BAISEL NETS THREE, MEN'S SOCCER DOWNS BLUEFIELD COLLEGE, 5-1

BLUEFIELD, Va. (Aug. 26, 2015) – Sophomore forward Godfred Baisel scored three goals on Wednesday evening to lead the Richard Bland College men's soccer team to a 5-1 victory over NAIA Bluefield College in non-conference action.

Baisel, from Cape Coast, Ghana, netted two of his three goals in the first half to help the Statesmen build a 3-0 lead at intermission. He now has 25 goals in his Richard Brand career.

The victory improves Richard Bland to 3-0. The Statesmen return to Region X Conference action on Saturday with a road contest against Patrick Henry Community College at 2:00 p.m. Bluefield next travels to Liberty University on Friday, Aug. 28 for a 7:00 p.m. game.

Freshman winger Lorenzo Romero (Manassas, VA/Stonewall Jackson) opened the scoring for Richard Bland, and then Baisel, who scored his first goal of the season against Union County College on Sunday, took over the game offensively, scoring three of the Statesmen's next four goals. Sandwiched in between Baisel's scoring prowess was a tally off a penalty kick from Leonard Oballa, a freshman forward from Nairobi, Kenya. It was Oballa's first goal of the season.

"Godfred had a great game, but the entire team played well collectively, and not just because of the score," said Richard Brand head coach Eduardo de Souza. "One of our freshmen, defender Calvin Sanford (McLean, VA/McLean), got his first start and I thought he played a great game; he was one of the best players on the field tonight. I was also pleased with the performance of sophomore center Larry Sawyer.

"It was a nice win because Bluefield is an NAIA four-year school, but we have our feet on the ground," de Souza said. "We have a tough game against Patrick Henry on Saturday. They're one of the best teams in the conference, so we're going to have to defend very well."