Men's Soccer Fights Until the End

By Bryant Marks

LANCASTER, SC — The Richard Bland College's men's soccer Region X Tournament comes to an end on Sunday after fighting until the very last minute against Louisburg College in the Region X Championship match.  They would drop the match 2-3 against the eventual Region X Champions. 

The 2019 season record for the team comes to 16-3.  They will play again in Florida against Eastern Florida State College on November 8 as part of the next round of playoffs in the NJCAA Southeast District Tournament.

In today's match, the #1 and #3 teams in NJCAA Region X met to decide who would go home with the conference title.  The Statesmen faced off against #1 seeded and undefeated Louisburg Hurricanes for the second time this season. The action started early in the match as Louisburg scored five minutes into the starting whistle to make it a 1-0 game. RBC would answer back within the next minute with a goal from Midfielder Nehemie Lamtoukou with the assist from Micah Yutzy.  The time would continue to run in the first half without either team gaining an edge over the other and the score remained 1-1 at halftime. With the second half underway, Louisburg seized an early opportunity to take the lead over the Statesmen, 2-1. They would then add yet another goal soon after their second to make it a two-goal lead, 3-1. The Statesmen were not done just yet as Maximilian Schoebel scored his second goal of the season after taking it all the way himself with five minutes remaining on the clock. RBC would put everything they had into the next five minutes to try to tie up this match and force OT but were unable to do so. The final score ended at 2-3 with Louisburg taking home the Region X Title. 

This team showed its heart and fighting spirit all season long and never backed down from a challenge no matter the situation they faced. From suspensions to injuries, this team found a way to compete at the top level in every match and should be applauded for the hard work they have put into every practice, training session, and match that got them to this point on Sunday! We here at RBC are very proud of what these men have done this year as we will see what more they have in store for Florida next week!