EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Spoiling Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's homecoming festivities, the Belmont University men's soccer team won their first Missouri Valley Conference road match in program history Saturday night at Ralph Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Illinois. Behind junior midfielder
Michael Saunders' third goal of the week, the visiting Bruins (5-1-2, 2-0-0 MVC) earned their fourth victory in a row and third straight away from home.
Limiting the host Cougars (3-4-1, 0-1-0 MVC) to a single shot on goal for the full 90 minutes, Belmont controlled the opening half and found the back of the net in the 27th minute off the foot of Saunders. A balanced attack gave the Bruins chances throughout and disciplined defense carried Belmont to the finish line.
Three of the Bruins' five shots were on target and graduate goalkeeper
Nate Logan once again proved to be tremendous between the pipes. Saunders had a trio of shots, two of which were on goal, and Belmont's back line continued to dominate in the final third.
The Bruins had opportunities early and broke through shortly after an SIUE free kick just outside the 18-yard box on the left side was headed off the far post from inside the six-yard box. Fellow junior midfielder
AJ Chastonay raced down the field and collected a ball off the Cougars' line before feeding Saunders on the right-hand side at the top of the box. Teeing up his shot, Saunders torched the ball into the left upper 90. His third goal in two matches giving Belmont the 1-nil lead that would go final.
SIUE had another shot in the half, but the Bruins did not give up much until the Cougars created chances in the final 20 minutes of the match.
Belmont nearly added another goal to its lead multiple times in the second half as junior forward
Esteban Leiva had a header off a corner fly high and senior midfielder
Jansen Wilson a free kick from the top of the box blocked. Saunders almost posted his second brace of the week when he had an open shot on a breakaway go wide left.
With frustration settling in, SIUE starting defender Sam Layton was ejected on a red card in the 84th minute. Moments later, all-conference defender Max Broughton nearly knotted the score on a header in the 86th minute but his shot went high over the crossbar. The Cougars had one last gasp in the closing minute when preseason All-MVC midfielder Pau Palacin's strike went out right.
Of Note
Defeating Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis 2-1 in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon in Indianapolis, the Bruins wrapped up an undefeated two-match week on the road. Belmont's third shutout of the season, Saturday night's win is the Bruins' first shutout since playing then 17th-ranked Lipscomb to a 0-0 draw on Sept. 6. All three of Saunders' goals this season have come this week after he scored his first career brace at IUPUI Tuesday. He owns six career goals in three seasons. Chastonay's assist on Saunders' goal is his first of the season and third of his career. SIUE entered Saturday's contest 12-1 in homecoming matches.
Â
Up Next
Belmont will have a week off from match action before returning to E.S. Rose Park next Saturday when the Bruins welcome the University of Illinois Chicago to the Music City. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. with the conference matchup broadcast on ESPN3.
Â
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 theÂ
official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Â
#ItsBruinTime
Â
