JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven Men's Soccer Team used three second half goals by Lucas Talaveira-Befi to pull off a come-from-behind victory over William Carey on Wednesday night at the Belhaven Bowl.

Befi's hat trick is the seventh in school history and the first since Will Monsour scored three goals against Georgetown (Ky.) on August 24, 2012.

With the win, Belhaven (4-1-1) snaps a three-game losing streak to the rival Crusaders (4-4-1), earning its first win over Carey since October 29, 2011.

"This was an amazing night; we are excited to get this win," said head coach Carl Griffiths. "We needed to get some confidence back after tying and losing the last two matches. We needed to up our work ethic. We talked about this tonight: No matter what the result is, our work rate must be clear and high as well as keeping our energy high. That is what won this match for us."

The Blazers went into halftime trailing 2-0 and needed over 24 minutes in the second half before sophomore midfielder Lucas Talaveira-Befi finally broke through the Crusaders' defense and started the comeback for the Blazers. The São Paulo, Brazil native scored three goals in a span of 4:26, from the 69th minute to the 74th minute. 

Befi's first goal started on a quick counter attack by the Blazers up the left win. Scott Malcom's pass up the left side to Jonathan Dickson was then sent into the middle at the top of the box for senior Cillian Thompson. After making a move around a Carey defender, Thompson was able to place a pass at the left edge of the six- yard box for Befi, who calmly finished to put Belhaven on the score sheet.

In his second goal, which came just 2:03 after the first strike, Befi opened some space outside of the box on the right edge. From 25 yards out, Befi was able to work enough space for an outward curling shot that went through the William Carey defense and past the diving Crusaders' keeper to catch the inside of the post and go in, tying the game at two goals apiece.

Just 2:23 after the equalizing goal, Belhaven found an opportunity to take the lead after Ricky Hackler worked himself into the box and drew a foul, being pushed down from behind. After the penalty was awarded, Befi calmly took the ball to the spot and finished to secure his hat trick and Belhaven's third goal in under five minutes.

"At the end of the day, every goal tonight was a team performance," Griffiths added. "Befi was the one putting them in the net, but we used many players tonight and that's what it took. Overall, it was a team performance from start to finish."

The Blazers will now travel, to Abilene, Texas for matches against McMurry on Friday and Hardin-Simmons on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for 4:00 p.m. starts.