ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Belhaven men's soccer team improved to 4-1 with a 2-1 victory early Saturday afternoon over Missouri Baptist. The Blazers have now won four consecutive contests, while the Spartans are left searching for the first victory of 2014.

"We played some of our best soccer today. We created good combinations through the midfield and into the final third, which produced loads of chances that we failed to put it away," Head Coach Carl Griffiths said. "It was a rather small pitch, which made it very crowded around the goal and tough to score. In the end, our offensive style produced a couple of good goals that were just enough to win the game." 
 
Spartan forward Gerardo Espinoza snuck a shot past Belhaven goalkeeper Marcelo Mercuri in the 35th minute, giving Missouri Baptist (0-4-2) their first and only lead of the match. The goal marked the first time in more than 320 minutes that Mercuri had allowed a goal, but he made sure nothing else passed him for the duration of the afternoon.
 
Joao Belmonte found his second goal in as many contests seven minutes later to give Belhaven the equalizer just before the first half ended. Victor Lawrence added his second goal of 2014 two-thirds of the way through the second half, allowing Belhaven to take the only lead they would need.
 
The Blazers (4-1-0) claimed an overwhelming advantage in the attacking third, outshooting the Spartans 26-9. Shots on goal were much closer, however, as Belhaven took a slight edge by a tally of 8-5.
 
Mercuri recorded four saves in the net, giving him an even dozen for the season. Meanwhile, MBU counterpart Zach Koeller prevented six shots from turning into a Belhaven goal but came up just short of forcing his fourth opponent to overtime.
 
Belhaven now turns their attention to LSU-Alexandria, who will play host to the Blazers on Tuesday. The non-conference matchup is set to begin at 4:00 pm.