Men’s Soccer Begins Missouri Valley Conference Action, Visits Drake Saturday

 
DES MOINES, Iowa – Beginning Missouri Valley Conference play, the Belmont University men's soccer team travels to Des Moines, Iowa, to face Drake Saturday evening. Kickoff from Mediacom Stadium in the Hawkeye State is slated for 6 p.m.
 
The Valley opener will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Kellen Totsch on the call. Live stats of the road contest can also be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (4-4-1, 0-0-0 MVC) are going for their third consecutive MVC-opening result. The last two seasons, Belmont earned 1-1 draws with Western Michigan to begin MVC play.
• Eighth-year head coach David Costa is 3-1-3 in conference openers.
• Last Friday night, Belmont won its third-straight home match with its second shutout of the season – a 3-0 win over the University of St. Thomas.
• The Bruins have claimed a result in each of their last four matches at E.S. Rose Park.
• Freshman defender Judah McCloud scored his first collegiate goal in the 15th minute last Friday against the Tommies, while fifth-year defender Nate Mefford (35') and senior forward Lucas Wolthers (54') also found the space between the pipes.
• For the first time since an early October win at Bradley in 2023, Belmont recorded five assists last Friday night. Four Bruins assisted on Belmont's trio of goals against St. Thomas (Minn.), including graduate midfielder Elijah John who aided in the second and third scores. Freshman defender Zain Abdelhadi notched his first career assist on McCloud's opening goal.
• Eleven Bruins have found the back of the net this season, accounting for 19 total goals.
• Belmont's 2.11 goals per match average is tied for 29th-best nationally.
• The Bruins' 19 goals are tied for 34th-most in the nation.
• Punching in his team-leading fourth goal of the season in last Friday's victory, Mefford earned his seventh career tally. He is Belmont's active career leader in goals scored.
• Sophomore midfielder Paul Claes Nielsen is second among Bruins this season with a trio of goals to his name.
• Securing his first multi-assist match in last Friday's triumph, John has scored 19 career points for the most of any Belmont player.
• On Sept. 8, graduate midfielder John 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. The Chapel Hill, North Carolina (C.E. Jordan HS), native has also assisted on a team-best three goals this season.
• The Bruins have scored at least three goals on four occasions this season, including an impressive 6-1 win at Wright State in Belmont's opening road match.
• The Bruins welcomed 10 newcomers this year, including eight over the summer and two in January – senior forward Nathan Ferguson and McCloud.
• Belmont's 2026 class is comprised of six freshmen and four transfers.
• The Bruins returned 16 from 2025, including 12 letter winners.
• Only four returning Belmont players started matches last season – Claes Nielsen (16), sophomore midfielder Nzuhri Biggar (10), graduate midfielder Ethan Schlegel (9), and Wolthers (6).
• After finishing just one point shy of claiming their first MVC regular season championship last year, the Bruins were picked fifth in the league's preseason poll as voted by the Valley's head coaches.
• Belmont went 3-2-2 in MVC play in 2025 and finished 8-3-6 overall.
• The Bruins have reached eight victories in three of the last five seasons.
• Belmont went undefeated through its first 11 matches last season (6-0-5) for the first time in school history.
• The Bruins 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 Belmont in assists (5).

Versus Drake

• Saturday will be just the seventh all-time meeting between the Bruins and the Bulldogs.
• Drake holds a 5-1 lead in the series.
• Belmont defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 in Nashville on Oct. 1, 2023. All three goals were scored in the second half.
• It is the Bruins' third visit to Des Moines in five seasons.

About the Bulldogs

• Drake (4-3-3, 0-1-0 MVC) began MVC play last Saturday night with a 1-0 loss at Evansville.
• The Bulldogs have dropped 1-0 decisions in three of their last five outings.
• On Tuesday night, Drake earned a 1-1 draw at Saint Louis.
• The Bulldogs' last win came on Sept. 12, a single-goal affair at Oral Roberts.
• After finishing atop the Valley alongside Evansville and Northern Illinois last year, Drake was picked second in the MVC Preseason Poll but received a first-place vote. The Bulldogs went 8-2-7 last season and 3-1-3 in MVC action.
• Conceding only six goals through 10 matches, Drake's 0.60 goals against average is tied for 10th-best in the country.
• Four of the Bulldogs' 10 goals on the season have been scored by graduate forward Evan Carlson.
• Drake also features 2025 All-MVC Second Team goalkeeper Tomas Butkovic, returning All-MVC First Team defender Cole Schrage and returning All-MVC Second Team defender Sam DeLong.
• Sophomore forward Crew Alvarez was a member of last year's MVC All-Freshman Team.

Up Next
Belmont remains on the road early next week, traveling to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Tuesday night for its final non-conference match of the season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from PNC Field and the midweek match will be broadcast on ESPN+. Next Sunday, Oct. 11, the Bruins host Bradley for their MVC home opener at Rose Park.
 
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.