JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven Men's Soccer team grabbed an important 1-0 win over conference foe Covenant on Saturday night as the Blazers relied on a second half goal and a late penalty save to stay unbeaten in CCS play. 

The first half was fairly quiet between the Blazers and the Scots as both teams tried to rely on swift attacking moves with very little resulting in strong goal-scoring opportunities. The Scots had the better of the possession in the opening 45 minutes but outside of a few half chances, didn't ask too much of the Belhaven defense.

As the first half came to a close with both team's still scoreless, the intensity was dialed up for a second half between two conference opponents looking to strengthen their status in the CCS standings. 

The opening minutes of the second followed a similar script to the first as both teams sought a breakthrough that did not look likely to come. Belhaven would find that breakthrough in the 66th minute though as they capitalized on a couple of corners in quick succession. 

Belhaven's pivotal moment came when they sent an in-swinging corner to the back post that was headed back across goal by Igor Rudolph. Rudolph's header found Lex Rogers who smashed home the opening, an eventually, decisive goal for the Blazers.

Up a goal, Covenant ramped up the pressure and the continued attacking threat resulted in a penalty being awarded for the Scots following a Belhaven handball in their 18-yard box. The spot kick in the 82nd minute created the opportunity for Covenant to level the score but Max Rudolph pulled off late heroics, saving the penalty before saving a point-blank header moments later. 

Rudolph totaled eight saves in the match which takes him to 265 saves in his career and moves him to second all-time in Belhaven Men's Soccer history behind Alfredo Estrada (307) who played for the Blazers from 1992-95. 

Belhaven's victory moves them to 5-2-4 on the season and 2-0-1 in conference play with three CCS match left on the calendar. 

The Blazers return to action on Wednesday, October 11th when they take on Huntingdon at the Belhaven Bowl Stadium. Kickoff against the Hawks is set for 7:00 PM.

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