Men's Soccer Visits Northern Illinois Friday Evening

 
DeKALB, Ill. – In its second Missouri Valley Conference road match of the season, the Belmont University men's soccer team travels to Northern Illinois for a Friday evening matchup. Kickoff from the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex in DeKalb, Illinois, is slated for 6 p.m.
 
The Valley road affair will be broadcast on the Huskies' live streaming platform, NIU All-Access. Live stats of the Friday night contest can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (6-1-5, 1-1-1 MVC) had their program-record 13-match unbeaten streak, which had dated back to Oct. 25 of last year, snapped last Sunday afternoon by the University of Illinois Chicago at E.S. Rose Park.
• Prior to last Sunday, Belmont was one of just 12 unbeaten teams in the nation and its 13-match unbeaten streak was the third-longest in the country.
• The Bruins went unbeaten through their first 11 matches of the season for the first time in school history.
• Belmont has outscored its opponents 19-8 this season.
• UIC defeated the Bruins 2-1 last weekend, marking the first time this year Belmont has conceded more than a single goal in any match.
• The Flames' Edouard Nys scored both of UIC's goals, including the 84th-minute game winner.
• Freshman midfielder Nzuhri Biggar scored his second goal in three matches in the Bruins' loss to UIC, evening the score at 1-1 in the 25th minute. Graduate defender Parker Forbes delivered a great ball into the six-yard box for Biggar to tap in while completing his run in stride. Redshirt senior forward Jimiyu Mark also received an assist on Biggar's goal, his first of the season.
• Belmont has earned seven results on the road this year, including posting five shutouts with four wins. The Bruins have given up only two goals on the road in 1-1 draws at Northern Kentucky (Sept. 6) and Western Michigan (Sept. 26).
• Graduate goalkeeper Grant Calvert owns four clean sheets on the season and has come up with 10 saves over the last two matches. He ranks 20th nationally in save percentage (.826) and is 26th in goals against average (.675).
• Eleven different Belmont players have found the back of the net this season – redshirt junior forward Brock Kiper (4), freshman forward Jaxon Stokes (4), Biggar (2), senior captain midfielder Brad Dildy (2), sophomore midfielder Emmanuel Aranda (1), senior defender Riley Clothier (1), Forbes (1), Mark (1), freshman midfielder Paul Claes Nielsen (1), sophomore midfielder Louis Peña (1), and redshirt sophomore forward Lucas Wolthers (1).
• In the latest NCAA RPI (Rating Percentage Index) rankings, the Bruins are just inside the top 90 at No. 89. Belmont is the third-highest ranked team in the MVC.
• Northern Illinois enters Friday at No. 133 in the RPI.
• The Bruins have secured results against a trio of teams ranked in the top 80 of the NCAA RPI – No. 45 Louisville (0-0), No. 71 Bellarmine (1-1) and No. 76 Harvard (1-0).
• Going back to last season, Belmont has claimed a result in 14 of its last 16 matches.

Versus Northern Illinois

• Friday evening will be just the third meeting between the Bruins and Huskies on the soccer pitch.
• Northern Illinois won the first two matchups, both 1-0 affairs the last two Octobers.
• On Oct. 25 last year in Nashville, the Huskies scored in the 89th minute on a strike from outside the 18-yard box.
• On Oct. 22, 2023, in DeKalb, Illinois, Northern Illinois scored the game winner in the 22nd minute on a misclearance inside the six off a Huskie cross.

About the Huskies

• Northern Illinois (5-3-3, 1-0-2 MVC) also earned a road draw at Western Michigan, securing a scoreless tie last Saturday. The Huskies began MVC play with a 1-1 draw at Drake and defeated Bradley 2-1 at home earlier in October.
• With a 3-2 record at the NIU Soccer Complex this season, Northern Illinois dropped home matches to St. Thomas (1-0) and Eastern Illinois (3-2) in mid-September. In addition to the Braves, the Huskies have defeated Western Illinois (5-0) and NAIA Governors State (4-1) at home this season.
• Northern Illinois finished last in the MVC last fall, going 1-6-1 in league play and 3-12-1 overall.
• Freshman forward Vance Sheffield (5) and sophomore forward Katai Mukuka (4), a NAIA Brescia University transfer, have combined for nine of the Huskies' 20 goals this season.
• Mukuka leads Northern Illinois in assists with four, while sophomore midfielder Martin Montoya has registered three assists and a pair of goals.
• Sophomore midfielder Grant Paskus was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team last year.
• Senior midfielder Jose Gomez, who has tallied three assists, was tabbed Preseason All-MVC.
• The Huskies rank in the top 15 nationally in both shots per match (17.18) and shots on target per outing (7.09).

Up Next
Belmont returns to Rose Park next Friday, Oct. 24 to host Drake for senior night. Kickoff from the Music City is set for 6:30 p.m. All Bruin home matches are free and 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.