Rio Grande (Ohio) beats Oakland City (Ind.) for RSC Men's Soccer Championship
Rio Grande (Ohio) beats Oakland City (Ind.) for RSC Men's Soccer Championship
BRACKET I BOX SCORE
RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- No. 2 seed University of Rio Grande (Ohio) topped No. 5 Oakland City (Ind.) University, 2-1, in the River States Conference Men's Soccer Championship final on Saturday, April 17. The RedStorm (14-4), which is "receiving votes" in the NAIA Top 25, moves on to the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship with the RSC's automatic bid.
Rio Grande won the RSC Championship postseason for the fifth time in the last seven years. The RedStorm also won in 2018 and claimed three straight from 2014-16.
Oakland City, a conference newcomer this year, ends the season 8-8 overall. The Mighty Oaks won their quarterfinal match at No. 4 Asbury (Ky.), 1-0, and advanced to the finals when No. 1 seed WVU Tech was unable to play in the semifinals due to COVID-19.
Rio Grande and Oakland City was a tight game that went down to the 89th minute. That's when Ewan McLauchlan converted at penalty kick with 1:53 remaining to give the RedStorm the winning goal.
The game was scoreless after a first half that did not have many offensive looks from either side. Rio Grande had five shots compared to three for Oakland City, and the Mighty Oaks had the only shot on goal the first 45 minutes.
All of the scoring came after halftime, and it was Rio Grande's Charlie Chechlacz who cracked the scoreboard first. McLauchlan set up the goal with a touch from the right side of the 18 as the RedStorm's midfield combination came together for a score. That was at 52:53.
A little over two minutes later, Oakland City got a free kick. Esteban Gonzalez took the attempt and found Luis Perez, whose header tied up the game at 55:05. The game stayed that way until the very end when Oakland City got a red card, which also led to McLauchlan's PK try.
Rio Grande ended up with a 14-8 advantage in shots. Each team had only two shots on goal apiece.
The RedStorm advances to the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship, which begins with the opening round April 22-24 at campus sites. The final site is May 4-10 in Columbia County, Georgia. The NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Selection Show will be held Monday, April 19 at 1:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. CT live online.