ORANGE BEACH, Ala.-The Belhaven men's soccer team is gearing up for its 2011 NAIA Sweet 16 National Championship match with the University of Rio Grande Tuesday night at 7:30 at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Alabama. This will be the first meeting between the Blazers and the Redstorm. Belhaven opened up the national tournament with a 3-2 win over the University of Texas at Brownsville on November 19th at H.T. Newell Field. This is the second consecutive appearance by Belhaven in the round of 16.

Belhaven (16-4) jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Texas at Brownsville with a trio of first half goals and then held on for the win. Sophomore Achille Campion fired in the first two goals of the match and then senior Aaron McLoughlin cashed in on a score later in the half. Campion is having an outstanding season leading the Blazers in goals with 17. Campion, a native of Stella, France, was also a Southern States Athletic Conference First-Team All-Conference selection. Junior goalkeeper Greg Hartley, who was also an SSAC All-Conference pick and key player for the Blazers, made six saves in net and secured his 14th win of the year.

The Blazers are the 12th seed and are making their eighth overall appearance and second straight in the national tournament. Belhaven has an all time record of 9-7-4 in NAIA National Tournament play including a National Championship in 1992. The Blazers defeated the University of St. Thomas (TX) 2-1 in the opening round in 2010 before falling to SSAC rival University of Mobile in the round of 16 4-3.

The University of Rio Grande (OH) is the 5th seed and is 18-2 heading into the round of 16. The Redstorm is making its 11th overall appearance in the national tournament and took home the 2003 NAIA National Championship. Rio Grande, a member of the Mid-South Conference, has been in the semifinals two of the past three seasons and has hopes of making it back again this season. The Redstorm is 18-7-2 overall in national tournament matches including a 4-1 win over Madonna University (MI) in the opening round contest. Rio Grande is led by forward Richard Isberner who has a team best 28 goals in 2011. He leads the NAIA in total points with 73 and is second in the nation in total goals.

The 53rd 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 7:00 p.m. CST.

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