Men's Soccer Travels to Iowa to Face Drake Sunday

 
DES MOINES, Iowa – After a week-long break from match action, the Belmont University men's soccer team returns to Missouri Valley Conference play Sunday afternoon at Drake in Des Moines, Iowa. Kickoff from the new Mediacom Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.
 
The Bruins' first conference road match of the season will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• Belmont (2-2-3, 0-0-1 MVC) earned a result against then fourth-ranked Western Michigan last Sunday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park, tying the visiting Broncos 1-1. The result was the Bruins' first against a top-five opponent in program history.
• With the draw, Belmont secured its ninth all-time result against a top-25 team, seven of which have taken place in the last five seasons.
• Redshirt sophomore defender Nate Mefford gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead over the nation's No. 4 team in the 43rd minute with his first career goal. However, he picked up two yellow cards in the second half and Belmont had to play a man down for the final 33 minutes.
• Despite having only 10 men on the field for the majority of the second half, the Bruins conceded just three shots on target in the closing 31 minutes.
• Sophomore defender Griffin Moore registered his first career assist last weekend on Mefford's goal.
• Belmont extended its home unbeaten streak, which dates back to Oct. 1, 2023, to seven.
• The Bruins are seeking their first road win since Oct. 6 of last year when Belmont topped Bradley 3-1 in Peoria, Illinois.
• In the season opener, the Bruins earned a scoreless draw at Georgia State before suffering road losses at Florida Atlantic (3-1) and South Carolina (2-1) earlier this month. Belmont also got a 1-1 road result at Bellarmine last week.
• Senior captain midfielder AJ Chastonay was named both MVC Offensive Player of the Week and Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Week on Tuesday after being involved in both of the Bruins' goals last week. It was his third career conference player of the week honor and first from the Valley. Chastonay was also tabbed TSWA Player of the Week on Sept. 3.
• Against his father's team at Bellarmine last week, Chastonay scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season. It was his third career goal against his father's program and 18th tally in five seasons. The Louisville, Kentucky (Saint Xavier HS), native surpassed Niccolo Dagnoni (2018-21), Will Moorad (2008-11) and Jeremy Littlejohn (1995-98) for the third-most goals in program history.
• Chastonay fed a free kick from the right flank into the box that led to Mefford's late first-half goal against Western Michigan, collecting his second assist of the season and ninth of his career.
• Belmont was undefeated through its first three matches for the second consecutive season.
• Both Chastonay and fellow senior midfielder Eric Stiles are the winningest players in school history. They have helped lead the Bruins to an impressive 37 match wins over five seasons.
• Belmont went 8-7-3 overall last fall, finishing in the top 90 of the NCAA RPI (Rating Percentage Index) 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.
• Head coach David Costa has led Belmont to 42 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.

 
Versus Drake

• Sunday will be the fifth all-time meeting between Belmont and the Bulldogs with Drake holding a 3-1 lead in the series.
• To begin the month of October last fall, the Bruins defeated Drake 2-1 in the Music City. A pair of late goals from Steely (81') and junior forward Brock Kiper (85') gave Belmont its first MVC win of the season.
• Two years ago in the Bruins' first season back in the Valley, Belmont was defeated 2-0 by the Bulldogs in Des Moines. That matchup was played at the Cownie Soccer Complex, Drake's previous home field.
• The Bruins are making only their second-ever trip to Iowa's capital city.

 
About the Bulldogs

• Led by third-year head coach Pat Flinn, the Bulldogs are off to a 5-2-1 start and are on a five-match unbeaten streak.
• Drake won its league opener, 2-1, last Saturday at Evansville and has not lost since August 30 at then 12th-ranked Northwestern (2-1).
• This past Tuesday, the Bulldogs tied the University of Nebraska Omaha 1-1 on the road.
• Drake enters the weekend 3-0-0 at home this season with shutouts against NAIA Grand View (3-0), Houston Christian (1-0) and the University of Missouri-Kansas City (2-0).
• After going 3-10-3 overall and 1-6-1 in the MVC last season, which tied for the worst record in the league, the Bulldogs were picked eighth in this year's preseason predicted order of finish.
• With five penalty kick goals already, Drake leads the nation.
• Junior midfielder Damian Segura leads the Bulldogs with five goals, four of which have come on PKs.
• Freshman forward Preston Kipnusu has scored a trio of goals and junior defender Eskil Gjerde has found the back of the net twice.
• Freshman goalkeeper Tomas Butkovic, who leads the MVC with three shutouts, is the reigning MVC Defensive Player of the Week.

 
Up Next
Belmont remains on the road next weekend and takes on Bowling Green Friday night in Ohio. Kickoff from Cochrane Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio, is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET.
 
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.