Men's Soccer Wins Home Opener Against Wright State

The Belmont men’s soccer team won its first home game of the season 2-1 against the Wright State Raiders.

It’s the third consecutive season that the men’s team has won its home opener.

The game started out with a shot by Belmont junior forward Brock Kiper, but it was saved by Wright State goalkeeper Alessandro Malterer.

It took until the 17th minute of the match for Wright State to come up with a shot on goal, but it was ultimately saved by Belmont Graduate goalkeeper Grant Calvert.

The game was a back-and-forth defensive battle and the first half ended scoreless.

The second half started out with Wright State raiding Belmont’s side of the field with midfielder Henry Hutchinson striking a bottom center shot that was denied with a team save by Belmont. 

Wright State would follow up with another shot on goal by defender Roman Kedgley going to the bottom center of the goal that was saved by Calvert.

Belmont quickly got the ball out of their own territory and raced up the field with the ball.

In the 51st minute of the game, Belmont midfielder Louis Peña passed the ball to Parker Forbes, who transferred to Belmont this offseason, and he kicked the ball past the Wright State goalkeeper into the left corner of the net, scoring the first goal of the game.

It did not take too long for the Raiders to answer back, with Hutchinson putting the ball into the bottom center of the goal in the 70th minute with an assist from midfielder Edwin Espinal-Elvir.

With the game tied, it was back to square one.

Peña got down the field but shot an off-target shot on goal. Belmont defender Nate Mefford followed up with another shot on goal that was also off-target.

In the 78th minute, the ball went out of play and Belmont was set up with a corner kick.

The ball travelled out of the corner into the field where a handball penalty was called on Wright State defender Zakaria Amro, giving the Bruins a penalty kick.

Peña lined up in front of the Wright State goalkeeper for the penalty kick and sent the ball flying into the net to give Belmont a 2-1 lead within the 80th minute of the game.

Wright State scrambled to put something up on the board in the last 10 minutes of the match, but nothing came of it and Belmont came out with a home-opening win.

Peña put up great numbers rounding out the match with one goal, two shots, one shot on goal, and one assist which earned him player of the game.

“That’s just the best way I could possibly start off, so I’m really thankful for the guys for letting me take that penalty, and of course giving me a chance,” said Peña.

The 1-0 start gives the Bruins momentum heading into the rest of the season.

“You always want to start your season off on a good foot, I think the boys stepped out, won the physical and the mental battle, and we’re super excited to start the season with a win,” said Captain and senior midfielder Brad Dildy. 

The Bruins travel to Memphis University for their next game Sunday.

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This article was written by Reece Leddy.