Five ICC standouts continue their careers at Belhaven

Five ICC standouts continue their careers at Belhaven
Lee Adams/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS –The Itawamba Community College men's soccer program has announced that five sophomores will be continue their careers at Belhaven University.

Piercen Burchfield of Pontotoc, Ricky Hackler of Columbus and Tupelo natives Jerry Malli, Alx Little and Ben Schaefer will join the Blazer program, who is coming off a successful 11-6 season.

"It's awesome to have five guys going to one place," said ICC Head Men's Coach Mike Sullivan. "That speaks volumes for our program and for Belhaven. We are sending them a bunch of good guys who work hard in classroom and on the field."

Burchfield started all 16 games last season as a defender and picked up one goal and two points, while his fellow backliner, Malli had one goal, one assist and three points in 15 games.

Hackler and Little were big presence in the Indians midfield last season with Hackler picking up two goals, five assist and nine points and Little adding one goal, four assist and six points.

Schaefer shined in net picking up 12 wins while making 49 saves and allowing only 10 goals in 1,247 minutes. He also earned Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Player of the Week honors during his sophomore campaign.

"These guys did a lot of great things for us over the last two years," said Sullivan. "They fight and work hard and I look for big things out of them."

Belhaven competes in NCAA Division III's American Southwest Conference.

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