Box Score
MONTGOMERY, Ala.- Victor Lawrence scored two goals and Victor France added the game winner in the final three minutes as the Belhaven men's soccer team advanced to the 2012 NAIA National Championship Semifinals presented by Carrabba's Italian Grill on the strength of a 3-2 victory over Hannibal-LaGrange University (MO) Wednesday afternoon. The Blazers will make their third appearance in the semifinals and the first since the national championship season of 1992.

Belhaven (17-4-1), the number 12 seed in this year's tournament field, delivered the first goal of the match in the 18th minute with Lawrence providing the strike. Lawrence made a quick switch with the ball against the defender moving it from his right foot to his left foot while opening a lane to the goal. Lawrence made the strike with his left foot bending the ball into the left corner of the net from the right side of the box for a 1-0 lead.

Hannibal-LaGrange (16-5-0), unseeded in the field of 32 teams, didn't stay down for long when Mikel Erdozain provided the equalizer for the Trojans just over a minute later. Felipe Silva executed a precise through pass to Erdozain who had dropped in behind the Belhaven defense, setting up a one on one with goalkeeper Carl Blundell. Erdozain did not let the opportunity pass him by, placing the ball into the back of the net for a 1-1 tie.

The Trojans took their first lead of the match in the 53rd minute when Agustin Concha found himself 10 yards in front of the goal for an open shot attempt. Jose Vidal threaded the pass through a host of defenders onto the waiting foot of Concha, earning the assist and giving Hannibal-LaGrange a 2-1 lead.

In similar fashion to the first half, this time it was Belhaven who turned the tables on Hannibal-LaGrange with a quick response on the offensive end of the field. Lawrence answered the bell again with his second unassisted goal of the match 15 yards in front of the net. The ball was sent into the box near Lawrence, taking a high hop off the turf and over his head. With his back to the net, Lawrence spun and in one motion struck the ball into the net to tie the match at 2-2.

With time winding down, the Blazers were able to take advantage of a critical foul committed by the Trojans that setup a free kick at the top right corner of the box. After a couple of earlier missed opportunities to recapture the lead, the Blazers couldn't afford to let this one slip by the boards. France made sure that didn't happen with a perfect kick into the top-shelf on the left side of the net for what would prove to be the game winner in the 87th minute.

Belhaven had to withstand stand one last push by the Trojans in the final minute, but came away unscathed. Giovanni Correa blocked an attempt by Manual Saez in front of the net with 28 seconds left and Erdozain's bid for a second goal went wide as time expired. Blundell also made two critical saves over the final 45 minutes to limit the Trojans scoring to the two goals.

“We knew coming into the game it would be a really good challenge for a couple of reasons,” said Belhaven Head Coach Brian McMahon. “First of all, Hannibal-Lagrange is a really good team with a lot of good individual players that can make the difference at any time. The second thing is that we played a game yesterday when Hannibal-LaGrange only played Monday with a day of rest. This is the reason why we went really deep in our bench and I felt that we had to use that many guys in order to keep fresh legs on the field. At the end, we kind of wore down and I'm proud of the guys for continuing to work hard and sticking to the game plan.”

Lawrence led the attack for Belhaven with two goals on two shot attempts, giving him 10 goals on the season. France ended the contest with three shots, including the game winning goal. It was France's fifth goal of the season and the first game winning strike in 2012. Blundell made seven saves over 90 minutes of work in the net, earning his 15th win of the season.

Erdozain led all players with five shot attempts followed by Silva and Concha with three apiece. Logan Miller suffered the loss for Hannibal-LaGrange in goal, allowing three scores with four saves.

Belhaven will play in the semifinals on Friday against top seed Lindsey-Wilson College who defeated Southern Polytechnic State 3-1 on Wednesday.

McMahon knows that the Blazers will have their work cut out for them. “To win the national championship you have to win four games in five days and this is an extreme challenge. The guys really need some rest and the day off on Thursday will be a good opportunity. When you get to the semifinals you only have great teams left and no matter who we will be playing, we will have to prepare as best as we can and enjoy the experience.”

Friday's kickoff is slated for 12:00 PM. Fans can follow along with live stats, courtesy of Dakstats and the NAIA, and access the NAIA National Championship Tournament page by clicking here.