Men’s Soccer Hosts Bradley for MVC Home Opener Sunday Evening

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Beginning the heart of Missouri Valley Conference play, the Belmont University men's soccer team hosts Bradley Sunday evening at E.S. Rose Park. Kickoff from the Music City is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
The MVC home opener will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Carter Gledhill on the call. Live stats of the conference contest can also be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
All Belmont soccer matches at Rose Park are free to attend.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (5-4-2, 1-0-0 MVC) shut out the University of Alabama at Birmingham in a scoreless draw Tuesday night at PNC Field for their third-straight result.
• Belmont's final non-conference match of the regular season Tuesday was the Bruins' third shutout of the year.
• For the first time this season, Belmont has gone unbeaten for three consecutive matches.
• The Bruins have earned a result in four of their last five outings and are 4-2-2 over their last eight matches.
• Belmont began MVC play last Saturday with a 2-1 victory at Drake, the Bruins' first-ever win over the Bulldogs in Des Moines, Iowa. All three scores of the match at Mediacom Stadium came in the final 15 minutes.
• Sophomore midfielder Paul Claes Nielsen was selected as MVC Player of the Week Tuesday after scoring the game-winning goal with only three minutes remaining at Drake last weekend. Picking up his second MVC Player of the Week nod of his young career, Claes Nielsen's game winner over the Bulldogs was his fourth goal of the season.
• Claes Nielsen, along with fifth-year defender Nate Mefford, lead Belmont in goals scored (4) this fall.
• Last Saturday's triumph was the Bruins' third-straight MVC-opening result.
• With last weekend's road win, eighth-year head coach David Costa improved to 4-1-3 in league openers.
• Belmont has won three-straight home matches, defeating the University of St. Thomas 3-0 in its last contest in Nashville on Friday, Sept. 25.
• The Bruins have claimed a result in each of their last four matches at Rose Park.
• Freshman goalkeeper Brody Sucher earned his second clean sheet of the year Tuesday night at UAB, recording a career-high seven saves for the third time in the process.
• Sucher has tallied at least five saves in six of his last seven matches, including five outings with six or more stops.
• Graduate midfielders Elijah John and John McDowell lead Belmont in assists (3).
• With a crucial assist on Claes Nielsen's game winner last weekend, John earned his 20th career point, which is the most of any Bruin.
• Eleven different Belmont players have found the back of the net this season, accounting for 21 total goals, which are tied for the 44th-most in the nation.
• The Bruins' 1.91 goals per match average is tied for 48th-best nationally.
• Belmont has scored at least three goals on four occasions this season, including an impressive 6-1 win at Wright State in the Bruins' opening road match.
• On Sept. 8, McDowell was named MVC Player of the Week after providing the equalizer on an 88th-minute penalty kick in the 1-1 home draw with Mercer (Sept. 4). The Chapel Hill, North Carolina (C.E. Jordan HS), native has punched it into the back of the net three times this fall.
• Belmont welcomed 10 newcomers this year, including eight over the summer and two in January – senior forward Nathan Ferguson and freshman defender Judah McCloud.
• The Bruins' 2026 class is comprised of six freshmen and four transfers.
• Belmont returned 16 from 2025, including 12 letter winners.
• Only four returning Bruins started matches last season – Claes Nielsen (16), sophomore midfielder Nzuhri Biggar (10), graduate midfielder Ethan Schlegel (9), and senior forward Lucas Wolthers (6).
• After finishing just one point shy of claiming its first MVC regular season championship last year, Belmont was picked fifth in the league's preseason poll as voted by the Valley's head coaches.
• The Bruins went 3-2-2 in MVC play in 2025 and finished 8-3-6 overall.
• Belmont has reached eight victories in three of the last five seasons.
• The Bruins went undefeated through their first 11 matches last season (6-0-5) for the first time in school history.
• Belmont put together a program-record 13-match unbeaten streak from Oct. 29, 2024, through Oct. 7, 2025.
• Claes Nielsen, an MVC All-Freshman Team selection last fall, was named to the Preseason All-MVC Team. The Copenhagen, Denmark, native started all but one match his freshman season and led the Bruins in assists (5).

Bruins at Home

• Belmont has earned a result in 42 of its last 52 matches at Rose Park, outscoring its opponents 77-39 during that stretch.
• Since the start of the 2018 season, the Bruins are 35-16-14 at home.
• Belmont has finished .500 or better at home for eight-straight seasons.

Versus Bradley

• Sunday evening will be the 11th all-time meeting between the Bruins and the Braves.
• Since rejoining the MVC prior to the 2022 season, Belmont is 3-1-0 versus Bradley.
• On Halloween last year, the Bruins haunted the Braves in Peoria, Illinois, with a commanding 5-0 victory. Biggar, Wolthers and Mefford all found the space between the pipes as forward Brock Kiper registered a brace.
• Belmont also defeated Bradley 3-1 on the road in 2023 and topped the Braves 2-1 in Music City in 2022. The Bruins' Sept. 17, 2022, win over Bradley was Belmont's first MVC victory in any sport as a full league member.

About the Braves

• The Braves (2-3-5, 0-2-0 MVC) enter the weekend having dropped their first two MVC matches. Last Saturday, Bradley was defeated 2-1 at home by Bowling Green after falling 4-2 at the University of Illinois Chicago in its Valley opener on Sept. 25.
• The Braves have not won a road match this season with a 0-2-3 record away from home.
• Last season, Bradley finished last in the MVC with a 0-5-2 record in conference play. The Braves went 2-9-6 overall in 2025.
• Despite scoring 20 goals through 10 matches, Bradley has conceded 20 goals.
• Senior forward Mitch Coughlon, a Preseason All-MVC Team pick, leads the Valley with seven goals. His seven scores are tied for 19th-most in the country.
• Sophomore midfielder Connor Chester leads the Braves with a trio of assists and has also scored a goal.

Up Next
The Bruins remain at home next weekend as Belmont hosts UIC next Saturday. Kickoff from Rose Park is slated for 6 p.m. The rematch of last year's MVC Championship first round affair in Nashville 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.