No. 5 Richard Bland Advances To Region X Tournament Championship With Upset Of No. 1 Louisburg 2-1

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sophomore Sukrija Dudic/Richmond scored the game-winning goal in the 86th minute to lead No. 5 seed Richard Bland College to a 2-1 Region X Men's Soccer Tournament Semifinal upset victory past No. 1 seed and nationally-ranked No. 9 Louisburg (N.C.) College on Saturday evening at the WRAL Soccer Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. Sophomore Bryce Deitrich/Farmville provided the assist on the game-winner, and also scored a first-half goal for the Statesmen (12-6-1) in their first-ever win against the Hurricanes (15-4), who are the defending national champions. Richard Bland advances to the Region X Tournament Championship against No. 2 Spartanburg Methodist (S.C.) on Sunday afternoon, October 30, at 2:30 p.m. at the WRAL Soccer Park in Raleigh.

"This is the biggest win ever for the program," said third-year head coach Eduardo de Souza. "I can't be more proud of the work, the tactical discipline and the desire of our Richard Bland student-athletes. We beat the defending national champions, a very strong team. Now, we will remain humble and focus on tomorrow's championship game."

Louisburg took an early 1-0 advantage before Richard Bland tied the match at 1-1 with a goal in the 40th minute by Deitrich. Freshman Hussein Osman/Charlottesville provided the assist on the goal as he laid through a nice pass in the box to Deitrich, who made a one-time finish to the left post for the tally.

It remained a 1-1 contest for 40-plus more minutes, as it looked like another overtime match could be looming for the Statesmen. Dudic, however, made sure that would not happen with his late go-ahead and game-winning score. Deitrich had the assist on the winning play, placing a nice through-ball ahead to Dudic in the box, who shot low from the middle of the box to the left post once-again.

Freshman goalkeeper Justin Ennis/Gainesville started in front of the net for Richard Bland and played the entire 90 minutes, making six saves while allowing the one goal.

Richard Bland took an 18-14 edge in shots against Louisburg, including 9-7 in attempts on goal. The Hurricanes had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Richard Bland improved upon its new school record for season wins (12) with the thrilling triumph, also its first-ever victory against Louisburg in 11 matches (1-10) over the past four years.  The Statesmen have won three-straight matches, and are now 8-2-1 in their last 11 contests.

Richard Bland dropped a pair of one-goal matches to Spartanburg Methodist during the regular season, falling 2-1 on August 28 at home before a 3-2 road setback on September 10 in South Carolina.