Bruins Trek to New England, Face Harvard Friday

 
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Off to a 2-0 start, the Belmont University men's soccer team returns to match action Friday evening at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Kickoff from Jordan Field in New England is set for 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET.
 
The road match will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Adam Giardino and Cam Manna on the call. Live stats of the contest can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins are making their first road trip of the young season after winning their road opener 2-0 at Memphis last Sunday.
• The road shutout of the Tigers was Belmont's first win over Memphis since Sept. 21, 1997. The victory was also the Bruins' first against the Tigers in Memphis.
• Belmont defeated Wright State 2-1 in Nashville on opening night.
• Four different Bruins have scored a goal through Belmont's first two matches, including penalty kicks from sophomore midfielder Louis Peña and redshirt junior Brock Kiper.
• Graduate defender Parker Forbes found the back of the net from well outside the box in the Bruins' season-opening win, and freshman forward Jaxon Stokes scored just over six minutes into his collegiate debut on a one-on-one drive against the Tigers.
• With his 18th-minute PK at Memphis, Kiper now leads the team in both career goals (9) and points (20).
• Graduate goalkeeper Grant Calvert recorded his eighth career clean sheet in Sunday's road triumph.
• Peña notched three points in his first-ever collegiate match, taking the game-winning PK against the Raiders last Thursday and assisting on Forbes' opening go-ahead goal.
• Belmont has earned a result in five of its last six matches going back to last season.
• The Bruins have gone unbeaten for four consecutive matches dating back to Oct. 25 of last year – a 1-0 home loss to Northern Illinois. It is Belmont's longest unbeaten streak since the beginning of the 2023 season.
• The Bruins ended their 2024 season with a 2-2 road draw at eventual Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion Evansville.
• Belmont is seeking its first 3-0 start in program history.

Versus Harvard

• Friday will be the first-ever meeting between the Bruins and the Crimson.

About the Crimson

• Harvard is opening its season with Belmont.
• Friday's match will be the first home athletic event for Harvard for the 2025-26 school year.
• The Crimson went 4-7-4 overall last season and tied for fourth in the Ivy League with a 3-4-0 conference record.
• Harvard was picked sixth in the Ivy League Preseason Poll.
• Like the MVC, the Ivy League had three teams earn NCAA Championship bids last season.
• The Crimson return two All-Ivy League honorable mention selections in senior defender Ethan Veghte and junior forward Ben Kelly.
• Harvard is led by head coach Josh Shapiro, who is entering his fifth season at the helm.
• With its first season in 1905, the Crimson is one of the oldest college soccer programs in the nation and one of the oldest continuously operating soccer teams in the U.S.
• Harvard has reached the NCAA Championship 16 times in school history, its last in 2009, and won the Ivy League 13 times, its last league championship also in 2009.

Up Next
The Bruins return to E.S. Rose Park next week, hosting Atlantic Sun Conference member Bellarmine Tuesday. Kickoff from the Music City is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. All Belmont home matches are free and broadcast live 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.