South Prince George, VA - Cape Fear men's soccer lost on the road to first place Richard Bland College, 3-0.
The Sea Devils entered Wednesday night's game coming off a 4-1 victory over Patrick Henry. Richard Bland, meanwhile, were winners of five straight heading into the game, with an overall record of 16-1.
The Statesmen got on the board in the 29th minute, as David Negrin scored off an assist from Hussein Osman, who served it into the box from the right side. They doubled their lead in the 40th minute, thanks to goal from Umar Mujahid. Ervin Ikanovic provided the assist.
The scoreline held for much of the second half until Dusan Stankovic scored his 11th goal of the season. He was assisted by Nikola Aleksic, who threw the ball in from the right side of the field, and found Stankovic.
Despite the final scoreline, Cape Fear got a great performance from goalkeeper Lucas Gusmao, who recorded six saves and came up big on more than one occasion. Without his effort, the scoreline could've looked much different.
Richard Bland outshot Cape Fear 15-4. The Sea Devils managed just one shot attempt in the second half.
Afterwards, head coach C.W. Ponton praised the performance of his opponent.
"This evening Richard Bland executed their game plan extremely well," said Ponton. "We knew what that was and they still scored three balls on us in the air. We seemed to never be able to turn it on and turn the game around."
But a silver lining emerged, as Cape Fear played with poise. They didn't let the scoreline get to them, and didn't complain during or after the game. It didn't go unnoticed by the officials.
"While I could see it myself, to have the officials tell me my team was 'a class act' makes me very proud as a coach," said Ponton. "While we obviously want to win on the scoreboard, that is a different type of victory."
Cape Fear falls to 8-6 on the season, and 7-6 in conference play. They sit fourth in Region 10, but trail third place Spartanburg Methodist by half a game. They get a chance to jump ahead of them on Saturday, October 21st, where they will take on the Pioneers at home at 3:00 p.m. The game is the last regular season home game, so be sure to come out and give the sophomores a strong send off.
Courtesy of Nick Denning
