LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University men's soccer team will make its long-awaited home debut when the Knights welcome Eastern Illinois for a 4 p.m. (ET) contest Sunday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.

Bellarmine opened its 2021 campaign with four consecutive road outings.

"It will be great to play at home this weekend," Knights Coach Tim Chastonay said. "We have worked hard to prepare for road games, so we will have to prepare a bit differently to make sure the team is ready to play here." 

LAST TIME OUT
Bellarmine (2-1-1) played to a scoreless tie at Chicago State on Monday. The Knights had a 12-4 advantage in shots, but the attempts on goal were even at four, with Chastonay noting the latter stat was the more accurate reflection of the tight contest.

Bellarmine didn't score for the second straight game, a rarity for the Knights.

"I was proud of the effort we put in defensively against Chicago State," he said. "They were a good team and definitely gave us problems for much of the day. The game also showed us some deficiencies we are having in our attack and things we can work on in training." 

ABOUT EASTERN ILLINOIS
Eastern Illinois (0-3) is coming off a 5-1 loss to Northern Illinois, but the Panthers' prior two setbacks were only 1-0 to both Xavier and Purdue Fort Wayne.

Forward Reed Axthelm and goalkeeper Jonathan Burke were recognized among the Summit League's preseason Players to Watch.

"They play a good style and have some dangerous players in the attack," Chastonay said. "EIU had some very close games with Xavier and Purdue Fort Wayne. (Head Coach) Ronnie (Bouemboue) is a good coach and I am certain he will have his team prepared for a good game on Sunday."

ROAD WORTH TAKING
Bellarmine went 2-1-1 over the four-game road stretch to open the season, with the lone loss in double overtime to a talented Louisville squad just across town.

It's been an encouraging beginning for the Knights in their second season in Division I.

"I was really pleased with the way our team handled our road-heavy start of the season," Chastonay said. "It's difficult to get results on the road at this level. Two wins and a draw out of four games is something we can certainly feel good about this early in the season."

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE
Senior Connor Range and junior Matthew Brozovich have split starts and time in goal over the first four games.

The Knights' duo has combined for a 0.45 goals-against average and two shutouts, with no opponent scoring more than one goal.

"Our goalkeeping has been outstanding and I feel the competition between the two helps them succeed," Chastonay said. "Having Connor and Matthew playing so well and Lukas (Tharp) and Micah (Mattes) offering us our depth is a strong point of our team." 

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