Men's soccer team hits road to play for spot in national tournament

The Eastern Florida State College men's soccer team is back in the Southeast District Championship this weekend for the sixth straight season.

The Titans will have a familiar foe in the semifinals on Friday in Milledgeville, Georgia as they will play Region 10 champion Louisburg at 3:30 p.m. The two teams met in the Southeast District final last season at Louisburg and the Titans lost a close match, 3-1.

A win on Friday would send the Titans back to the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament for the third time. In 2013, the Titans beat Louisburg to qualify for the tournament. Friday they will try and do it again.

"There is a big tradition between Eastern Florida and Louisburg on the men's soccer side and they have a fantastic program," Eastern Florida State College men's soccer coach Oliver Twelvetrees said. "Both great program in their own right and it is going to be a really tough game."

Eastern Florida State College is heading into the weekend No. 12 in the NJCAA Division I poll and on a four-game winning streak and they have won eight of the past nine games. In the past nine games, they have outscored opponents 17-4 with five shutouts. The defense has only allowed more than one goal twice this season and is in the top 15 in the nation in both goals allowed and goals against average.

"We have been in some wars to get to this point and I think that puts us in a good situation heading into the district tournament," Twelvetrees said. "The boys are positive and healthy and we are ready to keep the season alive and keep going."

Louisburg comes into the matchup 16-1-2 on the season and No. 7 in the poll. Like the Titans, they have used a solid defense to make a run into the district tournament and are led by Lucca Toledo-Carvalho who has 15 goals and 14 assists this season.

The first semifinal will be between the host Georgia Military who is No. 1 in the latest poll at 13-1-1 and Spartanburg Methodist who is 18-6 after a 2-0 loss in the Region 10 final to Louisburg.

The championship game will be at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in Milledgeville, Georgia. Fans can follow updates from Friday's game on the EFSC men's soccer twitter page, @efscsoccer.