ninth.
• The Bruins' 15-match home unbeaten streak dates back to March 30, 2021, and Belmont has outscored its opponents 24-8 during that span. Getting a result in 17 of their last 19 home matches, the Bruins are 20-7-6 at Rose Park since the start of the 2018 season.
• Senior midfielder Jansen Wilson, who assisted on both of Cox's first-half headers Saturday evening, owns an MVC-best six assists on the season. He ranks among the nation's top 10 in both total assists and assists per match (0.67).
• Wednesday night will be the 14th all-time meeting between Belmont and Evansville on the pitch with the Purple Aces holding a 10-3 lead in the series.
• The Bruins are 2-3 against Evansville in Nashville but won last year's matchup 2-1 at Rose Park (Oct. 12). Cox put Belmont ahead 1-0 with a 42nd-minute goal and junior attacking midfielder AJ Chastonay provided the game-winning header in the 86th minute. The match featured a combined 23 shots, 11 of which were on target, as former Bruin keeper Drew Romig made five saves.

About the Purple Aces

• After reaching last season's MVC Tournament championship match, the Purple Aces are off to a 4-2-2 start. With a 1-1-0 league record, Evansville began MVC play by defeating Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 2-0 on Sept. 17 before being edged 4-3 at then 17th-ranked Missouri State a week later.
• The Purple Aces also own victories over IUPUI (3-1), Incarnate Word (3-0) and Lindenwood, who they beat 2-1 at home this past Saturday. Evansville began its fall campaign with a 2-2 draw at Bellarmine (Aug. 25) and played Southern Indiana to a scoreless draw on Sept. 10.
• Seeking their first result on the road, the Purple Aces are 0-1-1 away from Evansville this season and have won just one road match since 2018 – a 2-0 victory at SIUE last October.
• Evansville was picked to finish fifth in the seven-team league according to the preseason coaches poll after posting a 3-6-1 MVC mark (10 points) a season ago. Finishing fourth in the 2021 conference standings, the Purple Aces went 4-14-2 overall but made a run to the Valley's title match with a penalty kick shootout win (8-7) over second-seeded Loyola Chicago in the MVC Tournament semifinals.
• Led by eighth-year head coach Marshall Ray, Evansville features reigning MVC Freshman of the Year Joes Vivas and fellow 2021 MVC All-Freshman Team member Jon Varela (defender). A 5-foot-6 midfielder, Vivas has posted a pair of goals and two assists this season.
• Sophomore forward Nacho Diaz has scored seven of the club's 16 goals this fall to lead the MVC in goals and points (15), while senior midfielder Carlos Barcia and 6-foot-3 junior forward Kai Phillip both own a trio of goals. Senior winger Nkosi Graham owns a team-high four assists.

Wednesday's match is Mental Health Awareness Night at Rose Park with the first 100 fans receiving a free mental health awareness green t-shirt.
 
Up Next
Belmont begins its three-match road stretch Sunday at No. 19 Missouri State. Kickoff from Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium is slated for 2 p.m. with the MVC match broadcast 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.