Men’s Soccer Welcomes the University of St. Thomas to Music City Friday Night

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Back at E.S. Rose Park this weekend, the Belmont University men's soccer team hosts the University of St. Thomas Friday night in the Music City. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
 
The non-conference 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.
 
It will be alumni night at Rose Park Friday with former members of the Belmont men's soccer program honored on the field at halftime. There will also be a social for Bruin alumni at a Belmont Athletics sponsor following the match.
 
All Belmont soccer matches at Rose Park are free to attend.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (3-4-1) are seeking their third-straight home victory.
• Belmont defeated Southern Indiana 4-1 last Friday night in Nashville after claiming its third consecutive 2-0 win versus nearby rival Lipscomb in the 29th Battle of the Boulevard on Sept. 8.
• The Bruins have secured three-straight results at home, earning a 1-1 draw with Mercer three weeks ago on Sept. 4.
• On Monday, Belmont suffered a 3-0 loss at then top-15 ranked Louisville. Despite playing a man down for the final 44:29 of the match due to a second yellow card on graduate midfielder John McDowell in the opening seconds of the second half, the Bruins held the now 16th-ranked Cardinals scoreless until the 76th minute.
• Ten different Belmont players have found the back of the net this season and the Bruins have scored 16 goals.
• Belmont's 2.0 goals per match are tied for 41st-most nationally.
• Fifth-year defender Nate Mefford, who is the Bruins' active career leader in goals scored (6), and sophomore midfielder Paul Claes Nielsen have punched in a team-high three goals each.
• McDowell and freshman forward Aiden Pierpoint have both found the space between the pipes twice this year.
• On Sept. 8, McDowell was named Missouri Valley Conference 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.
• Belmont has constructed multiple commanding offensive performances this season. In last Friday night's triumph over the Screaming Eagles, the Bruins tallied a season-high 10 shots on target. It was the most shots on goal since Belmont also totaled 10 in a 4-0 win at Southern Indiana on Sept. 12, 2023.
• Versus Mercer on Sept. 4, the Bruins racked up 25 shots 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.
• Belmont's 15 corners versus Mercer were the most in a match for the Bruins since at least 2010.
• Leading 4-1 at the half against the Raiders of Wright State, Belmont's four first-half goals were the most in a half by the Bruins since their 4-0 win at Southern Indiana on Sept. 12, 2023.
• Belmont's 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 the Bruins had scored in a match since an identical 6-1 home win over Niagara University on Aug. 27, 2017.
• In fact, Belmont had notched six goals against a NCAA Division I opponent only two other times prior to its win over the Raiders – versus Niagara and at Lipscomb on Sept. 18, 2001 (6-0).
• 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), 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 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).

Bruins at Home

• The Bruins have earned a result in 41 of their last 51 matches at Rose Park, outscoring their opponents 74-39 during that stretch.
• Since the start of the 2018 season, Belmont is 34-16-14 at home.
• The Bruins have finished .500 or better at home for eight-straight seasons.

Versus the University of St. Thomas

• Friday will be the first-ever meeting between Belmont and the University of St. Thomas on the soccer pitch.
• The Tommies joined the Division I ranks in fall of 2021 and became full Division I members in the summer of 2025. St. Thomas (Minn.) was previously a Division III athletics program.

About the Tommies

• The Tommies (4-3-2) are coming off a 2-1 road victory at Utah Tech last Friday and are 2-1-1 on the road this season.
• St. Thomas also owns wins over Milwaukee (1-0) on the road and Division II member St. Cloud State (2-0) and Chicago State (4-1) at home.
• The Tommies' two draws were 1-1 ties with Eastern Illinois on the road and Green Bay at home.
• St. Thomas began the season with a 2-0 home loss to Detroit Mercy and has dropped September matches to Xavier (1-0) in St. Paul, Minnesota, and at Marquette (2-0).
• The Tommies tied for fifth out of six teams in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll after tying for fourth in the league with three other teams last year. St. Thomas went 1-3-2 in the Summit League and 7-5-5 overall in 2025.
• Both senior goalkeeper Moritz Krenc and junior midfielder Merrick Schaefer were tabbed Summit League Players to Watch.
• Sophomore forward Lorenzo Jacon, freshman forward Jacob Nokken, senior forward Oliver Corris and graduate forward Ednilson Voiles have accounted for eight of the Tommies' 11 goals on the season with a pair of goals each.
• Conceding only nine goals thus far this year, St. Thomas is tied for 42nd in the nation with a 1.00 goals against average.

Up Next
The Bruins will have over a week off from match action before beginning MVC play next Saturday, Oct. 3 at Drake. Kickoff from Mediacom Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, is slated for 6 p.m. and the road conference opener 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.