Men's Soccer Returns to Rose Park Friday Night, Hosts Northern Illinois

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After a week-long break from match action, the Belmont University men's soccer team returns to E.S. Rose Park Friday evening for a Missouri Valley Conference home matchup with Northern Illinois. Kickoff from the Music City is slated for 6:30 p.m.
 
The primetime Friday outing will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Spencer Boehme on the call. Live stats can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
The Bruins' final enter-to-win raffle of the season will be available for fans in attendance with third-generation Apple AirPods up for grabs.
 
What's Bruin

• Last Friday night in the Windy City, Belmont (4-7-3, 1-4-1 MVC) picked up its first MVC victory of the season with a 1-nil shutout at the University of Illinois Chicago. The win was the Bruins' first on the road since Oct. 6 of last year and first in Valley play since Oct. 14 of last year.
• Redshirt sophomore defender Nate Mefford scored the lone goal of the match in the 57th minute on a beautiful header off an outside cross from senior defender Alex Clayton.
• Belmont fended off 19 total shots by the host Flames, including 12 in the second half.
• After coming up with four saves against UIC and earning his fourth clean sheet of the season, graduate goalkeeper Grant Calvert was tabbed MVC Defensive Player of the Week. Securing his sixth career shutout last weekend, Calvert collected his first player of the week award.
• Following his game-winning goal and second career score in Chicago, Mefford was selected as Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Men's Soccer Player of the Week. It was the fourth time this season a Bruin has been named state player of the week.
• Clayton, who was chosen as TSWA Player of the Week the opening week of the season on Aug. 27, recorded his team-leading fourth assist of the year last Friday against the Flames.
• Prior to last Friday's match at UIC, Belmont had a four-match homestand. Six of the Bruins' final eight matches of the regular season are at home.
• Belmont is 3-3-1 at Rose Park this year.
• Last time out in Nashville on Oct. 12, the Bruins dropped a 2-1 decision to now 13th-ranked Missouri State. The loss to the visiting Bears was just Belmont's fourth setback at home in four seasons.
• Last weekend's road tilt versus the Flames was sixth-year head coach David Costa's 100th match leading the Bruins.
• Belmont began MVC action with a 1-1 home draw against then fourth-ranked Western Michigan on Sept. 15. It was the Bruins' first result against a top-five opponent in program history and Belmont's ninth all-time result against a top-25 team, seven of which have taken place in the last five seasons.
• Seven of the Bruins' last 11 opponents are ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA RPI (Rating Percentage Index), including No. 14 Missouri State, No. 15 Western Michigan, No. 40 Drake, No. 55 South Carolina, No. 71 Bowling Green, No. 93 UIC and No. 94 Florida Atlantic.
• At No. 186, the Huskies have the worst RPI in the nine-team MVC.
• Returning to action against Bradley on Oct. 5, graduate forward Case Cox made his first start of the season in the 1-0 home win over Covenant College on Oct. 8. Cox scored his 10th career goal against the Scots and owns 29 career points. The experienced striker from Louisville, Kentucky (Saint Xavier HS), was a Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy preseason watch list member last year and an all-region first-team selection in 2022.
• Senior captain midfielder AJ Chastonay, who has twice been named TSWA Player of the Week this season and was selected as MVC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 17, leads Belmont in both goals (5) and points (12). With 18 career goals in five seasons, Chastonay ranks third in program history. A native of Louisville, Kentucky (Saint Xavier HS), Chastonay surpassed Niccolo Dagnoni (2018-21), Will Moorad (2008-11) and Jeremy Littlejohn (1995-98) on the Bruins' all-time goals list during the 1-1 draw at Bellarmine on Sept. 10.
• Both Chastonay and fellow senior midfielder Eric Stiles are the winningest players in school history. They have helped lead Belmont to an impressive 39 match wins across five seasons.
• The Bruins were undefeated through their first three matches for the second consecutive season.
• Belmont went 8-7-3 overall last fall, finishing in the top 90 of the NCAA RPI for the fourth-straight season. It also marked the Bruins' fourth consecutive winning season.
• In its second year back in the MVC after being an affiliate member of the Valley for the 2000 season, Belmont tied for fifth place with a 3-4-1 league record.
• The Bruins were picked fifth in the 2024 MVC Preseason Poll.
• Junior defender Dylan Steely was tabbed Preseason All-MVC after earning United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Third Team honors last season. The Hoover, Alabama (Hoover HS), native was an All-MVC Second Team pick last year and garnered MVC All-Tournament Team and MVC All-Freshman Team accolades in 2022.
• Coach Costa has led Belmont to 44 match wins and 18 draws, including two conference tournament championship match appearances, over six seasons.
• The Bruins challenge themselves against some of the nation's best this season, facing eight top-100 programs from a year ago including four NCAA Championship teams.

Bruins at Home

• Belmont has gotten a result in 32 of its last 37 matches at Rose Park, outscoring its opponents 54-25 during that stretch.
• Since the start of the 2018 season, the Bruins are 28-11-11 at home.
• Belmont has finished .500 or better at home each of the last six seasons.

Versus Northern Illinois

• Friday evening will be only the second-ever meeting between the Bruins and Northern Illinois.
• Last October, the Huskies slipped past Belmont in a single-goal affair in DeKalb, Illinois. A 22nd-minute own goal proved to be the difference in the match, which saw the Bruins take a season-high 22 shots.
• Northern Illinois is playing its first-ever match at Rose Park.

About the Huskies

• The Huskies (2-11-0, 0-5-0 MVC) enter the weekend on a six-match losing streak.
• Northern Illinois' last win came on Sept. 16, a 1-0 non-conference home victory over Mercyhurst. In their second match of the season, the Huskies defeated Chicago State 4-2 at home.
• In Valley play, Northern Illinois has suffered losses to Evansville (2-1), top-15 ranked Western Michigan (2-1), Missouri State (7-0), UIC (4-2) and Bowling Green (2-1).
• The Huskies have been outscored 19-2 on the road this season, going 0-5 away from home.
• Northern Illinois also played Memphis in non-conference action, falling 5-1 in west Tennessee in late August.
• The Huskies were picked sixth in the MVC preseason predicted order of finish, 10 points behind Belmont.
• Last year, Northern Illinois went 7-9-1 overall and 3-4-1 in the Valley, tying with the Bruins for fifth place but earning the No. 5 seed in the MVC Championship. The Huskies reached the 2023 MVC Championship semifinals after knocking off fourth-seeded Bowling Green 2-1 in the opening round. In its semifinal matchup with the top-seeded Broncos, Northern Illinois took Western Michigan to double overtime before being ousted 3-1.
• The Huskies have conceded 39 goals this season with a team goals against average of 3.0.
• Senior forward Kevin Kelly leads Northern Illinois with a trio of goals, while junior midfielder Jose Gomez, a NAIA Clarke University transfer, leads the team in both assists (4) and points (8).
• Gomez, sophomore forward Sam Divis and junior forward Taylor Davis have all scored two goals this season.

Up Next
Belmont closes out the home portion of the regular season next Tuesday by hosting in-town rival Lipscomb for the 27th Battle of the Boulevard. Kickoff from Rose Park is set for 6:30 p.m. The Bruins' seniors will be honored prior to the match for senior night and fans are encouraged to wear white for a white out. All Belmont home matches are broadcast on ESPN+.
 
How to Follow
Follow Belmont men's soccer on social media – @BelmontMSoccer on X, formerly 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.