NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With under 20 minutes to go and trailing 1-0, the Belmont University men's soccer team looked like it was about to have its 11-match undefeated streak at E.S. Rose Park snapped by Purdue University Fort Wayne Sunday afternoon. However, the Bruins (1-0-1) had one thing in mind, to even up the match. Exactly that they did as junior defender
Case Cox found the back of the net on a leaping header in the 79th minute off a beautiful service from junior midfielder
Michael Saunders.
Belmont nearly secured three points for a win in the final seconds of the non-conference match with a strike off the foot of senior midfield
Jansen Wilson and a rebound header from junior forward
Ayden von Essen.
With 20 seconds remaining, von Essen broke free and had only the Mastodons' goalkeeper to beat. Well outside the box, Purdue Fort Wayne's Danny Salazar rose up to stop von Essen's kick and was issued a red card for handling the ball outside the penalty area. Following a yellow card on the Mastodons during the stoppage with 13 seconds left, Wilson launched the Bruins' free kick, which slammed against the top cross bar. Von Essen attempted to head in the loose ball after it bounced off the turf, but his shot went high.
Purdue Fort Wayne (0-1-1) had the momentum the majority of the second half and took a 1-0 lead in the 57th minute off a set piece. The Mastodons' Cesar Cosio fed captain Moses Akimana on a corner kick with defender Akimana heading in the go-ahead goal.
The two teams were scoreless after the first 45 minutes of play despite Purdue Fort Wayne having two goals called off due to being offsides. In fact, the first half saw seven combined offsides calls.
Facing an aggressive Mastodon attack from the start, Belmont's defense held Purdue Fort Wayne until the visitors' second-half score. Patient with their offensive sets, the Bruins' late-match tenacity proved to be the difference in the final outcome.
Belmont racked up 17 shots and had 11 in the second half, including 10 in the closing 32 minutes of the match. Four of the Bruins' shots were on target, while the Mastodons totaled eight shots with six on goal.
Von Essen led Belmont with five shots and Wilson tallied four.
In his second start in front of the net, graduate goalkeeper
Nate Logan made five saves.
Of Note
The Bruins extended their home unbeaten streak to 12 dating back to March 30, 2021. The tie broke Belmont's 11-match home win streak. The Bruins have outscored their opponents 19-4 during their 12-match home undefeated streak. Belmont is now 1-1-1 in the all-time series with Purdue Fort Wayne. The Bruins have gotten a result in 14 of their last 16 matches at Rose Park and are 19-7-4 at home since the start of the 2018 season.
Up Next
Belmont travels to nationally-ranked Kentucky Friday for its first road test of the season. Kickoff from the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington, Kentucky, is set for 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET. The Bruins will welcome rival Lipscomb for the 25th Battle of the Boulevard next Tuesday, Sept. 6.
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
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