Men's Soccer Closes Out Regular Season Wednesday with Evansville at Rose Park

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Attempting to snap a two-match slide and punch its ticket to the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Championship, the Belmont University men's soccer team hosts the University of Evansville Wednesday evening for both team's regular season finale. Kickoff from E.S. Rose Park in the Music City is set for 6:30 p.m.
 
The MVC home match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Wes Boling on the call. Live stats of the midweek matchup can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
Wednesday is fan appreciation night with the first 25 fans in attendance receiving a free voucher for the concession stand.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (8-6-2, 3-4-0 MVC) return to the friendly confines of Rose Park following back-to-back challenging weekend road trips to Northern Illinois and top-25 Western Michigan.
• Belmont dropped a single-goal affair to the Huskies of Northen Illinois on Oct. 22 and was defeated 5-0 by the Broncos of Western Michigan last Friday afternoon.  
• Prior to the last two weekends, the Bruins had won three-straight MVC matches.
• Belmont is in contention for a No. 4-6 seed for the upcoming MVC Championship, which will be played across the next two weekends beginning with the first round this Sunday, Nov. 5. With a result Wednesday versus the Purple Aces, the Bruins will clinch a spot in the MVC Championship. With a win over Evansville and a Bowling Green loss at Northern Illinois Wednesday, Belmont will clinch the No. 4 seed and earn the right to host a first round match Sunday.
• Before last Sunday's road loss against the Broncos, the Bruins had not conceded multiple goals in seven of their previous eight matches.
• Belmont scored the opening goal in 10 of its first 14 matches of the season.
• The Bruins have been shut out in consecutive matches for the second this season after 2-0 and 1-0 losses, respectively, against the University of Illinois Chicago (Sept. 16) and at top-10 ranked Missouri State (Sept. 22).
• The five goals conceded this past Friday at Western Michigan are the most by Belmont since an identical 5-0 defeat at UNC Wilmington on Oct. 13., 2018.
• With a 1-0 win over visiting Bellarmine University on Oct. 17, the Bruins completed their regular season non-conference schedule 5-2-2.
• Belmont is 17th in the country in shot accuracy with 89 of its 182 shots on the season landing on target (.489).
• Redshirt freshman midfielder Simeon Betapudi made his first career appearance last Friday at Western Michigan.
• Six different Bruins have scored in Belmont's last six matches – senior midfielder Sam Rowan (2), senior forward Ayden von Essen (1), sophomore forward Brock Kiper (1), graduate forward Case Cox (1), graduate midfielder Jansen Wilson (2) and junior defender Alex Clayton (1).
• Having a breakout season, Kiper leads the Bruins in goals (5) and is second on the team in points (11). His trio of game-winning goals are tied for 32nd-most nationally.
• Wilson, who registered his first career brace in the 3-1 win at Bradley on Oct. 6, leads Belmont with 13 points this fall. He is second on the team in both goals (4) and assists (5).
• Sophomore defender Dylan Steely has had plenty of offensive production this year, either scoring or assisting on a goal in four of his last five matches. With three goals and three assists on the season, he is third among all Bruins in points (9).
• Junior goalkeeper Grant Calvert ranks among the top 30 keepers in the nation in both saves (63) and saves per match (4.20).
• In the sixth NCAA RPI (Rating Percentage Index) of the season, which was released Monday morning, Belmont is one of five MVC teams in the top 100. The Bruins moved up a spot this week and are now ranked 75th, while Missouri State and Western Michigan lead the Valley with the 20th and 21st-best RPIs in the nation.
• The Purple Aces are No. 122 in the RPI.
• Eight of Belmont's first 12 matches of the year were away from Nashville.

 
Bruins at Home

• The Bruins have won three in a row at home.
• Belmont has gotten a result in 27 of its last 29 matches at Rose Park, outscoring its opponents 44-17 during that stretch.
• Since the start of the 2018 season, the Bruins are 25-8-9 at home.

 
Versus Evansville

• Wednesday will be the 17th all-time meeting between the two programs with Evansville holding an 11-3-2 lead in the series.
• The two teams met three times last year and played 245 minutes of scoreless soccer before the Purple Aces scored the only goal in the three matchups in the MVC Championship semifinals. An improbable 65th-minute goal got third-seeded Evansville past fifth-seeded Belmont at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium in Springfield, Missouri.
• Both of last season's regular season contests between the Purple Aces and the Bruins ended in scoreless draws.
• Evansville visited Belmont last October before the two teams ended the 2022 regular season in Evansville, Indiana, on Nov. 2.
• The Bruins are seeking their first win over the Purple Aces since a 1-0 home triumph on Sept. 21, 2006.

 
About the Purple Aces

• Evansville is 4-8-3 on the year and has gone 2-4-1 against the Valley. Last Friday on senior night, the Purple Aces snapped a three-match losing streak with a 1-0 win over visiting Bradley. Evansville had not won since Sept. 23 and had lost four of its previous five matches.
• Despite their lack of results as of late, the Purple Aces tied the MVC regular season champion Broncos 2-2 at home on Oct. 7. Evansville is the only team in the Valley to get a result versus Western Michigan this season.
• The Purple Aces were picked fourth just above Belmont in the conference's preseason predicted order of finish.
• Evansville also owns an MVC home win over Northern Illinois (2-0).
• The Purple Aces are 1-6 in road matches this season and are 0-6 away from Evansville. A 4-0 victory at Southern Indiana on Sept. 9 is Evansville's only road win.
• Senior forward Kai Phillip, an All-MVC Second Team performer last year, leads the Purple Aces and is third in the conference in scoring with nine goals this fall.
• Graduate winger Nkosi Graham, junior midfielder Jose Vivas and junior forward Nacho Diaz Barragan have all found the back of the net twice this season. Diaz Barragan was last year's MVC Freshman of the Year and an All-MVC First Team pick, while Vivas and graduate midfielder Carlos Barcia were both members of the 2022 All-MVC Second Team.
• Evansville ranks 11th in the nation in shot accuracy with 84 of its 167 shots being placed on frame (.503).

 
Up Next
The Bruins will learn of their postseason assignment following Wednesday night's slate of MVC matches.
 
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.