Box Score JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven men's soccer team took the field for the first time in 2013 and left H.T. Newell Field on Saturday night with a 3-1 win over Talladega College. The Blazers, who last played on December 1st in the NAIA National Championship game, began their title defense with a victory and have now won six straight games dating back to last season.

Although Belhaven (1-0) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half, the Tornadoes gave the Blazers all they could handle all the way to the end. A second half goal by Talladega made it a 2-1 contest until Nasser Charif blasted a shot past goalkeeper Christopher Wohl to give Belhaven an insurance tally with just over eight minutes to go in the game.

The Blazers found a way to win and Head Coach Brian McMahon was pleased with how his team played overall. "Overall I was pleased with the spirit of the team and with it being the first game there was a lot of nervous jitters out there for the guys that we had to work out. We got out to a good start early and we were able to apply some pressure on them. In the end, Talladega was a fantastic challenge for us and lot of credit goes to them because their guys settled into the game and caused us some problems. I think we learned a lot about ourselves tonight and anytime you get that first game under your belt it gives us an opportunity to focus on the things we did well and the things that we can improve on moving forward."

Senior Will Monsour, who was hobbled by an injury during the later stages of last season, show no ill effects in Saturday's game. Monsour is coming off a team leading 19 goals last year and picked up his first in the 2013 campaign when he powered the ball into the right corner of the goal just over four minutes into the match.

The Blazers extended their 1-0 advantage to 2-0 thanks to senior David Major's first score of the year. His strike found the back of the net in the 25th minute after a perfect corner kick from senior Eduardo Cruz found its way into the center of the box, leaving Major with an open look at the goal. Cruz was credited with his first assist of the year.

Things tightened up in the second half when Randolph Varagas put Talladega (0-1) on the board with his first goal of the year. The Tornadoes had played the entire first half with their backs against their own goal, but finally got some offense going after being outshot by Belhaven 12-0 in the opening period.

The Blazers then turned the heat back up on the defensive end and kept Talladega out of the goal the rest of the way. Charif gave Belhaven some breathing room with his first goal of the year in the final minutes and win number one went into the books for the Blazers.

Monsour led Belhaven in total shots (4) and shots on goal (2) followed by Charif with three total shots and two on goal. Sophomore Tom Gavin had three shots and an assist on the Charif score. Goalie Carl Blundell played all 90 minutes in net and made one save for his first win of the season. As a team, Belhaven went on to outshoot Talladega 21-3 and also held the advantage in corner kicks 8-1.

Varagas had the only goal for Talladega while Jose Luis Rodriguez and Brain Biehl were credited with the other two shot attempts. Wohl played the full 90 minutes in goal and suffered the loss. He gave up three scores while making six saves.

Belhaven will be back in action on Friday when they play Lindsey Wilson College at 6:00 P.M. in Montgomery, Ala. The Blazers and Blue Raiders last met in the national semifinals with Belhaven coming away with a 1-0 victory.