No. 18 Richard Bland Plays No. 6 Eastern Florida State In NJCAA Division I Southeast District Semifinal On Friday In North Carolina
SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- Richard Bland College has earned the No. 3 seed for the 2017 NJCAA Southeast District Men's Soccer Championship this weekend, November 3-4, hosted by Louisburg College in Louisburg, North Carolina. The Region X (10) Tournament Runners-Up and nationally-ranked No. 18 Statesmen (17-2) are making their second consecutive appearance in the Southeast District event and will play No. 2 seed, Region 8 Champion and nationally-ranked No. 6 Eastern Florida State College (11-2) in the second semifinal on Friday, Nov. 3, at 3 p.m. at Ronald R. May Field in Louisburg, North Carolina.
Ironically, Richard Bland and Eastern Florida State met in last year's Southeast District semifinals in Daytona Beach, Florida, a match won by the Titans, 2-0. The other semifinal this weekend matches No. 1 seed and Region 10 Champion Louisburg (14-5) against No. 4 seed and Region 17 Champion Georgia Military College (14-2) on Friday, Nov. 3, at 1 p.m. Louisburg is ranked No. 17 nationally this week, while Georgia Military is ranked No. 11. The Southeast District title match is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 4, at 12 p.m. in Louisburg.
"We are very motivated going into this year's Southeast District tournament," explained fourth-year head coach Eduardo de Souza. "We were humbled this year in the Region 10 tournament, but our entire group feels that this will only serve to benefit us as we move on to play a good Eastern Florida State side. We are very focused to compete this weekend and our mentality is to play to win, no matter what."
NJCAA SOUTHEAST DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
First Semifinal
No. 1 Louisburg vs. No. 4 Georgia Military
Date: Friday, Nov. 3, 2017
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Louisburg, North Carolina
Second Semifinal
No. 2 Eastern Florida State vs. No. 3 Richard Bland
Date: Friday, Nov. 3, 2017
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Louisburg, North Carolina
Championship
First Semifinal Winner vs. Second Semifinal Winner
Date: Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Louisburg, North Carolina
Scouting Richard Bland
Nationally-ranked No. 18 Richard Bland posted its school-record 17th win during a 2-0 victory past Cape Fear (N.C.) Community College in a Region 10 Tournament Semifinal on October 28, prior to the disappointing 5-2 setback to Louisburg in the region title contest on Oct. 29. The Statesmen, enjoying their finest season in the five-year history of the program, have been ranked among the Top 20 in the NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer Poll during the last eight-straight weeks. Richard Bland, the regular-season Region 10 Champion (13-1), is coached by fourth-year head coach Eduardo de Souza, and assisted by second-year assistant coach Nick Surkamp. The Statesmen have attained three consecutive 10-win seasons under the guidance of de Souza (44-30-5).
Richard Bland is led in scoring by freshman Davi Girardi/São Paulo, Brazil with 14 goals, including six game-winners, and six assists totaling 34 points. Freshman Uziel Hernandez/The Villages, Florida adds 11 goals (five game-winners) and nine assists for 31 points, followed by sophomores Dusan Stankovic/Belgrade, Serbia with 11 goals (three game-winners) and two assists for 24 points and Hussein Osman/Charlottesville with eight goals and eight assists for 24 points, as well. Sophomore keeper Tomás Fonseca/Torres Vedras, Portugal has started 18 matches and played 1541 minutes in front of the net with nine shutouts, an impressive 0.82 goals against average (14 goals allowed) and 46 saves for a save percentage of .767 percent.
Among the National Leaders
Richard Bland ranks ninth in NJCAA Division I goals against average (0.83, 16 goals allowed), tied for 11th in assists (61), tied for 13th in points (195) and tied for 16th in goals (67). Tomás Fonseca is tied for first nationally in shutouts (9), 13th in goals against average (0.82), 14th in minutes (1541) and tied for 38th in goals allowed (14). Davi Girardi is tied for eighth nationally in game-winning goals (6) and tied for 45th in goals (14). Uziel Hernandez is tied for 16th nationally in game-winning goals (5).
Scouting Eastern Florida State
Eastern Florida State, located in Melbourne, Florida, is 11-2 overall, finishing 5-1 in Region 8. The Titans are coached by head coach Oliver Twelvetrees, who is in his fifth season, while assisted by Nick Robinson and Nicolas Nazon. EFSC is led in scoring by Danilo Orsi-Dadomo with 17 goals and eight assists for 42 points, followed by Chaim Roserie with six goals and 14 assists for 26 points, along with Alex Alexis (6g, 7a, 19p) and Jimmy Mwanga (8g, 1a, 17p). Keeper Bryce Notardonato has started eight matches, playing 721 minutes with one shutout, a 1.12 goals against average (nine goals allowed) and 36 saves for a save percentage of .800 percent.
Series History
Richard Bland and Eastern Florida State have played one time previously in the sport of men's soccer, and the Titans lead the young series, 1-0.
Up Next
The Southeast District Champion will advance to the 2017 NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championships November 13-18 at Mountain Valley Field on the campus of Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona, located approximately 100 miles northwest of Phoenix.