RALEIGH BOUND: SOCCER HEADS TO WAKE TECH FOR FRIDAY GAME

PETERSBURG, Va., (Oct. 15, 2015) – The last time the Richard Bland College men's soccer team faced Wake Technical Community College, the Statesmen had to weather two game delays due to severe thunderstorm threats in Petersburg and a pesky Eagles team that forced Richard Bland to win 4-3 in overtime.

Wednesday's road contest figures to be equally as challenging. The Statesmen have three more Region X games remaining. Here's how the teams rank as the season enters the critical final stretch.

REGION X STANDINGS: 1. Louisburg 6-0, 10-1); 2. Spartanburg Methodist (7-2-1, 9-2-1); 3. Patrick Henry  (7-2-1, 8-4-2); Richard Bland (6-3-2, 9-4-2); Cape Fear (2-5-1, 5-5-1); Wake Technical (2-9-1, 2-8-1); USC Salkenhatchie (2-5-1, 3-8-2); USC Lancaster (0-8, 1-13-1).

WHO: Richard Bland vs. Wake Technical
WHERE: Raleigh, NC
WHEN: October 16 at 8:30 p.m. (time change)
WAKE TECH WEB SITE: Home of the Eagles

RECORDS: Richard Bland is 9-4-2, 6-3-2 Region X … Wake Tech is 2-9-1, 2-8-1.

LAST GAME VS. WAKE TECH: The Statesmen won 4-3 in overtime, battling difficult weather conditions and a spirited Wake Tech team on Sept. 2. Recap and stats at this link.

WHAT'S NEXT: As part of week-long Homecoming on campus, the Statesmen will celebrate its sophomore class on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 4:00 p.m. on Statesmen Field. The team will wear pink socks in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness … Wake Tech will host Spartanburg Methodist on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 10:30 a.m.

LAST RBC OUTING VS. USC LANCASTER: On Sunday, the Statesmen pestered USC Lancaster with 17 shots in registering a 3-1 road victory and sweeping the series against the Lancers. Full recap and stats at this link.

COACH EDUARDO DE SOUZA ON THE WAKE TECH GAME: "Wake Tech is a solid team – we beat them 4-3 in overtime last game. We're going to have to adjust to playing on a turf field. It's a key game for position in the conference, so I am looking for the team to have a strong game."

DEFENDING THE GOAL: Freshman keeper Ciro Labrada (Guanajuto, Mexico/Stonewall Jackson) has made 91 saves this season, seventh best in the nation in NJCAA Division I. On eight occasions this season he has had six or more saves in a game.

GOAL SCORING: Nine different Statesmen players have scored this season, led by leading scorers freshman forward Sukrija Dudic (Srebrenica, Bosnia Hercegovina/Hermitage) and Godfred Baisel (Cape Coast, Ghana/Patriot) with 13 and nine goals respectively … That duo accounts for 22 of the 37 goals RBC has scored this year … In recent national NJCAA Division I rankings, Dudic is in a seven play tie for 19th in the nation in scoring ... Baisel is the program's all-time leading scorer with 28 career goals.

OPPORTUNE SCORING: As a team, Richard Bland has scored 37 goals this season, which puts the Statesmen in a two-way tie for 25th in the nation ... The Statesmen average 2.5 goals per game and allow 2.39.

ABOUT WAKE TECH: With 96 saves on the season, Joseph Davis has the fifth most saves in NJCAA Division I.