Bruins Open MVC Play, Host Bradley Saturday Evening at Rose Park

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The first Missouri Valley Conference contest held in Nashville in any sport since Belmont University officially joined the league on July 1, 2022, is set for Saturday evening at E.S. Rose Park. The Belmont men's soccer team hosts Bradley University at 6 p.m. for both squad's MVC opener.
 
The conference match will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with Reily Chestnut on the call and Camden Morris reporting from the sideline. Live statistics of Saturday evening's tilt will be available on BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins enter MVC action having gotten a result in four of their first five matches of the season.
• Belmont has allowed just five goals through five non-conference matches and only one team (Purdue Fort Wayne) has scored against the Bruins at Rose Park in three home contests this season.
• Last time out last Saturday, Belmont claimed a gritty, come-from-behind road victory at UNC Asheville. After giving up a first-half goal, the Bruins proved to be resilient and scored twice in the closing 20 minutes of the match. Senior midfielder Jansen Wilson provided two assists on free kicks and junior midfielder AJ Chastonay struck the game winner in the 88th minute off a rebound.
• In extremely wet and rainy conditions, Belmont controlled the field the entire second half and notched season highs in shots (25), shots on goal (9) and corner kicks (13). The Bruins posted 18 shots in the second 45 minutes with six of those on target.
• Senior defender John Bannec scored his first career goal against the Bulldogs, finding the back of the net from the far post on Wilson's free kick in the 71st minute. His equalizer was only one piece of a tremendous week for the Bloomington, Indiana, native. Playing all 180 minutes on the pitch in Belmont's two matches for the week, Bannec helped captain the Bruins' back line against the then 17th-ranked Bisons of Lipscomb. After holding one of the top offensive teams in the nation scoreless in a draw, Bannec was tabbed MVC Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday.
• Three weeks into the season, the Bruins have claimed the MVC's defensive player of the week award twice with Bannec joining graduate goalkeeper Nate Logan (Aug. 30) as Belmont's two honorees.
• The Bruins are coming off their first seven-day break from match play this season. Belmont will return to midweek competition Tuesday.
• Saturday will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Bruins and Bradley with the Braves holding a 4-1-1 lead in the series.
• Belmont is 1-1 versus Bradley in the Music City with its lone victory in the series taking place on Sept. 16, 2012, a single-goal affair. During the Bruins' one year of affiliate membership in the MVC in 2000, the Braves earned a 4-1 win in Nashville.
• In head coach David Costa's first season guiding Belmont, the Bruins played Bradley to a scoreless draw following double overtime in both team's 2019 season opener in Peoria, Illinois.
• The two teams also faced each other for an exhibition in 2018.
• Belmont owns a 13-match home unbeaten streak that dates back to March 30, 2021.
• The Bruins have outscored their opponents 19-4 at Rose Park during their home undefeated streak.
• Belmont has gotten a result in 15 of its last 17 home matches and is 19-7-5 at Rose Park since the start of the 2018 season.
• In Tuesday's United Soccer Coaches regional rankings, the Bruins cracked the West Region's top 10. Belmont is No. 9 in the regional poll with fellow MVC members Missouri State third and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 10th.
• The Bruins are 2-0-2 in conference openers since joining the Southern Conference prior to the 2018 season. Coach Costa is 2-0-1 in league openers.

About the Braves

• The Braves are entering their 32nd season of MVC play.
• Bradley is off to a 2-3-1 start with home wins over Northern Kentucky (2-1) and Southern Indiana (1-0). Following their season-opening victory over the Norse on Aug. 25, the Braves dropped three of their next four matches before defeating the Screaming Eagles this past Tuesday. Belmont opened its fall campaign with a 2-0 triumph against visiting Southern Indiana (Aug. 25).
• Going 3-7-0 in MVC play and 5-12-1 overall, Bradley tied for fifth in the then six-team league last season. The Braves were picked to finish sixth in the MVC in the preseason coaches poll.
• Junior forward Jack Douglas is a returning All-MVC Second Team selection, while sophomore midfielder/defender Michael Rogalski earned MVC All-Freshman Team honors a season ago.
• Senior midfielder Pepe Mellado (2) and redshirt freshman midfielder/forward Kaloyan Somov (2) have combined to score four of Bradley's eight goals this season. Three different Braves, including Douglas, have recorded a pair of assists.

It will be Music City Night at Rose Park Saturday with fans able to register to win tickets to see Jon Pardi at the Grand Ole Opry on Oct. 7.

Up Next
The Bruins step out of conference play Tuesday afternoon when they travel to Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis for a 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET kickoff in Indianapolis. Next Saturday, Belmont returns to its MVC slate and visits SIUE.
 
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.