No. 19 Richard Bland Wins On The Road At USC Salkehatchie 1-0

ALLENDALE, S.C. -- Freshman Ervin Ikanovic/Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina scored the only goal of the match to lead No. 19 Richard Bland College to a 1-0 Region X men's soccer victory at USC Salkehatchie on Friday afternoon in Allendale, South Carolina.  Freshman Uziel Hernandez/The Villages, Florida had the assist for the visiting and still unbeaten Statesmen (9-0, 7-0 Region X) against the host Indians (2-4, 2-3 Region X).  Richard Bland will remain in the Palmetto State to play another Region X match at USC Lancaster on Saturday, September 23, at 4 p.m. in Lancaster, South Carolina. 

"This was a good win against a strong team," said fourth-year head coach Eduardo de Souza.  "We created six clear chances in the first half, but their keeper kept them in the match.  We now need to recover quickly for tomorrow's contest against USC Lancaster, as I expect another tough game."

It was a scoreless first half and remained that way well into the second half before Ikanovic found the back of the net in the 64^th minute, aided by Hernandez.  It was the third goal of the season for Ikanovic, as well as the third assist this fall for Hernandez.

Richard Bland took a 22-6 advantage in shots at Salkehatchie, including 11-4 in attempts on goal, and the Statesmen had a 6-3 edge in corner kicks.

Sophomore keeper Tomás Fonseca/Torres Vedras, Portugal started in front of the net for Richard Bland and played the entire 90 minutes with four saves to earn his fifth shutout this season.  It was the team's sixth shutout in nine contests this fall.

The all-time series between the two schools in the sport of men's soccer is now tied at 4-4-3, as Richard Bland has won three-straight matches against Salkehatchie dating back to last season.

Following the USC Lancaster contest, Richard Bland will return home to host Region X arch-rival Louisburg (N.C.) College (3-3, 3-1 Region X) next Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 4 p.m. at the Statesman Soccer Field.