Men’s Soccer Heads to Central Arkansas for Friday Night Matchup

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After erupting for six goals last Sunday, the Belmont University men's soccer team returns to match action Friday night at the University of Central Arkansas. Kickoff from the Bill Stephens Soccer Complex in Conway, Arkansas, is set for 7 p.m.
 
The non-conference road match will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats of the contest can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (1-1-0) are going for back-to-back road victories following a decisive, 6-1 win at Wright State this past Sunday evening.
• Five different Belmont players found the back of the net in last Sunday's triumph, including sophomore midfielder Paul Claes Nielsen, who recorded his first brace.
• After the host Raiders scored in the first 62 seconds of the match, graduate midfielder John McDowell equalized in the 22nd minute. Less than two minutes later, Claes Nielsen put the Bruins up before making it 3-1 off a McDowell corner kick in the 26th minute.
• Belmont scored four first-half goals capped by a strike from freshman forward Aiden Pierpoint. The four goals were the most in a half by the Bruins since Belmont also scored four in the first half of a 4-0 win at Southern Indiana on Sept. 12, 2023.
• Fifth-year defender Nate Mefford made it 5-1 within the first 90 seconds of the second half and graduate midfielder Elijah John scored the Bruins' final goal of the evening in the last 10 minutes of the match.
• Sunday's result was the most goals Belmont scored in a match since an identical 6-1 home win over Niagara University on Aug. 27, 2017.
• In fact, the Bruins had notched six goals against a NCAA Division I opponent only two other times prior to last Sunday – versus Niagara and at Lipscomb on Sept. 18, 2001 (6-0).
• Belmont tallied 16 shots in Sunday's win, placing eight on target.
• Freshman goalkeeper Brody Sucher has made four saves in each of his first two matches.
• The Bruins welcomed 10 newcomers this year, including eight over the summer and two in January – senior forward Nathan Ferguson and freshman defender Judah 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) and fellow sophomore midfielder Nzuhri Biggar (10), graduate midfielder Ethan Schlegel (9), and senior forward Lucas Wolthers (6).
• After finishing just one point shy of claiming their first Missouri Valley Conference regular season title 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 UCA

• Friday night will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two programs.
• With all seven previous matchups in the series taking place prior to the 2022 season when overtime was discontinued for the regular season, four of the seven matches went to overtime. Of those, three went to double overtime.
• The Bruins last took on the Bears on Aug. 29, 2021, in Conway, Arkansas, a single-goal loss with Central Arkansas scoring in the eighth minute.

About the Bears

• The Bears (0-1-1) began the season with a 1-1 draw at fellow MVC member Drake last Thursday night.
• On Monday, Central Arkansas dropped a 1-0 decision at Big West Conference member Utah Valley.
• The Bears were picked seventh out of nine teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Last season, Central Arkansas finished second in the ASUN Gold Division after going 3-2-1 in conference play. The Bears went 4-10-2 overall in 2025 and bowed out to Stetson in the first round of the ASUN Championship.
• Senior forward Maxim Sheenkov, an All-ASUN Second Team selection last fall and a Preseason All-ASUN Team pick, owns Central Arkansas' lone goal with a 79th-minute tally at Drake.
• Sophomore midfielder Vaclav Kozeny was a member of last year's ASUN All-Freshman Team.

Up Next
Belmont will have a week off from match play, returning to E.S. Rose Park next Friday, Sept. 4 when the Bruins host former conference adversary Mercer. Kickoff from the Music City is slated for 6:30 p.m. All matches at Rose Park are free to attend.
 
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.