Bruins Close Out Road Stretch at Southern Indiana Tuesday Night

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Wrapping up a four-match stretch away from the Music City, the Belmont University men's soccer team returns to the pitch Tuesday night in Evansville, Indiana, for a non-conference tilt at Southern Indiana. The opening kick is slated for 7 p.m. at Strassweg Field.
 
The midweek matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats of the road contest can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (2-1-2) suffered their first setback of the season last Friday night at the University of Memphis. Despite taking a 1-nil lead in the 20th minute off the foot of graduate midfielder Jansen Wilson, Belmont fell victim to a pair of first-half Tiger goals within a five-minute window. Although the Bruins kept host Memphis out of the net across the final 65 minutes and allowed only one shot on target in the closing 58 minutes, Belmont couldn't convert on an equalizer.
• Wilson's right-footed strike against the Tigers was his first goal donning the Bruin jersey and fifth of his career. He scored four goals in his first two seasons at the University of Kentucky.
• Senior midfielder Michael Saunders earned a secondary assist on Wilson's goal Friday, marking his team-leading ninth career assist.
• The loss was Belmont's first true road defeat since Oct. 15, 2022, at Drake.
• Junior goalkeeper Grant Calvert, who is in his first season in a starting role, ranks among the top 35 keepers in the nation in three key statistical categories. He is 13th nationally in saves (23), 31st in save percentage (.821) and 35th in saves per match (4.6).
• Three different Bruins have already recorded two assists this year, including junior defender Alex Johnson, Saunders and Wilson.
• Senior midfielder Eric Stiles, who has been an anchor on Belmont's back line, is an Indiana native. Hailing from Columbus, Indiana, which is just under three hours from Evansville, Stiles prepped at Columbus East High School and played for Alliance FC.

 
Versus Southern Indiana

• Tuesday evening will be only the second-ever meeting between the Bruins and the Screaming Eagles.
• Last August, Belmont began its 2022 campaign with a 2-0 win over Southern Indiana at E.S. Rose Park. Forward Liam O'Brien, the Bruins' winningest player, notched a brace with goals in the 25th and 60th minutes. Saunders, senior midfielder AJ Chastonay and graduate forward Case Cox assisted on the two scores. Belmont allowed just three shots on goal in the home shutout.

 
About the Screaming Eagles

• Southern Indiana is only in its second season as a NCAA Division I member.
• The Screaming Eagles went 2-12-3 in their first year as a Division I program, tying for sixth in the Summit League with a 2-5-1 conference record.
• Now in the Ohio Valley Conference, which is in its first year sponsoring men's soccer, Southern Indiana was picked to finish sixth out of eight teams in the league.
• Graduate midfielder Nick Faddis was tabbed an OVC Player to Watch and junior defender Sam Benoist owns the Screaming Eagles' lone goal of the season.
• Southern Indiana scored in its season-opening 3-1 loss at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis but has been shut out in each of its last four outings.
• The Screaming Eagles are coming off home losses to Evansville (4-0) and Mercer (2-0) and road defeats at Akron (1-0) and Green Bay (7-0).
• Dating back to last fall, Southern Indiana is on a six-match slide.

 
Up Next
The Bruins return to Nashville this weekend and begin Missouri Valley Conference play by welcoming the University of Illinois Chicago Saturday. Kickoff from Rose Park is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the Valley match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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.