NO. 9 NATIONALLY-RANKED LOUISBURG DOWNS MEN'S SOCCER IN REGION X PLAY

PETERSBURG, Va., (Sept. 30, 2015) – Louisburg College proved worthy of its No. 9 national ranking by registering a 6-1 victory over the Richard Bland College men's soccer team in Region X play under partly cloudy conditions on Wednesday afternoon at Statesmen Field.

The Hurricanes came into Wednesday's game averaging 4.5 goals per game and 15.3 shots per contest. Both of those statistics held true, as Louisburg broke free from a 1-1 tie at the 22 minute mark of the first half and scored the games next five goals to keep its unbeaten Region X record intact. Louisburg took a 3-1 lead into halftime, and given a stingy defense that has shut out four opponents this season, the margin proved a tough deficit for the Statesmen to overcome.

The loss drops Richard Bland to 7-4-1, 4-3-1 in Region X play. Conference-leading Louisburg improves to 8-1, 4-0. The Statesmen next host Charlotte, N.C.-based Johnson & Wales on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1:00 p.m. Louisburg next travels to Spartanburg Methodist for a 1:00 p.m. game on Saturday, Oct. 3.

After the Hurricanes tallied the first goal just 1:11 into the game from sophomore defender Zephaniah Ward, the Statesmen tied the contest at 1-1 a minute later. Sophomore center Larry Sawyer (Freedom, Sierra Leone/Freedom) fed sophomore forward Godfred Baisel (Cape Coast, Ghana/Patriot) with a through ball, marking only the fifth goal Louisburg has allowed this season.

On the strength of three goals from sophomore forward Max Blackmore, two coming in the second half, Louisburg built a comfortable lead throughout the second half. Blackmore, who came into the game with 12 goals, fourth best in NJCAA Division I, raised his season total to 15 by tallying goals at the 30 minute mark, 49 minute mark and 73^rd minute mark.

"They're a good team," said Richard Bland head coach Eduardo de Souza. "They don't make mistakes, and today they capitalized off our mistakes, which allowed them to take a 3-1 lead into halftime. They (Louisburg) play together and against a team of that caliber it takes two good halves of soccer to beat them. Today we were unable to play a complete game, but our effort was there. The guys played hard."

Freshman goalie Ciro Labrada (Guanajuto, Mexico/Stonewall Jackson), who came into the game with the third most saves in NJCAA Division I, made five against Louisburg. His counterpart Braulio Linares-Ortiz had five saves as well.

"We have to get back to training and learn from this game," said de Souza. "We are playing a first-year school in Johnson & Wales on Sunday, so it's hard to know what to expect, but regardless we need to bring our best game against them."