Orange Beach, AL, The Belhaven men's soccer team is making final preparations for their NAIA Sweet 16 national tournament match with the University of Mobile Tuesday night at 7:30 in Orange Beach, AL. It will be the second meeting between the Blazers and Rams this season with the first matchup ending in a 1-1 double overtime tie October 6th at H.T. Newell Field. Belhaven opened up the NAIA National Championship tournament with a 2-1 opening round win over the University of St. Thomas (TX) November 20th.

Belhaven (16-1-3) trailed 1-0 to St. Thomas at halftime and then fought back for both goals in the 59th minute. Stefan Fernandez had both scores in a 14 second span that turned the tide of the match and proved to be the difference in the game. Fernandez, a senior from Melbourne, FL, is having a career season for Belhaven and once again led the offense with the two goals, four total shots, and four shots on goal in the St. Thomas win. 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.

The Blazers are the eighth seed with this being their seventh overall appearance in the national tournament and first since 1994. Belhaven has an all time record of 9-6-3 in NAIA National Tournament play including an NAIA National Championship in 1992. Belhaven earned one of seven at large bids after being ranked 10th in the final NAIA Postseason Coaches' Poll. Belhaven Head Coach Steve DeCou, who was named the SSAC Coach of the Year, is in his fourth season as the Blazers head coach and has put the program back on the national stage. Earlier this season DeCou picked up his 100th career win and owns an overall coaching record of 105-86-15. His record at Belhaven including games this season is 50-17-7.

The University of Mobile enters the national tournament with an overall record of 15-3-2 and were the champions of the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament. The Rams also won the SSAC West Division with a 4-0-1 record which was a half game better than the Blazers who notched a 3-0-2 SSAC West mark. Mobile is led on offense by Deshorn Brown who has 18 goals and five assists and was named the SSAC Player and Freshman of the year. The Rams also have a solid goalie with Jason Williams who has allowed only 13 goals this year. Mobile, the number nine seed in the tournament, leads the current tournament field with 19 National Championship victories in 14 appearances.

The 52nd annual NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship final site event began on Monday with four matches from Orange Beach, Ala. Sixteen teams will compete in the single-elimination tournament from the Orange Beach Sportsplex. The second round concludes on Tuesday, followed by quarterfinal matches on Wednesday, the semifinal round on Friday and the National Championship final on Saturday at 7 p.m. CST.

Fans can follow Belhaven's national tournament journey by clicking here.