MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Belhaven men's soccer team is moving on to the round of 16 at the 2012 NAIA National Championships presented by Carrabba's Italian Grill for the third year in a row. Their dominating 5-0 victory against Tennessee Wesleyan in the opening round showed the rest of the tournament field that they won't be an easy out.

The Blazers are looking for an extended stay in the tournament after grabbing the sixth at-large bid in this year's field. Belhaven received the 12th seed due to their impressive finish in the final MRPI poll that came out two weeks ago.
They will face the fifth seeded University of Science & Arts from Oklahoma on Tuesday morning at 11 a.m. in Montgomery.

The Drovers have had a special season in the Sooner Athletic conference, posting an undefeated record at 19-0-4 and winning the regular season SAC title.

Science & Arts was upset in the first round of the SAC tournament by Oklahoma City University on penalty kicks, but such a loss does not put a blemish in the loss column. All penalty kick losses during postseason play counts as a tie.
The Drovers defeated Grand View College from Iowa 2-0 in the opening round and are looking to keep their streak going against a battle-tested Belhaven squad.

Perhaps the biggest difference between these two teams is their regular season schedule. The Blazers played nine games against teams in the NAIA Top 25 polls, while the Drovers only had one such game.
The experience of playing against better competition all season long could prove fruitful for Belhaven if they face some adversity in this contest.

However, don't let their softer schedule fool you. The Drovers haven't just beaten teams on their way to an undefeated record, they have crushed them.

Their starting keeper Bryan Byers has posted 11 shutout victories on the season, while also not allowing a goal in two of their four ties. Byers actually had a streak of 10 games where he didn't allow a goal, which stretched from the beginning of September to the middle of October.

Perry Sansford, a junior from Colchester, England, leads the Drovers with 15 goals on the season. Sansford has plenty of goals to his name over the past two seasons in Oklahoma, which has yielded him some All-American considerations.

The Blazer defense will have to keep Sansford at bay in the same way they did with Tennessee Wesleyan's Luke Winter a week and a half ago.

Fans can follow along with live stats, courtesy of Dakstats and the NAIA, and access the official NAIA National Championship Tournament page by clicking here.