Men's Soccer Closes Out 2024 Season Wednesday Evening at Evansville

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In its final match of 2024, the Belmont University men's soccer team will travel to the University of Evansville Wednesday evening. Kickoff from Arad McCutchan Stadium in Evansville, Indiana, is slated for 6 p.m.
 
The Missouri Valley Conference road tilt will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (5-8-3, 1-5-1 MVC) were eliminated from postseason play this past Friday night with the University of Illinois Chicago's 2-0 home win over Bradley.
• It marks the first time since 2017 Belmont will not be playing in its conference tournament.
• Despite being plagued with injuries for much of the season, the Bruins have won three of their last five matches.
• Last Tuesday night at E.S. Rose Park, Belmont reclaimed the coveted Battle of the Boulevard trophy with a 2-nil victory over nearby rival Lipscomb.
• The Bruins earned their fifth shutout of the season while claiming their first win in the Battle of the Boulevard since the unique 2020-21 season, which was played in the spring of 2021.
• Junior defender Dylan Steely scored on a header in the final minute of the first half and senior captain midfielder Rubyn Singh Gill provided the second goal of the night with a 51st-minute strike.
• Belmont tallied a season-high eight shots on target and earned eight corner kicks.
• The Bruins improved to 2-1-2 in the storied rivalry under the direction of head coach David Costa.
• Last Tuesday's victory secured Belmont's seventh consecutive season with a .500 or better record at home (4-4-1).
• Steely's goal versus the Bisons was his career sixth and second score of the season.
• On his senior night, Singh Gill scored his first goal at Rose Park. It was his ninth career goal and first tally of the season.
• The Bruins are seeking their second-straight road win after defeating the Flames of UIC 1-0 in Chicago on Oct. 18. Belmont is 1-4-2 in road matches this season with a season-opening scoreless draw at Georgia State (Aug. 22) and a 1-1 tie at Bellarmine on Sept. 10.
• In their MVC opener on Sept. 15, the Bruins earned a 1-1 draw against then fourth-ranked Western Michigan. 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.
• The Purple Aces will be the eighth team Belmont has faced this season who are ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA RPI (Rating Percentage Index). The Bruins have taken on No. 12 Missouri State, No. 21 Western Michigan, No. 33 Drake, No. 55 South Carolina, No. 60 Bowling Green, No. 87 Florida Atlantic and No. 91 UIC already. Evansville is No. 83 in the RPI.
• Graduate goalkeeper Grant Calvert has made four saves in each of the last three matches and owns five clean sheets on the season. He was tabbed MVC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 22 for the first time in his career following Belmont's shut out of the Flames.
• After his game-winning goal and second career score at UIC, redshirt sophomore defender Nate Mefford was selected as Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Men's Soccer Player of the Week on Oct. 22. It was the fourth time this season a Bruin has been named state player of the week.
• Returning to action against Bradley on Oct. 5 following a preseason injury, graduate forward Case Cox made his first start of the season in the 1-0 home win over Covenant College on Oct. 8. He scored his 10th career goal against the Scots and owns 29 career points. An 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.
• 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. Also 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 earlier this fall against his father's program, Bellarmine.
• Both Chastonay and senior midfielder Eric Stiles are the winningest players in school history. They have helped lead Belmont to an impressive 40 match wins across five seasons and will finish their remarkable careers 23-6-9 at home.
• 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.
• 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 45 match wins and 18 draws, including two conference tournament championship match appearances, over six seasons.

Versus Evansville

• Wednesday evening will be the 18th all-time meeting between the Bruins and the Purple Aces.
• Evansville holds an 11-3-3 lead in the series but Belmont has gotten a result in four of the last five matches between the two teams.
• Last November, the Bruins punched their ticket to the MVC Championship with a 2-2 draw against the Purple Aces at Rose Park. Junior forward Brock Kiper evened the match at a goal a piece in the 54th minute before graduate midfielder Jansen Wilson gave Belmont a 2-1 lead in the 85th. Evansville was able to equalize in the 89th minute.
• Two seasons ago, the Bruins faced the Purple Aces three times, twice during the regular season and again in the MVC Championship semifinals. The two regular season matchups were scoreless draws before Evansville connected on an improbable 65th-minute strike in the conference tournament semifinals in Springfield, Missouri. Belmont was the No. 5 seed at the 2022 MVC Championship and the Purple Aces were the No. 3 seed.
• In October of 2021, the Bruins got goals from Cox and Chastonay in a 2-1 non-conference home win over Evansville.
• Belmont's last win against the Purple Aces in Indiana was on Sept. 23, 2005 (2-0).

About the Purple Aces

• Evansville (8-6-2, 4-3-0 MVC) had a five-match unbeaten streak snapped last Friday night at nationally-ranked Missouri State. The host Bears, who are now ranked 11th in the nation, routed the Purple Aces 6-1 after Evansville struck first in the seventh minute.
• The Purple Aces' other two losses in MVC play were 2-1 setbacks at then top-10 ranked Western Michigan (Sept. 22) and versus Drake in Evansville's league opener on Sept. 14.
• Boasting a home record of 4-1-0, the Purple Aces defeated Bowling Green 1-0 and UIC 3-1 in their last two outings at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
• Led by second-year head coach Robbe Tarver, Evansville was picked seventh in the Valley's preseason predicted order of finish. Last season, the Purple Aces finished seventh in the league with a 2-4-2 MVC record.
• Evansville has already secured a top-five seed for the upcoming MVC Championship and can earn as high as a No. 3 seed for the tournament.
• Senior forward Nacho Diaz Barragan, the 2022 MVC Freshman of the Year and an All-MVC First Team selection that season, is one of the top strikers in the Valley. He leads the Purple Aces with six goals on the season.
• Redshirt freshman midfielder Jacopo Fedrizzi leads the team with four assists and has placed four in the back of the net.
• Graduate transfer forward Sami Owusu has also registered four goals, to go along with two assists.
• Fifth-year forward Kai Phillip, a member of the Preseason All-MVC Team, owns a trio of assists and a pair of goals.

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.