No. 5 Rio vs. No. 8 Vanguard (Calif.) picked as NAIA Game of the Week
NAIA No. 5 Rio Grande of the KIAC will be in the national spotlight during the NAIA Men's Soccer Game of the Week Sept. 5 at home versus No. 8 Vanguard (Calif.). The following is from the NAIA (Sept. 3, 2015):
By Chad Waller, Director of Communications & Sports Information
NAIA Match of the Week – No. 2
No. 8 Vanguard (2-0-0, 0-0-0 GSAC) at No. 5 Rio Grande (Ohio) (3-0-0, 0-0-0 KIAC)
Saturday, Sept. 5 | 7 p.m. EDT | Rio Grande, Ohio | Evans Davis Field
• A pair of top-10 teams do battle at the RedStorm Soccer Classic as No. 5 Rio Grande (Ohio) hosts eighth-ranked Vanguard (Calif.) Saturday. The two teams join (RV) Point Park (Pa.) and Westmont (Calif.) as participants in the Classic that runs Friday and Saturday.
• Both teams enter their Friday match of the Classic with undefeated records. Rio Grande opens up with Westmont Friday, while the Lions take on Point Park.
• Rio Grande carries a lengthy home win streak into the weekend. The RedStorm have not lost on their home pitch since Oct. 30, 2013 against Northwestern Ohio – a span of 12 matches. During that time, Rio Grande is 10-0-2.
• During a 3-0 start to the year, the RedStorm hold a 20-1 scoring advantage. Most recently, they wiped out Saint Francis (Ind.), 10-1, on Aug. 30.
• The Vanguard defense has proven themselves early to lead the club to a 2-0 record. The defense has limited the opposing offense to three shots-on-goal. In the most recent 1-0 shutout of Northwest (Wash.) on Aug. 28, Vanguard only allowed one shot-on-goal.
• Saturday marks the second all-time meeting between the two schools. Rio Grande won the first clash by a 3-2 score on Sept. 12, 2012 on neutral grass at Lindsey Wilson (Ky.).
• Since the Game of the Week began in 2013, the visiting team has surprisingly owned a 13-8 record (one match was at neutral site). Also, the lower-ranked team stands 14-7 overall (one match was against two unranked teams).
• Rio Grande is participating in its third NAIA Game of the Week and is 1-1 in two previous contests. This is the first appearance for Vanguard on the NAIA Game of the Week.
• Rio Grande has won 11-straight regular-season contests, dating back to the 2014 season. That streak will be severely tested in the next few weeks as the RedStorm, after the Classic, will host No. 2 Northwestern Ohio on Sept. 12, Point Park on Sept. 19 and No. 9 Lindsey Wilson on Sept. 26.
• Dating back to October of last year, the Lions have been nearly perfect during the last 12 matches (9-1-2). The only loss during that stretch was a 3-1 setback in the 2014 national championship to national runner-up Northwestern Ohio.
• The RedStorm hold the NAIA's second-longest active streak in the Top 25 at 88-straight rankings. Rio Grande has held a top-10 ranking in nine-of-the-last-10 polls, including five No. 1 positions. Vanguard is relatively new on the scene – the Lions are holding their second-straight Top 25 ranking. Prior to this current span, Vanguard was out of the national rankings since the middle of the 2011 season.
• Rio Grande junior Willian Paulino ranks second nationally in points (12) and assists (4). He notched a pair of goals in each of the first two wins, before finishing with four assists in last Saturday's 10-1 win over Saint Francis (Ind.).
• Vanguard junior Juan Arellano leads the team with five points. He added a game-winning goal in the victory over Northwest. The native of Hawthorne, Calif., has notched at least one point in seven-of-the-last nine matches, dating back to last year.
Some information courtesy of Rio Grande and Vanguard Sports Information departments