SOCCER HOSTS PATRICK HENRY IN REGION X CLASH ON THURSDAY
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | OT2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Patrick Henry Community College () | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
|
Richard Bland College () | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
PETERSBURG, Va., (Sept. 23 2015) – The Richard Bland College men's soccer team will play a second straight big Region X game on Thursday, Sept. 24, when the Statesmen host Patrick Henry Community College at 4 p.m. on Statesmen Field. At 4-1 in the conference, the Patriots hold a one game lead over RBC, which currently sits in fourth place at 5-2.
By virtue of a thrilling 3-2 win over Spartanburg Methodist on Saturday, the Statesmen made the conference standings considerably tighter. Louisburg leads Region X at 7-1, 3-0. Spartanburg Methodist and Patrick Henry both have a single loss in Region X play (Patrick Henry losing to Spartanburg 6-0 on Sept. 5) and those teams will play each other for a final time on Oct. 7. It's the jockeying for playoffs seedings that makes Thursday's game an important one for both teams.
WHO: Patrick Henry vs. Richard Bland
WHERE: Petersburg, VA
WHEN: September 24 at 4:00 p.m.
SITE: Statesmen Field
PATRICK HENRY WEB SITE: Home of the Patriots
RECORDS: Richard Bland is 7-2, 4-2 … Patrick Henry is 6-4-1, 4-1.
LAST GAME VS. PATRICK HENRY: On August 29, Patrick Henry defeated Richard Bland 3-0 … The Patriots held a slim 1-0 lead at intermission and tacked on two second half goals to secure the victory … Three different Patrick Henry players scored in the game … The match marked the only time this season the Statesmen have failed to score at least one goal.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Statesmen have a quick turnaround, traveling to Harcum College, located in Bryn Mawr, PA., for a 4:30 p.m. game on Sunday … Patrick Henry has an even quicker next game, traveling to the University of South Carolina Lancaster for a 4:00 p.m. game on Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT: Richard Bland earned what is arguably the biggest win in program history by defeating Spartanburg Methodist 3-2 for the first time in four meetings … Freshman Sukrija Dudic (Srebrenica, Bosnia Hercegovina/Hermitage) scored two goals, the first and third for Richard Bland … The first came off a penalty kick which can be viewed in the video player below … Sophomore forward Godfred Baisel (Cape Coast, Ghana/ Patriot) notched a goal in the contest … Spartanburg Methodist was able to make a concerted comeback, capitalizing on a Statesmen red card early in the second half that allowed Spartanburg to score two goals while playing with a man-up advantage.
FROM COACH EDUARDO DE SOUZA: "Our focus is to win every game. Our players know how important this game is, and we will fight for every ball, every run, every inch on the field. Our program has high expectations and standards, nothing less."
NO. 3 IN DEFENDING THE GOAL: Freshman keeper Ciro Labrada (Guanajuto, Mexico/Stonewall Jackson) has made 64 saves this season, third best in the nation in NJCAA Division I.
GOAL SCORING: Nine different Statesmen players have scored this season, led by leading scorers Dudic and Baisel with eight and seven goals respectively … In national NJCAA Division I rankings, Dudic is in an eight-player tie for 23rd in the nation in scoring ... Baisel is the program's all-time leading scorer with 28 career goals, and his seven tallies this season are tied for 31st in the nation.
OPPORTUNE SCORING: As a team, Richard Bland has scored 27 goals this season, which puts the Statesmen in a two-way tie for 26th in the nation … With 29 goals this season, Patrick Henry is in a two-way tie for 21st most goals.