No. 18 Richard Bland Falls To No. 6 Eastern Florida State 2-1

LOUISBURG, N.C. -- Freshman Uziel Hernandez/The Villages, Florida scored a second-half goal, but nationally-ranked No. 18 Richard Bland College dropped a season-ending 2-1 decision to nationally-ranked No. 6 Eastern Florida State College in an NJCAA Division I Southeast District Men's Soccer Tournament Semifinal on Friday in Louisburg, North Carolina.  Freshman Umar Mujahid/Meherrin had an assist for the tournament's No. 3 seed Statesmen (17-3) against the No. 2 seed Titans (12-2).  Richard Bland has completed its outstanding 2017 campaign with program records for season wins (17), goals (68), assists (62), points (198), fewest goals allowed (18) and shutouts (11).

"We played like warriors today and we deserved better luck on some plays," said fourth-year head coach Eduardo de Souza.  "There are judgement calls in this game that are out of our control.  I want to thank all of our players and staff for a remarkable season.  We will work hard next spring to prepare for fall 2018 with our returning players and new players who will replace our sophomores that built this program, leaving high standards for the newcomers."

Richard Bland trailed 1-0 at the intermission after an early goal scored by Danilo Orsi-Dadomo of Eastern Florida State.  The Statesmen scored quickly in the second half to tie the match at 1-1, getting the goal from Hernandez, assisted by Mujahid.  The Titans, however, received the go-ahead and game-winning goal from Orsi-Dadomo just minutes later and made it stand for the victory.

Hernandez finished with 12 goals this season, second on the team, while it was the fifth assist of the season for Mujahid, tied for sixth on the team.

Sophomore goalkeeper Tomás Fonseca/Torres Vedras, Portugal started in front of the net for the Statesmen and played the entire contest.

Richard Bland and Eastern Florida State were meeting for the second time in the sport of men's soccer, and the Titans lead the young series, 2-0.  Ironically, the two matches have been played as Southeast District semifinal contests both this season and last season.

Richard Bland enjoyed its finest season in the five-year history of the program, while ranked among the Top 20 in the NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer Poll during each of the last eight-straight weeks.  The Statesmen, coached by de Souza and second-year assistant coach Nick Surkamp, have now attained three consecutive 10-win seasons under the guidance of de Souza (44-31-5).

Richard Bland will lose eight sophomores, including defender Finn Busse of Kiel, Germany, keeper Tomás Fonseca of Torres Vedras, Portugal, midfielder Jamie McAvoy of Ayr, Scotland, midfielder Hussein Osman of Charlottesville, defender Andrew Skaer of South Riding, midfielder Dusan Stankovic of Belgrade, Serbia, midfielder Danny Torres of Bucaramanga, Colombia and midfielder Agustin Vassallo of Neuquen, Argentina.  The Statesmen could return as many as 16 freshmen from this year's squad.