LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new era, albeit under a familiar figure, is upon the Bellarmine University men's soccer team.

When Bellarmine opens the season at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday by welcoming Evansville to Owsley B. Frazier Stadium, the contest will mark the head-coaching debut of Matt Cannady, who served two stints as an assistant coach with the Knights, including the previous five years before being promoted.

Cannady was elevated after the retirement of Tim Chastonay, who piloted the program for 28 seasons and who is now a senior associate athletic director at the university. Chastonay is the reigning ASUN Coach of the Year, with the 2025 acknowledgment representing his second honor in Bellarmine's first six seasons in the conference.

Indeed, Cannady is taking command of a program that has been among the most consistent in the ASUN from the outset of the D1 launch, and he's been instrumental in establishing that footprint. The Knights have qualified for the ASUN Tournament in every season since joining the league. They appeared in at least the semifinals in five of those, including two trips to the finals in the last three years.

They appeared in the championship game last season after capturing the Gold Division title, which marked the first regular-season championship in any sport at Bellarmine in the D1 era. This came after the Knights nuked a last-place preseason projection in the ASUN coaches' poll.

Bellarmine will be more of an unknown in many ways this season. Beyond a new face in the head coaching position for the first time in nearly three decades, five of the six Knights who earned All-ASUN accolades last season have departed along with several other key veterans, so there will be plenty of newness relating to the squad besides the changing of the guard at the top.

RETURNERS
The lone All-ASUN recipient who is back is Johan Nissen-Lie, whose breakout 2025 campaign included ASUN co-Player of the Year honors along with first-team All-ASUN and second-team All-Atlantic Region notice. The junior forward, who was the ASUN's leading goal scorer last season (10), was named to the Preseason All-ASUN Team and recognized among the United Soccer Coaches' Players to Watch at his position for possible inclusion on the Hermann Trophy watchlist.

Redshirt senior midfielder Tate McCrery (two goals, 1,137 minutes last season) has logged 30 starts in his career. Redshirt junior defender Sam Safly (two assists, 1,387 minutes) was a high-impact transfer who ranked third on the team among field players in minutes last season. Junior defender Martin Cadagan (two goals, 883 minutes) never left the field in ASUN play.

Defender and graduate student James Gardev (538 minutes) dealt with injury but started all seven matches in which he appeared last season. Redshirt senior midfielder Colin Mackey (two goals, two assists, 514 minutes) earned an ASUN Player of the Week nod, while junior forward Teddy Franke (one goal, one assist, 462 minutes) appeared in every game.

Senior midfielder Ethan Jacobs made 12 appearances while sophomore forward Bartosz Wojda saw action in 11 contests. Junior midfielder Jackson Jones (nine games), junior defender Sawyer Trowel (eight games) and sophomore defender Gavin Crowe (five games) are back along with senior defender Ezekiel Opie, redshirt sophomore defender Sawyer Gribble, redshirt sophomore midfielders Jimmy McCamey III and Alessandro Rincon, sophomore defender Brady Smith, redshirt freshman midfielder Max Murphy and redshirt freshman defender James Torre.

Senior goalkeeper Tudor Iordan made a pair of stops in helping lead Bellarmine to a PK shootout win over Jacksonville in the ASUN Tournament semifinals last season. Redshirt sophomore Benny Howard returns in goal as well.

NEWCOMERS
Bellarmine has a host of new faces. Transfers include junior midfielders Jack Raulston (Berry College) and Kanata Taira (University of Hawai'i at Hilo) and freshman midfielder Nathan Krall (Lindenwood University).

The estimable true freshman class is comprised of goalkeepers Justin Glasco and Connor Dailey, forwards Nicholas Niebauer and Ryan Boyd, midfielders Hueston Gardner, Reed Newman, David Skorupan and Karson Lang, and defenders Miles Sasine, Will Hunter, Declan Walters, Samuel Knox and Cole Seraphine.

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