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UM Athletics at a Glance:

Home of 8 National Titles: ‘93, ’94, ‘97, ’97, ‘97, ’98, ‘02, ’06.
107 All-Time NAIA Scholar Athletes. 61 Conference Championships.
310 All-Time NAIA All Americans.

Athletics News

Rams Fall To Blazers In 2012 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship

MONTGOMERY, Ala-- No. 11 seed University of Mobile fell 0-2 to 12th-seeded Belhaven University in the 2012 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship, presented by Carrabba's Italian Grill.

Mobile (17-5-2) was making its fourth trip to the finals all-time and first since winning it all in 2002. Belhaven (19-4-1) won its second NAIA National Championship and first since 1992.

The Rams finished the game with a 21-12 edge in shots taken, but could only put five of the 21 on frame, while the Blazers managed to put seven of 12 on target.

The two that counted came in the opening 45. The Blazers' Victor Lawrence started the scoring in the 14th minute, with the assist going to Guilherme Sousa, and then they finished the scoring 22 minutes later when Tom Cosgrave headed home a cross from Eduardo Cruz from just outside the 6-yard box.

Mobile's Xavier Audergon finished with five saves in goal, while Belhaven's Carl Blundell finished with a four-save shutout.

The Rams upped the tempo in the final period, taking 13 shots, but Blundell was able to handle the three that were on frame, with the last one coming in the 75th minute.

Mobile qualified for the tournament by winning the SSAC Regular Season Championship, and qualified for the NAIA Championships for the 16th time in school history. The Rams are now 25-15-2 all-time in the NAIA National Tournament.

For the Rams, Stephen Okai, Gaetan Massiah, and Pierre Mangold were named to the All-Tournament Team. Complete team is below.

2012 NAIA Men's Soccer All-Tournament Team
Goalkeepers
Carl Blundell, Belhaven (Miss.)
Chris Ericksson, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
Forwards
Lebogang Moloto, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
William Prado, Concordia (Calif.)
Gaetan Massiah, Mobile (Ala.)
Victor Lawrence, Belhaven (Miss.)
Midfielders
Stephen Okai, Mobile (Ala.)
Tom Gavin, Belhaven (Miss.)
Eduardo Cruz, Belhaven (Miss.)
Jeremie Koffi, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
Defenders
Sicelo Buthelezi, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Tom Cosgrave, Belhaven (Miss.)
Aurelien Norest, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
Pierre Mangold, Mobile (Ala.)
Most Valuable Player of the Tournament
Victor Lawrence, Belhaven (Miss.)
Offensive Player of the Tournament
Lebogang Moloto, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Defensive Player of the Tournament
Tom Cosgrave, Belhaven (Miss.)
Champions of Character Brine-NAIA Scholarship Recipient
Paul Floersch, Benedictine (Kan.)
Nels Dahlquist Memorial Team Sportsmanship Award
Auburn Montgomery (Ala.)
Posted in: Men's Soccer