NASHVILLE, TENN. - - The Belmont men’s soccer team dropped its final home match of the season against Jacksonville, 2-0, at the Whitten Soccer Complex in Nashville, Tenn. on Sunday afternoon.

The loss drops Belmont to 6-8-2 overall and 3-5-1 in the Atlantic Sun, while Jacksonville improves to 9-6-1, 7-2-0 in the conference. With the win, the Dolphins clinched the regular season Atlantic Sun championship and qualified for the A-Sun Tournament which will be held in DeLand, Fla. from Nov. 15-17. The Bruins have also qualified for the tournament.

Belmont had various offensive opportunities to net the first goal of the match, including a crossing pass from senior Ian Schinelli (Naperville, Ill.) to junior Cyrus Eaton (Carbondale, Colo.) in the 22nd minute, but Eaton pushed the shot just wide of the net.

The Dolphins responded with a goal in the 25th minute from Nedim Hrustic, his third of the season. Sebastian Lindholm attempted a shot in the penalty box that was saved by Belmont’s Ron Gravely (Dallas), but the rebound was kicked in by Hrustic for the score. Lindholm received credit for the assist.

Anton Axelsson scored his league-leading 12th goal of the season in the 35th minute to give Jacksonville the 2-0 advantage. Axelsson won a free ball outside of the penalty box and chipped home the goal.

Belmont outshot Jacksonville in the first half, 9-7. Each team attempted three corner kicks in the half.

The Bruins continued to play assertively and junior Navarda Heath (Montego Bay, Jamaica) made a crossing pass in the penalty box towards an empty net in the 55th minute, but Eaton was unable to place a foot on the ball for the shot attempt.

Belmont had an opportunity to cut the lead in half when Jacksonville goalkeeper Matt Gilman fouled a Belmont player in the penalty box and a penalty box was awarded. Senior Eric Susewind (Houston) attempted the penalty kick, but the shot hit the crossbar and went out of bounds.

Heath attempted a shot in the 70th minute that required a diving save from Gillman to keep the Bruins scoreless.

Belmont finished the match with 17 shots, while Jacksonville only had nine. The Dolphins attempted six corner kicks, while the Bruins made five.

“I thought we played well today and controlled the action throughout the match,” said Belmont head coach Earle Davidson. “We had some good scoring chances, but couldn’t convert. Jacksonville had fewer chances, but scored on two of them.”

Belmont will conclude the season with two non-conference match against Southern Conference foes in South Carolina.
“We’ve scheduled these matches to stay sharp and prepared for the conference tournament.”

The six senior on the team, Jay Ayres (Valrico, Fla.), Schinelli, Derrick Henry (Montego Bay, Jamaica), Travis Hamilton (Temple Terrace, Fla.), Susewind and Justin Mooneyhan (Nashville, Tenn.) were honored in a pre-match ceremony to commemorate their years at Belmont.

“They’ve meant so much to the building of this program,” said Davidson.

The Bruins will return to action against Furman in Greenville, S.C. on Nov. 2, beginning at 5 p.m.