Richard Bland Takes 2-1 Road Win At USC Lancaster

LANCASTER, S.C. -- Freshmen Dusan Stankovic/Belgrade, Serbia and Peter Diawuo/Alexandria each scored first-half goals to lead Richard Bland College to a 2-1 Region X Conference road victory at USC Lancaster on Thursday afternoon in Lancaster, South Carolina.  Diawuo and sophomore Tulio Graciano/Cacapava, Brazil each contributed assists for the visiting Statesmen (9-4-1, 6-4-1 Region X) against the host Lancers (2-14, 0-8 Region X).  Richard Bland will play on the road at Region X opponent USC Salkehatchie on Sunday, October 16, at 2 p.m. in Allendale, South Carolina.

"We did enough to win, but we need to be more efficient during our performances," said third-year head coach Eduardo de Souza. "Our captain (Dusan) scored a crucial goal to get us on the scoreboard.  Tulio changed the game with his energy and winning 1v1 battles, so I am happy about that.  Winning on the road is always difficult and every match is very competitive."

Richard Bland took a 1-0 advantage when Stankovic scored on a header from a corner-kick opportunity taken by Diawuo at 37:06.  It was the fifth goal of the season for Stankovic.

The Statesmen led 2-0 at the intermission after a goal by Diawuo at 43:00, assisted by Graciano, who dribbled past a defender and made the pass in the box.  It was Diawuo's second goal this fall, and he now has a team-leading six helpers on the season.  It was the first assist for Graciano.

USC Lancaster avoided the shutout when Anthony Aguirre converted a penalty-kick opportunity in the second half after a hand ball whistled in the box against the visitors.

Freshman Tomas Fonseca/Torres Vedras, Portugal started in front of the net for Richard Bland and played the first 85 minutes and made one save, while allowing the one PK goal.  Classmate Justin Ennis/Gainesville played the final five minutes in goal for the Statesmen.

Richard Bland took an 18-2 advantage in shots at USC Lancaster, including 8-2 in attempts on goal. The Statesmen had a 7-1 edge in corner kicks.

Richard Bland has won four-straight contests and is now 6-1-1 in its last eight matches.