Box Score
JACKSON, Miss.-The Belhaven men's soccer team remained unblemished in 2012 after fending off Lee University 3-1 in a Southern States Athletic Conference battle on Saturday afternoon at H.T. Newell Field. The Blazers, ranked 4th in the latest NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll and RPI poll, edged 7th ranked Southern Polytechnic State University 1-0 Friday afternoon and remained focused against a tough Flames team who is receiving votes in the latest poll.

After an emotional win like Friday's, sometimes a team will come out flat the next day but that wasn't the case for Belhaven (11-0, 4-0 SSAC) on Saturday. In the midst of the rain and the wind, the Blazers broke through for the game's first goal in the 30th minute. Junior David Major provided the lead with his first goal of the season and junior Eduardo Cruz was credited with the first of two assists on the afternoon.

Belhaven padded the lead in the 50th minute on senior Guilherme Sousa's second goal of the 2012 campaign. The assist was given to Cruz who placed the ball from the left into the box 10 yards in front of the goal. Sousa headed in the shot past Lee goalie Tom Halsall for a 2-0 advantage.

Lee (4-5-1, 1-3 SSAC) bounced back into the match in the 59th minute when Josh Ball fired a shot into the net cutting Belhaven's lead to 2-1. Shoval Failer assisted on the play, giving life to the Flames with plenty of time remaining on the clock.

The Blazers then went back to work and had some opportunities to build a multi goal lead once again. However, a physical Lee defense and four Hasall saves kept the Flames within striking distance. Not to be outdone, Belhaven goalie Carl Blundell made two saves to keep a potential equalizing goal off the board.

Belhaven's persistence paid off late in the match as junior Will Monsour iced the game away with his team leading 16th goal of the year. Monsour, who was injured earlier in the game, fought through the adversity and on his eighth shot of the match finally found pay dirt. He got some help from senior Loic Miliani who picked up his ninth assist of the year. Miliani sent the ball to Monsour who made a quick move to his right and blasted the shot past Hasall into the right corner of the net. Hasall got a piece of the ball and nearly came up with another great save, but the ball had enough momentum to keep rolling into the open net for a 3-1 Blazer lead and eventual win.

“The conditions were tough with a downpour of rain the whole time and Lee was a very physical team with an aggressive style of play,” said Belhaven Head Coach Brian McMahon. “Defensively they are very sound and they really challenged our backs in the air with their deliveries on offense. At the end of the day, we had two tough games but found a way to get wins. I was proud of our guys for responding to the adversity we faced.”

Four of Monsour's shots were on goal as the junior forward led Belhaven's offensive attack. The Blazers had a slight 18-17 edge in total shots on Saturday. Blundell ended the day with his 10th win and five saves, logging all 90 minutes in net.

Ball, Failer, and Sias Reyneke led the Flames with three shots apiece. Halsall suffered the loss allowing all three goals while making seven saves.

Belhaven will be back on the field Thursday night when the team entertains Faulkner University in an SSAC matchup at H.T. Newell Field. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 PM.