No. 5 Richard Bland Plays No. 1 Louisburg In Semifinal On Saturday
SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- Richard Bland College will play nationally-ranked Louisburg (N.C.) College in a Region X Men's Soccer Tournament Semifinal match on Saturday evening, October 29, at 5 p.m. at the WRAL Soccer Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Statesmen (11-6-1) will play as the No. 5 seed in the Region X Tournament against the No. 1 seed Hurricanes (15-3), ranked No. 9 in this week's NJCAA Division I Poll. The winner will advance to the Region X Tournament Championship contest on Sunday, Oct. 30, at 2:30 p.m. at the WRAL Soccer Park in Raleigh.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
No. 5 Richard Bland vs. No. 1 Louisburg
Date: Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: WRAL Soccer Park, Raleigh, North Carolina
Series History: Hurricanes lead 10-0
Scouting the Statesmen
Richard Bland is 11-6-1 overall, establishing a new school-record for wins (11), and attaining its second consecutive 10-win season in the four-year history of the program. The Statesmen, who are 7-2-1 in their last 10 matches, are coached by head coach Eduardo de Souza, who is in his third season, and assisted by first-year assistant coach Nick Surkamp. Richard Bland has been led in scoring through 18 matches by freshman Eduardo Pessoa/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with 11 goals and one assist for 23 points. Pessoa is followed by freshman Dusan Stankovic/Belgrade, Serbia with six goals and four assists for 16 points, sophomore Sukrija Dudic/Richmond (4g, 3a) and freshman Peter Diawuo/Alexandria (2g, 7a) with 11 points each, along with sophomore Sebastian Hendi/Alexandria (5g) and freshman Miguel Ramos/Casal de Cambra, Portugal (2g, 6a) with 10 points each. Freshman goalkeeper Justin Ennis/Gainesville has started eight of 10 matches, playing 881:54 with three shutouts, a 1.33 goals against average and 26 saves for a save percentage of .667 percent.
Scouting the Hurricanes
Louisburg is 15-3 overall and has won nine of its last 10 matches. The Hurricanes are coached by head coach Martin Dell, who is in his third season, while assisted by Ted Awana. The defending national champions are led in scoring by sophomore Jorge Quintanilla with 10 goals and nine assists for 29 points, followed by classmate Andrea Viano with 13 goals and two assists for 28 points, as well as sophomore Mark Taylor (8g, 9a) and freshman Jakob Asfaha (10g, 5a) with 25 points each. Freshman keeper Gio Solis has started 11 of 13 matches, playing 1031:00 with three shutouts, a 1.13 goals against average and 39 saves for a save percentage of .750 percent.
Series History
Louisburg leads the all-time series between the two schools in the sport of men's soccer, 10-0. The Hurricanes have outscored Richard Bland by a margin of 61-6 in the 10 previous matches. The Statesmen, however, fell just 1-0 against Louisburg at home earlier this season on September 6 at Statesman Field. The Hurricanes managed a goal in the 44th minute of that closely-contested match on a corner kick opportunity just before the intermission.
Last Time Out
Freshman Hussein Osman/Charlottesville scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lead No. 5 Richard Bland to a thrilling 1-0 Region X Men's Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal victory at No. 4 USC Salkehatchie on Oct. 26 in Allendale, South Carolina. Dudic provided the assist on the golden goal for the visiting Statesmen, while freshman keeper Tomas Fonseca/Torres Vedras, Portugal started in front of the net and played the entire 90 minutes, making one save while posting his second shutout this season.
Up Next
A Region X Tournament Semifinal win would advance Richard Bland to the Region X Tournament Championship contest on Sunday, Oct. 30, at 2:30 p.m. at the WRAL Soccer Park in Raleigh. The other semifinal match features No. 2 Spartanburg Methodist (S.C.) versus No. 3 Patrick Henry on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m.