Rio Grande News
Sarah Rice was honored as Rio's lone senior on Tuesday night versus Shawnee State
Sarah Rice was honored as Rio's lone senior on Tuesday night versus Shawnee State
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 - [Women's Soccer]

October 27, 2009

RedStorm lose to arch rival Shawnee State

Rio Grande --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm women's soccer team started fast but faded in the second half in falling to arch rival Shawnee State by a 3-1 score on Tuesday evening at Evan Davis Field. This game marked the swan song for Rio Grande senior defender Sarah Rice, as she was honored before the game as Rio's lone senior for the 2009 season. 

Rio Grande (1-13-1) came out and played well, using the emotion of the senior night festivities to display some spirited effort. The RedStorm scored in the 37th
minute when freshman forward/mid-fielder Mandi Thoma (Ontario, OH) swept in off a kick from SSU goalkeeper Sam Rolsen, stole the ball and beat Rolson for the score to give Rio a 1-0 lead.

Rio would take the 1-0 advantage to halftime.

After halftime, it was all Shawnee State (10-5) as the Lady Bears picked up the pace while the intensity and emotion that Rio Grande had played with in the first half dissipated and SSU scored three second half goals to collect the win. 

Shawnee State tied the game in the 51st minute on a goal by Brittany Brooks. 
Brooks beat Rio freshman goalkeeper Kaitlyn Schultz (Plain City, OH) after receiving a nice feed from Danielle Morgan, who was credited with an assist on the play.
The Lady Bears took the lead for good in the 59th minute when Morgan scored off
a nice pass from Kelley Bowles.
SSU added an insurance marker in the 64th minute when Bowles found the back of
the net as Brooks found her and she was able to finish the play. The Bowles goal made up for earlier miss in the opening moments of the second half when she had a shot carom off the right post on a free kick. 

Schultz had a solid game in the net, despite allowing three goals. She notched eight saves on the night. Rolsen posted six saves in 88 minutes for Shawnee State. 

For the RedStorm, the night was about Rice, a native of Enon, OH, as she is putting the capper on a very good career for Rio Grande. After playing three seasons as goalkeeper, in which she set the school record for saves in 2007 with 230 in one season, has had to deal with an injury-plagued senior campaign that saw her make a position change to defender. 

Rio Grande head coach Amber Oliver talked about what Rice has meant to the program. "Sarah has been an integral part of the women's soccer program," Oliver said. "From the moment she became a member of the team, I could tell that she was a dedicated, passionate athlete. Because of this, her teammates chose her as captain all four years of her career."

"I have relied upon Sarah a great deal over the years and will miss her work ethic and drive both on and off the field. She is the kind of player that demands the best from herself and her teammates," Oliver added.  "She is the kind of captain that leads by example and strives to get the best from her teammates. She is the kind of person that we love to have around and will miss greatly when she graduates. I wish her the best of luck in the future as a teacher and coach - I have no doubt that she will do a great job. "

Oliver also praised freshmen forwards Thoma and Erica Feeman (Bremen, OH). Feeman did not score, but caused Shawnee State some degree of difficulty by getting seven shots on the night, four of which were on goal. 

"Erica Feeman had a great game today up front," Oliver said. "She had, probably, the most offensive output that we've had all season long, so we were glad to see and her Mandi Thoma working well together up front."

Rio has two games left on the season, both being Mid-South Conference games. The first comes on Friday night at Georgetown College. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.