Nov. 8, 2017
SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. — Richard Bland College has been ranked No. 17 in this week’s final regular season NJCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Poll. The Statesmen enjoyed their finest season in the five-year history of the program, finishing with a school record of 17-3, while ranked among the Top 20 for the last nine consecutive weeks.
In addition to the school-record for wins, Richard Bland also established new program records for season goals (68), assists (62), points (198), fewest goals allowed (18) and shutouts (11). The Statesmen, coached by fourth-year head coach Eduardo de Souza and second-year assistant coach Nick Surkamp, have now attained three-straight 10-win seasons under the guidance of de Souza (44-31-5).
Richard Bland was the regular season champions of NJCAA Region 10 with a record of 13-1, before finishing as runners-up at the Region 10 Tournament on October 28-29 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Statesmen qualified for the NJCAA Division I Southeast District Tournament for the second consecutive season, but fell to nationally-ranked No. 6 Eastern Florida State College 2-1 in a semifinal match on Nov. 3 in Louisburg, North Carolina.
Richard Bland was ranked among the Top 20 for the first-time ever on September 12. Unbeaten St. Louis (Mo.) Community College (22-0) was ranked No. 1 in this week’s poll for the seventh-straight week.
Rank College State Record Points Prev
1 St. Louis MO 22-0-0 20 1
2 Schoolcraft MI 15-0-0 19 2
3 Yavapai AZ 21-2-3 18 5
4 Tyler TX 19-2-0 17 4
5 Monroe College NY 12-1-2 16 3
6 Indian Hills IA 17-2-0 15 7
7 Mercer County NJ 19-3-1 14 15
8 Louisburg NC 16-5-0 13 17
9 Pima AZ 17-4-3 12 8
10 Kansas City Kansas KS 11-3-2 11 14
11 Eastern Florida State FL 12-3-0 10 6
12 Iowa Western IA 11-3-1 9 9
13 Marshalltown IA 13-3-0 8 10
14 Georgia Military GA 14-3-0 7 11
15 Cloud County KS 14-3-0 6 12
16 Daytona State FL 14-3-0 5 13
17 Richard Bland VA 17-3-0 4 18
18 Waubonsee IL 17-4-1 3 19
19 Mississippi Gulf Coast MS 13-3-1 2 20
20 Illinois Central IL 10-8-2 1 RV
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Greg Prouty
Director of Athletics Communications & Marketing
Richard Bland College
