Men's Soccer Travels to No. 19 Missouri State Sunday

 
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – In a matchup of Missouri Valley Conference unbeatens, the Belmont University men's soccer team takes on 19th-ranked Missouri State in road action Sunday afternoon in Springfield, Missouri. Kickoff from Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium is set for 2 p.m.
 
The battle between the top two teams in the league standings will be broadcast on ESPN3 with live statistics of the conference road match available on BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• On a program record-tying seven-match unbeaten streak, which includes four-straight September wins, the Bruins (5-1-4, 2-0-2 MVC) sit atop the seven-team MVC with eight points.
• Belmont is coming off back-to-back ties at home after earning its fourth shutout of the season Wednesday night against visiting Evansville. Playing the Purple Aces to a scoreless draw, the Bruins earned their ninth home and 13th overall shutout in two seasons.
• Registering his fourth clean sheet of the year, graduate goalkeeper Nate Logan made four saves in Wednesday's 0-0 outing while Belmont's back line provided yet another stellar 90 minutes of defense.
• The Bruins also put together a seven-match unbeaten streak to start the unique 2020-21 season, which was played during the spring semester (Feb. 21-March 23).
• Last Saturday, Belmont scored a trio of goals thanks to junior defender Case Cox's hat trick in a 3-3 draw with the University of Illinois Chicago at E.S. Rose Park. Returning to the pitch after spending three-and-a-half weeks on the sidelines, Cox headed in a pair of first-half goals (4' and 17') before chipping in the equalizer in the 89th minute. He recorded the first Bruin hat trick since senior forward Liam O'Brien accomplished the feat nearly one year ago to the day. The Louisville, Kentucky (Saint Xavier HS), native became the first Belmont player to notch three goals in a match at Rose Park since Oct. 12, 2019, when former forward Niccolo Dagnoni did so in a 3-3 tie with Wofford.
• For his efforts against the visiting Flames, 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 marked the second consecutive week a Bruin had 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 the week before. Saunders also accounted for three Belmont goals the week prior en route to picking up multiple weekly accolades.
• Four different Bruins 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).
• Sunday's match begins a challenging three-match road swing for Belmont as the Bruins head to Drake next Saturday and step out of conference play the following week when they travel to ASUN Conference member Bellarmine on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
• For the second-straight week Belmont is ranked seventh in the United Soccer Coaches West Region poll. The Bruins are one of three Valley teams ranked in the region's top 10 with nationally-ranked Missouri State third and Drake ninth.
• A fifth-year senior, O'Brien is just one Belmont victory away from becoming the Bruins' 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 Belmont jersey. Graduate midfielder JP Armbruster and senior midfielders Kyle Barks and Corey Lavinder, who began their Bruin careers in 2019, aren't too far behind with 30 match wins.
• Sunday will be the eighth all-time meeting between Belmont and Missouri State with the Bears holding a 4-2-1 lead in the series.
• The Bruins began their 2021 campaign by taking on the then 12th-ranked Bears in Springfield. Dagnoni gave Belmont a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute with a beautiful strike from the top corner of the box but Missouri State scored three-straight unanswered goals for the 3-1 win. The host Bears knotted up the match in the 20th minute before finding the back of the net twice within 21 seconds in the 72nd minute.
• In their previous four trips to Missouri State, the Bruins are 1-2-1. Belmont defeated the Bears 2-1 in Missouri for its 2011 season opener and tied Missouri State 1-1 on the road to start the Bruins' 2012 regular season.
• The 19th-ranked Bears are the third top-25 opponent Belmont has faced this season after dropping a 3-0 decision at then sixth-ranked Kentucky (Sept. 2) and playing then No. 17 Lipscomb to a scoreless draw in the 25th Battle of the Boulevard on Sept. 6.
• The Bruins own 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.
• Belmont has also tied a nationally-ranked foe twice with its two draws versus the Bisons of Lipscomb – versus No. 17 Lipscomb (0-0) on Sept. 6, 2022; at No. 22 Lipscomb (1-1) on Sept. 14, 2021.

About the Bears

• Missouri State is the three-time defending MVC regular season champion and has made six NCAA Championships, reaching the Round of 16 in the unique spring 2021 tournament. Appearing in each of the last three NCAA Championships, the Bears also won a match in the 2019 NCAA Championship.
• Winning each of the last two MVC Tournaments, Missouri State has claimed the league's postseason tournament three times.
• In 2019, the Bears became the first team to go 10-0-0 in MVC play and repeated the feat last season. In fact, Missouri State has won 12-straight Valley matches dating back to the unique 2020-21 spring season. The Bears' last conference loss came to Loyola University Chicago on April 8, 2021. Since the start of its 2019 campaign Missouri State has gone 29-1-0 in MVC regular season matches, which is the best league run nationally during that time frame.
• The Bears are ranked No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, No. 24 in the College Soccer News Top 30 and No. 10 in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25.
• At 6-1-2 overall on the year, Missouri State won its first two MVC contests, defeating Evansville 4-3 (Sept. 24) and earning a 3-0 victory at Bradley in its most recent outing last Saturday.
• The Bears' lone loss on the season came on Sept. 20 versus Tulsa, who defeated Missouri State 3-0 in Springfield. UC Santa Barbara played the Bears to a 1-1 draw at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium in the season opener and Missouri State ended its home match with Air Force in a scoreless tie.
• Nine matches into the season the Bears have played just one match away from home, last weekend's matchup at Bradley.
• Boasting five preseason All-MVC selections, Missouri State features 2021 MVC Midfielder of the Year Kian Yari, who has notched a trio of assists and two goals thus far this season. The Bears' Nicolo Mulatero, a returning All-MVC First Team pick, leads the team in scoring with six goals while 2021 All-MVC Second Team member Jesus Barea and senior defender Lewis Green have both tallied four goals this fall. Senior forward Aadne Bruseth, another All-MVC First Team performer, has a trio of goals and a pair of assists to his name this year.

Up Next
The Bruins head to Des Moines, Iowa, next Saturday where they will take on Drake at the James Cownie Soccer Complex in a 12 p.m. kickoff.
 
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.