Richard Bland Opens 2016 Campaign At Home Thursday At 4 p.m.

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. – Richard Bland College enters the 2016 men's soccer campaign with more experience and depth than ever before ... returning eight lettermen, including six with significant starting experience, while adding 17 talented newcomers to the program. Third-year head coach Eduardo de Souza and first-year assistant Nick Surkamp will guide the Statesmen this fall, beginning with three consecutive home matches during the first week of the season. RBC will open against visiting Wake Tech Community College on Thursday, August 25 at Statesman Field beginning at 4 p.m.

"RBC Soccer is a more balanced team this season, having depth on our roster," explained de Souza. "We are clearly more solid all across the field than last year.

"We had two very good pre-season matches, one against NCAA Division I George Mason (L 4-0), and one against Division III Averett (W 2-1), where we could identify and become more familiar with our current starting lineup and also figure out who can come off the bench and keep the same level for us."

The Statesmen will open with a lineup that includes sophomore Sebastian Hendi/Alexandria and/or freshman Reuben Bosompem/Alexandria up top at the forward or striker position. Hendi started one of 20 matches a year ago, scoring one goal with one assist for one point. Hendi and Bosompem are former teammates while at T.C. Williams High School.

"We have very strong strikers, combining speed and precision, that will give good options to the team to get on the scoreboard," said de Souza.

Depth up top will come from freshman Eduardo Pessoa/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Richard Bland will open with a midfield lineup that features sophomore and leading returning scorer Sukrija Dudic/Richmond along with freshmen Dusan Stankovic/Belgrade, Serbia, Miguel Ramos/Casal de Cambra, Portugal, Finn Busse/Kiel, Germany and Hussein Osman/Charlottesville. Dudic started 17 of 20 matches last season, scoring a team-best 14 goals with one assist for a team-best 29 points.

"Our midfielders are hard workers with talent to control the game and serve our forward line," added de Souza.

Midfield depth will be provided by sophomore Jeffrey Pineda/Los Angeles, California, as well as freshmen Jordan Camacho/Brooklyn, New York, Peter Diawuo/Alexandria, Tulio Graciano/Cacapava, Brazil, Javier Rodriguez/Woodbridge and Danny Torres/Bucaramga, Colombia. Pineda started eight of 19 matches with two goals and one assist for five points a year ago.

Defensively, RBC has enjoyed a battle at the goalkeeping position between freshmen Tomas Fonseca/Torres Vedras, Portugal and Justin Ennis/Gainesville, and while Fonseca gets the nod in the opener, that spot is expected to be fluid this fall. The back line will consist of sophomores Calvin Sanford/McLean, Rodrigo Carvalho/Lisbon, Portugal, Bryce Deitrich/Farmville and Denzel Speed/Williamsburg. Sanford started 17 of 19 matches in 2015 with one assist. Carvalho started 18 of 19 matches with one goal and one assist for three points. Deitrich started 10 of 20 matches with three goals and one assist for seven points. Speed started 19 of 19 matches with one assist for one point.

"Defensively, we are solid with two great goalkeepers and a strong back line," said de Souza.

Depth at the goalkeeping position will come from freshman Calvin Coleman/Highland Springs, while additional defensive depth comes from sophomore Sahir Jovel/Intipica, El Salvador along with freshmen Andrew Skaer/South Riding and Agustin Vassallo/Neuquen, Argentina. Jovel started one of 18 matches last season.

de Souza and his squad are looking forward to playing the first three matches at home, while seven of the first 11 contests overall through the month of September will take place at Statesman Field.

"We have the home advantage with our fans' support," explained de Souza. "There is nothing better than to start a season on our home field. Our players know our game plan very well and we must take advantage of it. We respect every opponent, but we also know what we are capable of doing this season.

"Region X is one of the best regions in the country. The defending National Champion (Louisburg College) is our direct opponent, we respect them and all others, but we play to win every match."