No. 17 Richard Bland Falls In Overtime To Louisburg (N.C.) 2-1

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS (YouTube)

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- Sophomore Hussein Osman/Charlottesville scored a first-half goal, but it was not enough as No. 17 Richard Bland College dropped a 2-1 Region X men's soccer overtime decision to Louisburg (N.C.) College on Tuesday evening at the Statesman Soccer Field.  Freshman Nikola Aleksic/Belgrade, Serbia had the assist for the host Statesmen (10-1, 8-1 Region X), who lost for the first time this season against the visiting Hurricanes (5-3, 5-1 Region X), who managed two late penalty-kick goals.  Richard Bland will play on the road at Region X opponent Spartanburg Methodist College on Saturday, September 30, at 4 p.m. in Spartanburg, South Carolina. 

"It's a hard way to lose the game on a golden goal PK," said fourth-year head coach Eduardo de Souza.  "We played a great first half, and could have had two goals, but our finish was just not there … we missed so many chances.  Now it's past and we will learn from it and be stronger, keeping our focus on Spartanburg Methodist, one game at a time." 

Richard Bland took a 1-0 lead at the intermission after Osman found the back of the net at 29:30 on a perfectly placed throw-in from the right side of the field from Aleksic.  It was the sixth goal of the season for Osman, while the fourth assist this fall by Aleksic.  It remained a one-goal advantage for nearly the remainder of the contest, as sophomore keeper Tomás Fonseca/Torres Vedras, Portugal even stopped a PK attempt by the Hurricanes at 65:55 following a foul inside the box against the hosts.

Louisburg, however, was able to score in the final minute to send the match to overtime when the Statesmen were called for a foul (handball) inside the box with 43-seconds remaining in regulation … and Ryan Goldsmith converted the PK for the Hurricanes to tie it at 1-1. 

Louisburg escaped with its road victory barely a minute into the extra period when another foul (handball) was whistled against Richard Bland inside the box at 91:02.  Once-again, Goldsmith converted the PK for the game-winning goal.

Fonseca started in front of the net for Richard Bland and played the entire 91:02 with seven saves.

Louisburg took a 16-13 advantage in shots against Richard Bland, including 9-3 in attempts on goal, and the Hurricanes had a 6-3 edge in corner kicks.

Louisburg continues to lead the all-time series between the two schools in the sport of men's soccer, 11-1.

Richard Bland will play its return match at Louisburg on Wednesday, October 4, at 4 p.m. in Louisburg, North Carolina.