BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In the championship match of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Soccer for the Cure Classic Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama, the Belmont University men's soccer team earned a 1-1 draw with Chicago State. Securing their second result of the weekend, the Bruins (2-0-2) scored in the first half via a diving header from graduate forward
Case Cox and nearly came away with a second clean sheet on the season. However, the Cougars (2-1-1) found the back of the net in the 83rd minute to force the single point.
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Against a Chicago State team that had scored three goals in each of its last two outings, Belmont held the Cougars to just five shots on target. In fact, Chicago State had only one shot on goal in the first 45 minutes as junior goalkeeper
Grant Calvert made a terrific save one-on-one in the 20th minute.
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In their second match in three days at Goldfarb Field at Berylson Soccer Park on the campus of Birmingham-Southern College, the Bruins broke free in the 29th minute. Junior defender
Alex Johnson fed a perfectly-placed ball into the six-yard box from the left end line and found a diving Cox for his second assist of the season. Cox, a Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy Watch List member who scored three of Belmont's four goals during the preseason, capitalized on the header for his first score of the regular season.
The Bruins took a 1-0 lead into the intermission, but the Cougars needed less than five minutes of second-half play to put two shots on goal. After Calvert made his fourth save of the match in the 81st minute, Chicago State scored when defender Donat Juhasz passed to defender Calwayne Allen in the box for the equalizing goal through traffic in the 83rd.
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Totaling only three shots in the second half, Belmont put two on target with great looks by Cox in the 51st minute and graduate forward
Esteban Leiva in the 68th minute. The Bruins were unable to put together a shot across the final 22 minutes of action.
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The Cougars completed the match with 14 shots, compared to Belmont's 10.
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After the Bruins didn't concede a corner kick in the first half, Chicago State created eight in the second half. With only one corner in the last 45 minutes, Belmont finished with five.
Of Note
- Sunday's matchup was the first meeting between the two programs.
- The Bruins were also unbeaten through the first four matches of the season in the spring of 2021 when Belmont started the unique 2020 campaign 3-0-1.
- Cox's first-half goal was the eighth of his career. He now owns 22 career points.
- Johnson's assist was his second career helper.
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Up Next
The Bruins remain away from the Music City next weekend when Belmont travels to the University of Memphis next Friday, Sept. 8 for a 7 p.m. road match against the Tigers. The contest will be broadcast on
ESPN+.
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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.
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