JACKSON - The Belhaven Men's Soccer team is less than 24 hours away from kicking off their 2024 campaign and following last season's deep CCS Tournament run, the Blazers are looking to build, with conference contention on their minds.

The Blazers enter 2024 off the back of a closely contested 2023 campaign that saw them finish the year with a 9-4-5 record overall, and a 3-1-2 record in conference play. That 3-1-2 record earned the Blazers the two-seed in the Collegiate Conference of the South tournament and gives evidence to the CCS being one of the toughest conference's to win in the country.

Belhaven took that second seed in 2023 and made it to the CCS Tournament Final where they fell 2-0 to top seed and eventual champions, Covenant. But while the season ended in defeat, the process of reaching the final, showed that the Blazers are ready and capable of contending. 

"Our goal this season is certainly to win a conference championship", said Head Coach James 'Gleddy' Gledhill. "Despite an up-and-down season last year, we still were in the fight to the very end, and we plan on being there again this year."

Belhaven's peers in the CCS seem to agree that Belhaven is among the favorites for the league, with the Blazers picked second in the coach's preseason poll and receiving one first place vote.

To reach the goal of a conference championship, the Blazers will have to find the right balance of returning talent and newcomers, while replacing significant departures. Among those who have finished their Belhaven careers are rock solid center back pairing Lex Rogers and Jake Estes as well as goalkeeper Max Rudolph, the program's second all-time saves leader.

"It's not a secret that we are having to replace some really important players from a season ago", said Coach Gleddy. "But I think with the group we have back and the group we have coming in, we can continue to get better on the pitch."

Despite some departures, the Blazers return an strong core from a season ago, who are primed to take over leading the team. Leading goalscorer from 2023, Courtland Williams is back for his sophomore campaign after bagging seven goals as a freshman and earning an All-Conference nod. 

Williams is joined in attack by fellow All-Conference selection Wesley Bloodworth who tallied six goal contributions in his first year as a member of the Blazers' starting lineup. Igor Rudolph is also sure to be an impact in his senior campaign as he takes over the coveted No. 10 shirt and will play an important role in midfield with returning midfielder Koby Rhone set to join Rudolph in bolstering the middle of the park.

Young players like Matthew Farias, Ricardo Flores and Adrian Sanchez are also hoping to take another step in their development as they take on bigger roles for the team in their second season at Belhaven.

New arrivals for the Blazers are also expected to make important impacts with over a dozen new faces in the squad with a mixture of freshman and transfers from either junior colleges or four-year programs.

"We've brought in a great group to help us compete this season and beyond", continued Gledhill. "Our intention is to build a squad that can compete in both the short and long-term, and we think we've done that." 

The Blazers know that getting to where they want to be will begin with tough tests to start the season. Belhaven is set to face No. 20 Emory on Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia to open up the campaign with kickoff set for 12:30 PM Central. The next day, they'll face a solid Oglethorpe program before returning to Jackson for a three-game home stretch against Tougaloo, LeTourneau and East Texas Baptist.

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