ST. LOUIS – For the first time in program history, six Belmont University men's soccer players have been selected to the All-Missouri Valley Conference Teams as announced by the league office Sunday morning ahead of the 2025 MVC Championship. Both of Belmont's captains, redshirt senior defender
Dylan Steely and senior midfielder
Brad Dildy, become the Bruins' first-ever All-MVC First Team selections.
Senior defender
Riley Clothier and redshirt junior forward
Brock Kiper have both been named to the All-MVC Second Team, while midfielder
Nzuhri Biggar and
Paul Claes Nielsen have been chosen for the MVC All-Freshman Team.
As a team, Belmont has been deemed the winner of the 2025 MVC Fair Play Award, which is given annually to the team who has accumulated the fewest penalty cards in all regular-season MVC matches. The Bruins were carded just 11 times throughout their seven-match MVC schedule.
Steely earns All-MVC honors for the third consecutive year after being named to the second team each of the last two seasons. The Hoover, Alabama (Hoover HS), native was a MVC All-Freshman Team performer in 2022 and earned a spot on the MVC All-Tournament Team in the Bruins' run to the semifinals. As a redshirt sophomore in 2023, Steely was tabbed all-region as he was placed on the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Third Team.
Assisting on a pair of goals this season, Steely is one of Belmont's most decorated defenders of all-time. With 5,240 career minutes played, Steely currently ranks third in program history. Finding the back of the net seven times over the last three seasons, Steely owns 21 career points with seven assists.
Hailing from San Antonio, Dildy was MLS SuperDraft 2025 eligible and has continued his remarkable play this season. Scoring twice, Dildy has assisted on another three goals. With 10 points as a Bruin, Dildy owns 24 career points after tallying two goals and 10 assists during his first two seasons at Charlotte.
Dildy and Steely's leadership has been invaluable for Belmont this season.
A staple on the Bruins' back line, Clothier has once again been outstanding this season. With Clothier, Steely and graduate goalkeeper
Grant Calvert, Belmont's goals against average of 0.75 is 17th-best in the nation. The Bruins have conceded only 12 goals this season and have given up multiple goals in a match only twice with six shutouts.
Like Steely, Clothier was a member of the 2022 MVC All-Freshman Team. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Oakland HS), native scored his first career goal in Belmont's 1-1 home draw versus Bellarmine on Sept. 2. Clothier also assisted on a goal at Southern Indiana. With 4,911 career minutes on the pitch, Clothier currently ranks fourth in program history.
Quickly moving up the Bruins' all-time goals list, Kiper has found the back of the net a team-best six times this season. He has also assisted on a trio of goals, giving him a team-leading 15 points on the year. Following his brace and five points with an assist in Belmont's 5-0 road rout at Bradley on Oct. 31, Kiper was selected as MVC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career.
A native of Mason, Ohio (Archbishop Moeller HS), Kiper's 14 career goals are tied with Carlos Macioch (1997-01) for the fifth-most in school history. He is tied for eighth on the Bruins' all-time goals list and his 33 career points are tied for the ninth-most in program history.
Biggar and Claes Nielsen have made an immediate impact in their first season. With eight points, Biggar has found the space between the pipes three times and assisted on another pair of goals. Meanwhile, Claes Nielsen leads Belmont with five assists this fall and scored in the Bruins' road shutout of Southern Indiana on Sept. 17.
From Spartanburg, South Carolina (Oakbrook Prep), Biggar has scored on three of his 11 shots and started 10 of the 14 matches he has competed in.
Playing in all 16 matches, Claes Nielsen has made 15 starts and racked up over 1,000 minutes on the pitch. On Sept. 23, Claes Nielsen snagged MVC Offensive Player of the Week honors after tallying four points across Belmont's road shutouts at Southern Indiana and rival Lipscomb. In the 28th Battle of the Boulevard, the Copenhagen, Denmark, native assisted on both of the Bruins' goals.
As the No. 4 seed in the 2025 MVC Championship, Belmont hosts fifth-seeded University of Illinois Chicago in the first round Sunday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park in Nashville. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the match will be broadcast on
ESPN+.
MVC Player of the Year: Edouard Nys, UIC
MVC Defensive Player of the Year: Martin Wurschmidt, Evansville
MVC Freshman of the Year: Andres Escudero, Evansville
MVC Goalkeeper of the Year: Michal Mroz, Evansville
MVC Midfielder of the Year: Eskil Gjerde, Drake
MVC Forward of the Year: Edouard Nys, UIC
MVC Coaching Staff of the Year: Evansville (Robbe Tarver, Matt Melzer, Orry Killam, Evan Dekker)
MVC Fair Play Award: Belmont (fewest penalty cards in all regular-season MVC matches)
ALL-MVC FIRST TEAM
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
| GK |
Michal Mroz |
Evansville |
So. |
| D |
Amara Kamara |
Northern Illinois |
Sr. |
| D |
Cole Schrage |
Drake |
Jr. |
| D |
Dylan Steely |
Belmont |
R-Sr. |
| D |
Martin Wurschmidt |
Evansville |
So. |
| M |
Brad Dildy |
Belmont |
Sr. |
| M |
Eskil Gjerde |
Drake |
Sr. |
| M |
Jose Gomez |
Northern Illinois |
Sr. |
| F |
Andres Escudero |
Evansville |
Fr. |
| F |
Edouard Nys |
UIC |
Jr. |
| F |
Trace Terry |
Bowling Green |
Sr. |
ALL-MVC SECOND TEAM
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
| GK |
Tomas Butkovic |
Drake |
So. |
| D |
Riley Clothier |
Belmont |
Sr. |
| D |
Sam DeLong |
Drake |
So. |
| D |
Nacho Diaz-Caneja |
Evansville |
Sr. |
| D |
Christian Shannon |
Western Michigan |
R-So. |
| M |
Braxton Arpachinda |
Western Michigan |
Jr. |
| M |
Jonathan Stout |
Western Michigan |
Sr. |
| M |
Darrell Turcios |
UIC |
Jr. |
| F |
Brock Kiper |
Belmont |
R-Jr. |
| F |
Preston Kipnusu |
Drake |
So. |
| F |
Vance Sheffield |
Northern Illinois |
Fr. |
MVC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
| M |
Nzuhri Biggar |
Belmont |
| M |
Paul Claes Nielsen |
Belmont |
| M |
Devin Shepherd |
Evansville |
| F |
Crew Alvarez |
Drake |
| F |
Andres Escudero |
Evansville |
| F |
Vance Sheffield |
Northern Illinois |
How to Follow
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