No. 19 Richard Bland Welcomes Louisburg (N.C.) Tuesday At 4 p.m.
SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- No. 19 Richard Bland College welcomes Louisburg (N.C.) College for a much-anticipated Region X men's soccer match on Tuesday afternoon, September 26, at 4 p.m. at the Statesman Soccer Field. The nationally-ranked and unbeaten Statesmen have a perfect record of 10-0 overall, including 8-0 in Region X, while the visiting and archrival Hurricanes have a record of 4-3 overall, 4-1 in Region X.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Richard Bland vs. Louisburg
Date: Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Time: 4 p.m.
Live Stats: rbcathletics.com
Location: Statesman Soccer Field
Series History: 1-10
Scouting the Statesmen
Richard Bland remained undefeated with three more victories last week, including a 5-2 home win past the College of Southern Maryland on Sept. 19 before a pair of Region X road wins over the weekend at USC Salkehatchie (1-0, Sept. 22) and USC Lancaster (6-0, Sept. 23). The Statesmen, ranked among the Top 20 in last week's NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer Poll, are coached by fourth-year head coach Eduardo de Souza, and assisted by second-year assistant coach Nick Surkamp. Richard Bland has attained three consecutive 10-win seasons under the guidance of de Souza (37-28-5).
Richard Bland has been led in scoring by freshman Davi Girardi/São Paulo, Brazil with 11 goals, including five game-winners, and three assists totaling 25 points. Sophomore Dusan Stankovic/Belgrade, Serbia (seven goals, two assists) and freshman Uziel Hernandez/The Villages, Florida (six goals, four assists) each total 16 points, while sophomore Hussein Osman/Charlottesville adds five goals and three assists for 13 points. Sophomore keeper Tomás Fonseca/Torres Vedras, Portugal has started nine matches and played 735 minutes in front of the net with five shutouts, a miniscule 0.24 goals against average (only two goals allowed) and 17 saves for a save percentage of .895 percent.
Among the National Leaders
Richard Bland ranks second in NJCAA Division I goals against average (0.40, four goals allowed), eighth in goals (39), 10th in points (111) and 11th in assists (33). Tomás Fonseca ranks in a tie for first nationally in shutouts (5), is fourth in goals against average (0.24), tied for seventh in save percentage (.895) and tied for eighth in goals allowed (2). Davi Girardi is tied for second nationally in game-winning goals (5), 14th in goals (11) and is tied for 19th in points (25). Sophomore Jamie McAvoy/Ayr, Scotland is tied for 27th nationally in assists (6). Dusan Stankovic is tied for 49th nationally in goals (7).
Series History
Louisburg leads the all-time series between the two schools in the sport of men's soccer, 10-1. The Hurricanes have outscored Richard Bland by a margin of 62-8 in the 11 previous matches. The Statesmen, however, earned their first-ever victory against Louisburg with a 2-1 Region X Tournament Semifinal victory last October 29, 2016 … upsetting the nationally-ranked No. 9 Hurricanes at the WRAL Soccer Park in Raleigh, North Carolina en route to Richard Bland's Region X Tournament title.
2016 NJCAA Region X Tournament Champions
Richard Bland completed 2016 with the finest season in the four-year history of the program, posting a final overall record of 12-7-2, including its first-ever Region X Tournament Championship and advancing to the NJCAA Division I Southeast District Tournament semifinals in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Up Next
Richard Bland will play on the road at Region X opponent Spartanburg Methodist College on Saturday, Sept. 30, at 4 p.m. in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Statesmen will remain on the road to play their return match at Louisburg on Wednesday, October 4, at 4 p.m. in Louisburg, North Carolina.