Men’s Soccer Hosts Southern Indiana Friday Night at Rose Park

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Returning to E.S. Rose Park, the Belmont University men's soccer team hosts Southern Indiana Friday night in Music City. Kickoff of the non-conference matchup is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
 
The home match will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Carter Gledhill on the call. Live stats of the contest can also be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (2-3-1) went 1-1 last week, defeating nearby rival Lipscomb 2-0 for the third-straight year in the 29th Battle of the Boulevard in Nashville before suffering a 4-3 setback at East Tennessee State University last Saturday.
• Belmont has earned a result in both of its last two home matches, securing a 1-1 draw with Mercer two Fridays ago.
• Eight different Bruins have found the back of the net already this season and Belmont has scored 12 goals through six matches.
• Sophomore midfielder Paul Claes Nielsen scored his team-leading third goal of the season at ETSU, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute.
• Fifth-year defender Nate Mefford scored his second goal of year against the Buccaneers last Saturday evening, equalizing in the 31st minute. He is now Belmont's active career leader in goals (5).
• Claes Nielsen (3), graduate midfielder John McDowell (2) and Mefford (2) are Bruins who have scored multiple goals this season.
• Freshman defender Zain Abdelhadi scored his first collegiate goal last weekend at ETSU, giving Belmont a 3-2 lead at the half.
• Sophomore defender Palmer Hendrix assisted on two of the Bruins' three first-half scores against the Buccaneers, placing two crosses from the deep right corner for his first career points.
• McDowell was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday, Sept. 8 after providing the equalizer against Mercer on an 88th-minute penalty kick. The Chapel Hill, North Carolina (C.E. Jordan HS), native placed three of his six shots on target in the draw with the Bears and has assisted on two goals this year.
• Belmont has constructed two commanding offensive performances this season. Versus Mercer on Sept. 4, the Bruins tallied 25 shots, including a season-high nine on target, and earned 15 corner kicks. In Belmont's first road match of the season on Aug. 23 at Wright State, five different Bruins found the back of the net in a 6-1 rout.
• Belmont's 25 shots in its draw with the Bears were the Bruins' most in a contest since registering 27 in a 2-0 home win over Eastern Illinois on Oct. 26, 2022. The nine shots on goal were Belmont's most in an outing since the 2023 season.
• The Bruins' 15 corners versus Mercer were the most in a match for Belmont since at least 2010.
• Leading 4-1 at the half against the Raiders of Wright State, the Bruins' four first-half goals were the most in a half by Belmont since a 4-0 win at Southern Indiana on Sept. 12, 2023.
• The Bruins' six-goal production on the road came after the Raiders took a 1-0 lead only 62 seconds into the match. The result at Wright State was the most goals Belmont had 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 their win over the Raiders – versus Niagara and at Lipscomb on Sept. 18, 2001 (6-0).
• 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 captain 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 40 of its last 50 matches at Rose Park, outscoring its opponents 70-38 during that stretch.
• Since the start of the 2018 season, the Bruins are 33-16-14 at home.
• Belmont has finished .500 or better at home for eight-straight seasons.

Versus Southern Indiana

• Friday will be just the fifth all-time meeting between the Bruins and the Screaming Eagles.
• Belmont has won each of the first four matchups, scoring multiple goals in all four outings and totaling 12 goals while conceding none.
• The Bruins have won each of the last two matches versus Southern Indiana in 3-0 fashion.
• Last September in Evansville, Indiana, Claes Nielsen (30'), junior midfielder Emmanuel Aranda (60') and sophomore forward Jaxon Stokes (64') found the back of the net against the Screaming Eagles.
• Belmont hosted Southern Indiana for its home opener in both 2024 and 2022.

About the Screaming Eagles

• The Screaming Eagles (0-3-3) have earned a trio of road draws, including playing MVC foe Evansville to a scoreless draw Tuesday night.
• Southern Indiana began the season with a scoreless draw at Milwaukee and earned a 2-2 tie at Northern Kentucky on Aug. 24.
• The Screaming Eagles have suffered home losses to Indiana University Indianapolis (1-0) and Bellarmine (2-1) and were defeated 3-2 at Marquette this past Saturday.
• Southern Indiana was picked eighth out of eight teams in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll after finishing seventh in the league last year with a 1-4-5 conference mark and 2-10-5 overall record.
• Senior midfielder Garrett Morris was chosen by the Screaming Eagles as an OVC Player to Watch.
• Five different Southern Indiana players have accounted for the Screaming Eagles' five goals this season.
• Sophomore midfielder Tony Murphy has accounted for two of Southern Indiana's three assists, aiding in both of the Screaming Eagles' goals against Northern Kentucky.

Up Next
The Bruins continue non-conference play Monday when they travel to top-15 ranked Louisville. Kickoff from Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky, is slated for 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET. Next Friday, Sept. 25, Belmont hosts the University of St. Thomas. Monday's match against the nationally-ranked Cardinals will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
 
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.