Men’s Soccer Hosts Drake for Senior Night Friday

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With three regular-season matches remaining, the Belmont University men's soccer team welcomes Drake to E.S. Rose Park Friday for senior night. Kickoff from the Music City is slated for 6:30 p.m.
 
The Missouri Valley Conference home match will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Wes Boling on the call. Live stats of the Friday night affair can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
Attendance is always free at Rose Park and white Belmont soccer t-shirts will be given away to all fans beginning an hour before kickoff, while supplies last.
 
Thank You, Seniors
Prior to the match, the Bruins will honor their eight-man senior class at midfield. Midfielder Simeon Betapudi, goalkeeper Grant Calvert, defender Riley Clothier, captain midfielder Brad Dildy, defender Parker Forbes, midfielder Oscar Hough, forward Jimiyu Mark and captain defender Dylan Steely will all be recognized for their commitment, dedication and contributions to the program.
 
What's Bruin

• Belmont (6-1-6, 1-1-2 MVC) has dropped only one match over the last 364 days.
• The Bruins' lone loss on the season was nearly two weeks ago against the University of Illinois Chicago (2-1) at home.
• Prior to its only setback of the season, Belmont hadn't lost since Oct. 25 of last year.
• Going unbeaten for 13-straight matches, the Bruins set the program record for consecutive matches without a loss. Belmont's 13-match unbeaten streak was the third-longest in the nation at the time.
• The Bruins went unbeaten through their first 11 matches of the season for the first time in school history.
• Belmont has outscored its opponents 21-10 this season.
• Across their first 11 matches, the Bruins didn't concede more than a single goal in any outing.
• Last Friday night in DeKalb, Illinois, Belmont earned a 2-2 draw at Northern Illinois, securing its eighth road result of the year.
• Redshirt sophomore forward Lucas Wolthers nearly recorded a brace against the Huskies, putting the Bruins up 2-1 in the 71st minute with his second goal of the season. In the 49th minute, Wolthers came within inches of tapping in Belmont's equalizing goal. However, freshman midfielder Paul Claes Nielsen's cross was deflected in by Northern Illinois for an own goal.
• The host Huskies stole two points from the Bruins with an 88th-minute goal, resulting in the 2-2 tie.
• Claes Nielsen and redshirt junior midfielder Ethan Schlegel assisted on Wolthers' go-ahead goal. For Claes Nielsen, it was his team-leading third assist of the season, while Schlegel picked up his second career helper.
• Calvert came up with four saves at Northern Illinois, including making a trio of stops in the first half. Over the last three matches, Calvert has tallied 14 saves. Along with owning four clean sheets this fall, Calvert ranks in the top 30 nationally in save percentage (.808) and goals against average (.778).
• Eleven different Belmont players have found the back of the net this season – redshirt junior forward Brock Kiper (4), freshman forward Jaxon Stokes (4), freshman midfielder Nzuhri Biggar (2), senior Dildy (2), Wolthers (2), sophomore midfielder Emmanuel Aranda (1), senior Clothier (1), graduate Forbes (1), redshirt senior Mark (1), Claes Nielsen (1), and sophomore midfielder Louis Peña (1).
• In the latest NCAA RPI (Rating Percentage Index) rankings, the Bruins are the second-highest ranked team in the MVC at No. 87.
• The Bulldogs are 61st in the most recent RPI as the highest-ranked team in the Valley.
• Belmont has secured results against a trio of teams ranked in the top 70 of the NCAA RPI – No. 55 Louisville (0-0), No. 59 Harvard (1-0) and No. 64 Bellarmine (1-1).
• Going back to last season, the Bruins have claimed a result in 15 of their last 17 matches.

Bruins at Home

• Belmont has posted a result in 37 of its last 44 matches at Rose Park, outscoring its opponents 65-32 during that stretch.
• Since the start of the 2018 season, the Bruins are 31-13-13 at home.
• Belmont has finished .500 or better at home for seven consecutive seasons.
• Two of the Bruins' final three matches of the regular season are in Nashville.

Versus Drake

• Friday night will be sixth all-time meeting between Belmont and Drake with the Bulldogs holding a 4-1-0 lead in the series.
• Two seasons ago, the Bruins defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 at Rose Park with a pair of goals in the closing 10 minutes. Redshirt senior Steely equalized at the 81st minute before Kiper provided the game winner in the 85th minute.
• In Belmont's two recent trips to Des Moines, Iowa, Drake got the best of the Bruins, including a 4-0 match last September.
• The two teams first met in Belmont's only year as an affiliate member of the MVC on Oct. 13, 2000, in the Music City.

About the Bulldogs

• The Bulldogs (6-1-6, 1-0-3 MVC) suffered their first loss of the season Tuesday evening at former MVC member Missouri State (1-0).
• Prior to Tuesday's loss, Drake had a program-record 12-match unbeaten streak. The Bulldogs were one of the last five unbeaten teams in the nation.
• Unbeaten through its first four MVC matches, Drake defeated Bowling Green 2-0 at home and has earned scoreless draws against Evansville (Oct. 11) and UIC (Oct. 3). The Bulldogs began MVC play with a 1-1 home tie against Northern Illinois (Sept. 27).
• After finishing second in the Valley last fall, Drake was picked to win the MVC during the preseason with three first-place votes.
• The Bulldogs went 9-5-3 overall in 2024 and were 5-1-2 in MVC play, bowing out of the MVC Championship in the semifinals to third-seeded Bowling Green.
• Drake features senior defender Eskil Gjerde, last year's MVC Co-Midfielder of the Year and an all-region selection, and sophomore forward Preston Kipnusu, last season's MVC Freshman of the Year.
• Both junior midfielder Jackson Kirsch, an All-MVC Second Team performer last season, and Kipnusu have scored three goals this season. Kirsch also leads the team in assists (3), while redshirt junior midfielder Damian Segura has found the back of the net twice.
• Senior defender Ryder Barrett was also an All-MVC Second Team pick last year.
• Fourth-year head coach Pat Flinn and his staff were tabbed MVC Coaching Staff of the Year at the conclusion of the 2024 regular season.
• With only eight goals conceded this season, the Bulldogs rank 11th in the country in goals against average (.615) and 15th in shutout percentage (.538).
• Drake has shut out seven opponents this fall.

Up Next
The Bruins will have a week off from match action before heading to Bradley for a Halloween night tilt. Kickoff next Friday from Shea Stadium in Peoria, Illinois, is set for 6 p.m. The MVC road contest 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.