Men's Soccer Hosts 27th Battle of the Boulevard Tuesday Night at Rose Park

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In its final non-conference match of the season, the Belmont University men's soccer team hosts nearby rival Lipscomb in the 27th Battle of the Boulevard Tuesday night at E.S. Rose Park. Kickoff of the Music City matchup is slated for 6:30 p.m.
 
The Bruins' home finale will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Spencer Boehme on the call. Live stats can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
Tuesday night's match will be a white out with all fans in attendance encouraged to wear white.
 
Thank You, Seniors
Prior to kickoff, Belmont will honor its seven-man senior class. Senior captain midfielder AJ Chastonay, senior defender Alex Clayton, graduate forward Case Cox, senior defender Alex Johnson, graduate forward Esteban Leiva, and senior midfielders Rubyn Singh Gill and Eric Stiles will all be recognized for their commitment to the program. It will be the seven's final match at Rose Park. Both Chastonay and Stiles have helped lead the Bruins to a 22-6-9 record at home since the 2020-21 season, which was played in spring of 2021.
 
What's Bruin

• Belmont (4-8-3) is coming off a heartbreaking 1-0 home loss to Northern Illinois last Friday evening. The visiting Huskies scored an improbable goal in the 89th minute from well outside the 18-yard box.
• Despite racking up a season-high 16 shots against Northern Illinois, including 14 in the second half, the Bruins were unable to find the back of the net. Belmont controlled the field the majority of the match and placed a season-high tying five shots on goal.
• Six of the Bruins' last seven outings have been single-goal matches.
• With a 3-4-1 record at Rose Park this season, Belmont is seeking its first home win since a 1-nil triumph over NCAA Division III Covenant College earlier this month.
• The Bruins' four losses at Rose Park this year are the most in a single season since 2016.
• Six of Belmont's final eight matches of the regular season are at home.
• The Bruins began Missouri Valley Conference play with a 1-1 home draw against then fourth-ranked Western Michigan on Sept. 15. It was Belmont's first result against a top-five opponent in program history and the Bruins' ninth all-time result against a top-25 team, seven of which have taken place in the last five seasons.
• Seven of Belmont's last 11 opponents are ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA RPI (Rating Percentage Index), including No. 16 Missouri State, No. 17 Western Michigan, No. 34 Drake, No. 46 South Carolina, No. 78 Bowling Green, No. 96 the University of Illinois Chicago and No. 100 Bradley.
• The Bisons visit with an RPI of 165.
• After coming up with four saves and earning his fourth clean sheet of the season in the Bruins' 1-0 win at UIC two weekends ago, graduate goalkeeper Grant Calvert was tabbed MVC Defensive Player of the Week last week. It was Calvert's first career player of the week award.
• Following his game-winning goal and second career score against the Flames in Chicago, redshirt sophomore defender Nate Mefford was selected as Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Men's Soccer Player of the Week last week. It was the fourth time this season a Belmont player 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 in the victory at UIC.
• Returning to action against Bradley on Oct. 5 following a preseason injury, 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 a first-team all-region selection in 2022.
• 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 the Bruins 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 Belmont's all-time goals list during the 1-1 draw at Bellarmine on Sept. 10.
• Both Chastonay and Stiles are the winningest players in school history. They have helped lead the Bruins to an impressive 39 match wins across five seasons.
• Belmont was undefeated through its first three matches for the second consecutive season.
• The Bruins went 8-7-3 overall last fall, finishing in the top 90 of the NCAA RPI for the fourth-straight season. It also marked Belmont's fourth consecutive winning season.
• In their second year back in the MVC after being an affiliate member of the Valley for the 2000 season, the Bruins tied for fifth place with a 3-4-1 league record.
• Belmont was 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.
• Head coach David Costa has led the Bruins to 44 match wins and 18 draws, including two conference tournament championship match appearances, over six seasons.
• Belmont challenges itself 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

• The Bruins have gotten a result in 32 of their last 38 matches at Rose Park, outscoring their opponents 54-26 during that stretch.
• Since the start of the 2018 season, Belmont is 28-12-11 at home.
• The Bruins have finished .500 or better at home each of the last six seasons.

Versus Lipscomb

• Tuesday will be the 27th all-time meeting between Belmont and Lipscomb with the Bisons holding a narrow 12-10-4 lead in the rivalry series.
• The Bruins are 7-4-2 versus Lipscomb at home and 2-1-1 against the Bisons at Rose Park.
• Lipscomb has not defeated Belmont at Rose Park since a 1-0 affair on Sept. 27, 2012.
• The rivalry has produced some thrilling matches in recent years, including consecutive double overtime contests in 2021. In the spring of 2021 as part of the unique 2020-21 season, the Bruins scored a game-winner in the 105th minute to top the Bisons at home. That fall, Belmont played 22nd-ranked Lipscomb to a 1-1 draw at the opposite end of the boulevard. It was the Bruins' first tie against a nationally-ranked opponent.
• In the Bisons' last visit to Rose Park on Sept. 6, 2022, Belmont shut out 17th-ranked Lipscomb in a scoreless draw to extend the Bruins' home unbeaten streak to 13. The match drew over 1,400 fans in one of the highest-attended soccer matches in school history.
• Last October on the opposite end of Belmont Boulevard, the Bisons scored four second-half goals in a 4-2 Lipscomb win. Cox had given Belmont a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute and senior midfielder Sam Rowan put the Bruins up 2-1 in the 72nd minute. However, the Bisons found the back of the net a trio of times in the final eight minutes.
• Coach Costa is 1-1-2 against Lipscomb.

About the Bisons

• The Bisons (3-6-5) are on a five-match winless streak and have not won a match since Sept. 29, a 2-0 home victory over Bellarmine.
• Tuesday will be just Lipscomb's second midweek outing in the month of October.
• This past Saturday, the Bisons tied Stetson 1-1 in Nashville to snap Lipscomb's four-match losing streak. Freshman forward Dan Karsten scored on a bicycle kick in the closing 30 seconds to earn the draw.
• The Bisons are tied for sixth in the eight-team Atlantic Sun Conference with a 1-3-2 conference record. Lipscomb was picked to win the ASUN Conference with all possible first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll after winning the league the last three years.
• In addition to their three consecutive ASUN Conference regular season titles, the Bisons have won the last three ASUN Championships to reach the NCAA Championship. Lipscomb is only two seasons removed from hosting first and second round matches in the 2022 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.
• Last December, the Bisons had two players drafted in the top 10 of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. Forward Tyrese Spicer was the No. 1 overall pick and fellow forward Malachi Jones went eighth overall.
• Karsten leads Lipscomb with six goals on the season, while graduate forward Javanne Smith, the 2023 ASUN Championship MVP, has tallied five goals. The pair has accounted for 11 of the Bisons' 20 goals this year.
• Including Smith, three different Lipscomb players have assisted on multiple goals this fall.

Up Next
Belmont will have an eight-day break from match action before closing out the regular season next Wednesday, Nov. 6 at Evansville in Indiana. Kickoff from Arad McCutchan Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. The MVC road tilt will be 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.