No. 5 Rio Grande beats No. 8 Vanguard in NAIA Men's Soccer Game of the Week (Sept. 5)
Story by Rio Grande Sports Information
RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande (Ohio) used an early second half surge to snap a 1-1 tie and pull away for a 3-1 victory over Vanguard (Calif.) University, Saturday night, in the final game of the RedStorm Soccer Classic at the Rio Auxiliary Field.
The RedStorm, ranked No. 5 in the NAIA preseason coaches' Top 25 poll, improved to 5-0 with the win.
The eighth-ranked Lions lost for the first time in four outings.
Vanguard actually scored the first goal of the game - billed as the NAIA National Game of the Week - when Jesus Fregoso found the back of the net on a penalty kick with 9:04 remaining in the first half.
Rio Grande tallied the equalizer just under 6-1/2 minutes later when freshman George Redwin (Canvey Island, England) headed in a touch by fellow frosh Ben Mendoza (Chichester, England) to make it 1-1 with 2:40 left before intermission.
The RedStorm then took the lead for good in the second half with a pair of goals in a span of just under 8-1/2 minutes.
Sophomore Joao Paulo Antonio (Sao Paulo, Brazil) collected an entry pass from sophomore Jorge Guinovart (Barcelona, Spain) inside the 18-yard box and whistled a shot past VU goal keeper Brandon Gomez to make it 2-1 with 38:52 remaining in the match.
Senior forward Luiz Filho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) stretched the lead to 3-1 thanks to an unassisted marker with 30:30 left to play and that's how things finished up.
"I really thought it was a tale of two halves," said Rio Grande head coach Scott Morrissey. "I thought we were a little flat in the first half, but those first 25 minutes of the second half might have been the best soccer we've played in a long, long time. It was almost flawless. We had movement and creativity which created opportunities. That was certainly the best stretch we've played at any point this season."
Rio Grande, which played without the services of its leading scorer, junior forward Willian Paulino (Sao Paulo, Brazil), who received a red card following Friday night's double overtime win over Westmont (Calif.) College, finished with a 13-3 edge in shots, including an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Freshman keeper Ben Martinez (Montpellier, France) collected the win for the RedStorm without recording a save.
Gomez had five stops in a losing cause for the Lions.
"If the guys on this team understand their individual roles, I think we can be a very, very good team," Morrissey said. "We've still got a lot of work to do to get to that point, but the pieces are there."
Rio Grande returns to action next Saturday when No. 2-ranked University of Northwestern Ohio visits Evan E. Davis Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff.