Men's Soccer Returns to Rose Park, Hosts Drake Sunday Afternoon

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Looking to notch back-to-back victories for the first time this season, the Belmont University men's soccer team returns to the Music City Sunday afternoon as the Bruins host Drake in Missouri Valley Conference action at E.S. Rose Park. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.
 
The weekend matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Wes Boling on the call. Live stats of the contest can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• Belmont snapped a two-match slide Tuesday on the road with a convincing 3-1 non-conference win at Presbyterian College. Three different Bruins found the back of the net for the three points and Belmont improved to 4-1-2 against non-conference opponents this year.
• After the host Blue Hose scored 14 minutes in, the Bruins evened things up in the 24th minute before taking the lead in the 42nd minute. The win was Belmont's first of the season when conceding the opening goal.
• Junior midfielder Rubyn Singh Gill had the equalizer for his first goal as a Bruin, while sophomore defender Dylan Steely posted his second goal of the year on the go-ahead score. Senior midfielder Sam Rowan tacked on the insurance goal in the 74th minute for his first career score.
• Both Steely and Rowan earned three points in Tuesday's triumph with Steely assisting on Rowan's goal and Rowan assisting Steely. Rowan's assist was his first helper since the unique 2020-21 season while he was at Saint Louis University.  
• Over a six-day stretch (Sept. 21-26), Belmont put in approximately 1,638 miles on the road between its matches at ninth-ranked Missouri State in Springfield, Missouri (~434 miles one way), last Friday and Presbyterian in Clinton, South Carolina (~385 miles one way), Tuesday.
• Six of the Bruins' last seven matches have been away from Nashville and eight of Belmont's first 12 games of the season are either on the road or at a neutral site.
• In the first NCAA RPI (Rating Percentage Index) of the season, which was released Monday morning, the Bruins are one of six MVC teams in the top 100. Belmont checks in at No. 100 while the University of Illinois Chicago leads the Valley with the 10th-best RPI in the nation.
• Drake is No. 136 in the first weekly RPI.
• Sophomore forward Brock Kiper leads the Bruins in scoring with a trio of goals on the season. An impressive nine different Belmont players have found the space between the pipes this year.
• Four different Bruins have recorded at least two assists this season with graduate midfielder Jansen Wilson and senior midfielder Michael Saunders accounting for a team-best three apiece.
• Junior goalkeeper Grant Calvert ranks among the top 35 keepers in the nation in three key statistical categories. He is 14th nationally in saves (38), 29th in save percentage (.809) and 35th in saves per match (4.22).
• Belmont scored the first goal in its first six matches of the season.

 
Bruins at Home

• The Bruins have gotten a result in 24 of their last 26 matches at Rose Park, outscoring their opponents 39-15 during that stretch.
• Since the start of the 2018 season, Belmont is 22-8-9 at home.

 
Versus Drake

• Sunday will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs.
• The Bulldogs have won each of the first three matchups, including a 2-0 affair last October in Des Moines, Iowa.
• The Bruins have scored just one goal against Drake during a 7-1 home loss on Oct. 13, 2000, the last time the Bulldogs traveled to the Music City to face Belmont.

 
About the Bulldogs

• Under the direction of second-year head coach Pat Flinn and the reigning MVC Coaching Staff of the Year, Drake was picked to finish seventh in the Valley according to the league's preseason poll.
• The Bulldogs are off to a 2-5-1 start and have gone 1-1 in their first two MVC matches. Drake defeated Evansville 2-1 at home on Sept. 16 before dropping a 4-0 decision last Saturday at now nationally-ranked UIC.
• In non-conference action, the Bulldogs picked up a 1-0 home win over Western Illinois to begin the month of September. Drake also earned a decision against the University of Nebraska Omaha in Des Moines on Sept. 13.
• Sunday's match will be the Bulldogs' first since their loss against the Flames last weekend.
• Drake went 7-4-4 overall last year and claimed second place in the MVC race with a 5-2-1 Valley record.
• Only one of the Bulldogs' six All-MVC First and Second Team selections from last season is back, 6-foot-4 forward AJ Franklin.
• Franklin has accounted for four of Drake's 13 goals this season, while sophomore midfielder Damian Segura leads the Bulldogs with four assists and has scored twice.

 
Up Next
The Bruins hit the road once again next weekend, traveling to Bradley for a Friday night primetime matchup. The Valley match will be broadcast on ESPN+ with a 7 p.m. kickoff from Shea Stadium in Peoria, Illinois.
 
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.