WVU Tech survives Rio Grande on PKs for RSC Men's Soccer Championship
WVU Tech survives Rio Grande on PKs for RSC Men's Soccer Championship
By WVU Tech Sports Information
BECKLEY, W.Va. -- WVU Tech men's soccer kept its flawless record in 2019 and are now the River States Conference Men's Soccer Champions after defeating rival University of Rio Grande in penalty kicks Saturday afternoon in an NAIA top-10 ranked championship final.
WVU Tech, which is No. 9 in the country, will head to the NAIA National Championship with an automatic bid and an overall record of 17-0-2. The No. 10 RedStorm end their conference season with a possibility of getting a bid into the tournament and a record of 15-3-1.
The game ended in a tie, 1-1, after two overtimes. The Golden Bears won the title on PKs, 5-4.
Rio Grande struck first, posting a goal in the 24th minute from Omar Walcott.
The Golden Bears answered back with just eight minutes to play in regulation. Sophomore Antonio Fernández Castaño recorded the equalizer off an assist from senior Jesus Naves which eventually forced the teams to overtime.
During the two 10-minute overtimes, the Golden Bears posted two shots that both went high while holding the RedStorm to zero attempts on net.
The shootout started off with Nicolas Cam Orellana (Rio), senior Sergio Sanchez (Tech), Callum Malanaphy (Rio), senior Alvaro Tina (Tech), Borquez (Rio), senior Jesus Naves (Tech) and Rodrigo Basso (Rio) all making their attempts. Tech's freshman Ruben Martin Macias just missed his off the crossbar before Golden Bear keeper Jorge Martinez stopped Omar Walcott's (Rio) penalty kick.
Senior Rolando Sanchez then found the back of the net and Martinez made another save, making Connor Paine (Rio) miss. Senior Santiago Cruz was the final striker of the game, posting the winning penalty kick as he got it past the RedStorm's keeper, Richard Dearle.
Martinez was forced to make one stop in goal during game play while Dearle had to make seven saves in 110 minutes of play.