Box Score
Jackson, MS-Belhaven rallied for a 2-1 win over the University of St. Thomas (TX) in the 2010 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Opening Round at H.T. Newell Field Saturday evening. The Blazers, seeded eighth in the tournament, trailed 1-0 at halftime on an own goal when the ball was deflected into the net by Jordan Francis off a free kick from Efrain Orozco. Belhaven then scored both of their goals in the span of 14 seconds early in the second half to pull out the win and advance to the round of 16.

The University of St. Thomas (10-7-2) was aggressive on the offensive end of the field early in the match and came close to scoring on three separate occasions during the first 18 minutes of the game. The Celts appeared to have scored at the 15:22 mark, but the goal was waved off by the referee for an offside infraction. Two minutes later Irving Escobedo had an attempt hit the post and then had another shot blocked to keep the game scoreless at that point.

Belhaven (16-1-3) then committed the miscue that allowed the only goal of the game for the Celts as Francis tried to head the ball out of the zone from the free kick sending it over goalkeeper Gautier Troch's head and into the back of the net for the Celts. Belhaven had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the 35th minute on a penalty kick, but Guilherme Brandao's attempt went wide right. The Blazers could not muster any offense the rest of the half and trailed 1-0 going into the break.

Belhaven then made some adjustments at halftime and came out strong in the early moments of the second period possessing the ball deep in the St. Thomas end of the field. The Blazers then hit pay dirt with their first goal coming at the 58:10 mark. Belhaven forward Stefan Fernandez was setup for an open shot by teammate Philip Forsman and Fernandez made the most of the opportunity slamming it in for his 10 goal of the season to knot the score at 1-1.

The match did not stay tied for long and in fact 14 seconds later it was Fernandez who again would connect on the goal that would prove to be the game winner. He was assisted on the play by Aaron McLoughlin who played the ball up the left side of the field then got it to Brandao who in turn crossed the ball to the center where Fernandez was waiting to send it in for the score which was his 11th in 2010. St. Thomas had one final crack to tie the game with 17 seconds to go, but Troch made his first and only save of the game on a Daniel Rivera attempt to preserve the 2-1 win for Belhaven.

Fernandez, a senior from Melbourne, FL, is having a career season for Belhaven and once again led the offense with two goals, four total shots, and four shots on goal Saturday night. Fernandez now has 28 points and five game winning scores to his credit this season. His 28 points is second on the team and the five game winning goals is a team best. Brandao also had four total shots on the night and as a team the Blazers outshot St. Thomas 15-7 in the match. Troch made one save in 90 minutes of work in net and gets the win running his record to 16-1-3 this season.

“We were thrilled to win this match against a very good St. Thomas team and advance to the round of 16 in the 2010 NAIA National Championship,” said Belhaven Head Coach Steve DeCou. “We did not play well in the first half, but I thought the adjustments we made at halftime were big and we were finally able to get some things going offensively. Fernandez stepped up big for us once again and the team did a great job of getting themselves back in the game. We'll now get back to work next week and get ready to face Mobile in Orange Beach, AL.”

St. Thomas was led by Escobedo with thee total shots followed by Rivera who unloaded two shots with one being on goal. Lukas Miko Simon made six saves in 90 minutes of action in net, but suffered the loss in goal for the Celts as he falls to 10-7-2 this season.

Belhaven will move on to face the University of Mobile in Orange Beach, AL November 30th at 7:30 PM in the second round of the tournament. The Blazers and Rams battled to a 1-1 2OT tie earlier this season at H.T. Newell Field.