No. 14 Richard Bland drops Region 10 Championship to Louisburg 5-2

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- Sophomore Jamie McAvoy/Ayr, Scotland had a goal and an assist, but nationally-ranked No. 14 Richard Bland College dropped a 5-2 decision to Louisburg (N.C.) College in the Region X (10) Men's Soccer Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Freshman Davi Girardi/São Paulo, Brazil also scored a goal, and sophomore Agustin Vassallo/Neuquen, Argentina added an assist for the No. 1 seed Statesmen (17-2) against the No. 2 seed Hurricanes (14-5).  Richard Bland still advances to the NJCAA Division I Southeast District Tournament on November 3-4, hosted by Louisburg College in Louisburg, North Carolina ... the official district pairings and game times to be determined.

Richard Bland fell behind 1-0 early before Girardi tied the title match at 1-1 with a goal in the 21st minute, assisted by McAvoy.  Louisburg, however, added two more first-half goals to lead 3-1 at the intermission.  The Hurricanes extended their advantage to 4-1 in the second half before McAvoy scored a goal in the 70th minute, assisted by Vassallo, to cut the deficit to 4-2.  Louisburg, however, secured its victory with another late goal for the final margin.  Girardi has scored a team-leading 14 goals this season, while it was the first goal of the season for McAvoy, who now has nine assists this fall to tie for the team lead.  Vassallo now has two assists this season.

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

Richard Bland took 12 shots against Louisburg, including seven attempts on goal, as well as six corner kicks.

Richard Bland and Louisburg were meeting for the 14th time in the sport of men's soccer, and the Hurricanes lead the all-time series, 12-2, including the only two losses for the Statesmen this season. 

Richard Bland will take its school record of 17-2 into a second-straight NJCAA Southeast District Tournament appearance next weekend in North Carolina.  Region 10 is hosting this year's Southeast District event, as the region's tournament winner will host and the runners-up advance, as well, along with one school from Region 8 (Florida) and one school from Region 17 (Georgia).  The Statesmen are 29-9-2 (.750) over the past two seasons.