Road Test

Belmont (4-2-1, 1-0-0) at Furman (1-5-0, 0-1-0) | Saturday, Sept. 25 | 6:00 p.m. CT
Greenville, S.C. | Stone Stadium
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Belmont Match Notes

GREENVILLE, S.C. – For the first time in nearly a month, the Belmont University men's soccer team traverses outside the Music City for its first Southern Conference road affair of the season Saturday evening. The Bruins (4-2-1, 1-0-0) look to remain unbeaten in the month of September when they take on Furman University at 6 p.m. CST inside Stone Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina.

The league road test will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Nick Banaszak providing play-by-play of the match. Live in-game statistics will be available by visiting FurmanPaladins.com.

What's Bruin

• On a five-match unbeaten streak, Belmont is seeking its first road victory of the fall after beginning its campaign with a pair of grueling contests at then 12th-ranked Missouri State (Aug. 26) and now receiving-votes Central Arkansas (Aug. 29). The Bruins tied nationally-ranked Lipscomb 1-1 on the other end of Belmont Boulevard a week and a half ago in their only other road match this season.
• After defeating East Tennessee State University 1-0 last Saturday at E.S. Rose Park, Belmont is looking to start SoCon play 2-0 for the second consecutive season. During the unique 2020-21 spring season, the Bruins began conference play with shutout wins over Wofford and VMI.
• Going 1-1-1 on the road in league action last season, Belmont is 2-5-2 in SoCon road matches since joining the conference in 2018. Including the postseason, the Bruins are 4-8-2 in away matches against SoCon opponents since joining the league.
• For the first time in program history, Belmont has won four-straight home matches following its third single-goal shutout at Rose Park this season last Saturday.
• Remaining undefeated in conference openers since 2018, sophomore midfielder AJ Chastonay scored his second goal of the season in the 72nd minute against the Buccaneers thanks to a perfectly fed cross from senior midfielder/defender Jack Shaw. The 72nd-minute goal represented the second-latest score in regulation for the Bruins thus far this season.
• With two goals to his name, Chastonay is now tied with senior forwards Niccolo Dagnoni and Liam O'Brien for the most goals on the team. The Louisville, Kentucky, native owns seven goals for his career after leading Belmont with five goals in the spring.
• Shaw's in-rhythm assist on Chastonay's goal last Saturday was his second of the season after assisting on O'Brien's dramatic game-winning goal in double overtime against Georgia State on Sept. 10.
• Putting Shaw in position to make the play on Chastonay's goal versus ETSU, senior midfielder/defender Esteban Lestido registered his first assist of the fall and just the second of his five-year Bruin career.
• Scoring on Belmont's only penalty kick this season, Dagnoni notched his 14th career goal in the first half at then 22nd-ranked Lipscomb last Tuesday (Sept. 14). He is now tied with Carlos Macioch (1997-01) for the sixth-most goals in program history. The Milan, Italy, native also owns 46 career points and is just one point shy of moving into a three-way tie for third place among the Bruins' all-time points leaders. With 18 career assists, including three already this season, Dagnoni is seven away from tying all-time program leader Nico Olsak (2010-13).
• Despite going 2-9-0 all-time against Furman, two of Belmont's biggest wins in program history have come against the Paladins in the Palmetto State. Last April, the Bruins knocked off top-seeded and 25th-ranked Furman 3-1 in the SoCon Championship semifinals for the program's first-ever birth in a conference title match. On Nov. 2, 2007, Belmont defeated the 16th-ranked Paladins 2-1 in overtime, representing the highest-ranked opponent the Bruins have ever defeated.
• Belmont is 2-6 versus Furman in Greenville.
• Lestido scored his first collegiate goal in the Bruins' 4-2 loss at Furman in the 2018 SoCon Championship quarterfinals. O'Brien, Chastonay and sophomore midfielder Michael Saunders all found the back of the net in Belmont's SoCon Championship semifinal upset of the Paladins this past spring.

About the Paladins

• Furman (1-5-0, 0-1-0) has won the SoCon regular season a league-record 21 times and is the two-time defending conference champion.
• In his 26th season, head coach Doug Allison has guided the Paladins to 11 of their 21 SoCon regular season titles.
• Picked to finish second in the seven-team league, Furman received two first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll. The Paladins went 7-2-1 overall and 5-0-1 in SoCon play during the spring en route to their regular season conference championship. Top-seeded Furman exited the 2020-21 SoCon Championship in the semifinals courtesy of the Bruins.
• The Paladins feature a trio of preseason All-SoCon picks in senior defender Tommy Kay, senior midfielder Miles Fenton and sophomore forward Jake Raine. However, Kay has been sidelined with injury since Furman's second match of the season.
• Despite returning 2020-21 SoCon Freshman of the Year Raine, four total All-SoCon selections and three SoCon All-Freshman Team performers from last season, Furman has gone 1-5-0 this fall.
• Four of the Paladins' five setbacks this season have come by one-goal margins with two being decided in overtime. After a 1-0 overtime loss at George Mason in its opener, Furman notched the Paladins' lone victory with a 2-1 triumph over visiting Gardner-Webb. Furman has suffered home non-conference defeats to Winthrop (3-1), USC Upstate (3-2 OT) and Davidson (2-1). Most recently, the Paladins dropped a 1-0 decision at Mercer last Saturday in both team's league opener.
• Furman's midweek non-conference matchup at UNC Asheville scheduled for Tuesday evening was postponed due to inclement weather in the Asheville area.
• Raine and junior midfielder Dylan Lane lead the Paladins with two goals apiece, while Fenton owns a team-best two assists on the season.

Up Next

Belmont will wrap up September play next Wednesday when the Bruins host ASUN Conference member Bellarmine. Kickoff from Rose Park is slated for 6:30 p.m. with the match broadcast on ESPN+.

Follow Belmont men's soccer on social media - @BelmontMSoccer on Twitter and @belmontmsoccer on Instagram - 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.

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