November 16, 2009

RedStorm soccer earns ninth straight national tournament berth

Rio Grande --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm men's soccer team returns to the NAIA National Tournament for the ninth consecutive year, earning an at-large bid to the 32-team field. For the second straight year, Rio Grande will host a first round game on Saturday (November 21) at Evan Davis Field versus Lindenwood University (MO). Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.

Rio Grande (15-3-2) enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed. The RedStorm are certainly no stranger to the nationals having appeared in the championship tournament every year since 2001. Rio won the National Championship in 2003 and lost in the title game last year in overtime to Bethel (TN). Rio has been to three national semifinals.

Rio's overall mark in the national tournament is 13-6-1.  

Rio has plenty of weapons on offense, led by a pair of freshmen forwards Scott Bibby (Doncaster, England) and Richard Isberner (Sao Paulo, Brazil). The opposition will not be able to forget about junior mid-fielder Ederson Lopes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) either. Lopes is on a late-season tear in which he has scored seven goals in the last two games. 

Bibby earned Mid-South Conference Freshman and Player of the Year honors as he scored 23 goals and seven assists (53 points).  Isberner delivered 19 goals and handed out 10 assists (48 points) and Lopes scored 11 goals and registered eight assists (30 points). 

Sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Lower (South Webster, OH) is the final line of an impressive defense for the RedStorm. Lower earned Goalkeeper of the Year in the Mid-South Conference this season. He allowed 20 goals and posted a1.18 goals against average while collecting 45 saves. 

Rio will be ready to get back on the winning side of the ledger after being ousted in the MSC semifinals by the University of the Cumberlands. 

Lindenwood (9-9-3), out of St. Charles, Mo., is unseeded. The Lions are appearing in the tournament for the first time since 2005. It is the sixth appearance overall for the Lions and they have an all-time tournament record of 7-4 with one National Championship (2004). Lindenwood won the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament. 

Leading the way for Lindenwood on offense is Hannes Backstrom and Robin Rundstorm. Backstrom leads the Lions in goals with four and points with eight while Rundstorm has netted three goals. Sophomore Alexander Rivera is also someone to watch for on offense for Lindenwood. He has scored two goals and has two assists for the season.

The winner moves on Ramirez Field, the national championship final site, in Fresno, California for the round of 16, beginning November 30.  

The winner of the Rio/Lindenwood match will play the winner of No. 14 seed Columbia (MO) and Midland Lutheran (NB) on the 30^th at 4:30 p.m. PST.

Lindsey Wilson, the Mid-South Conference regular season and tournament champion, is the top seed in the tournament. If it plays out, Rio would face Lindsey Wilson in the championship game. Lindsey defeated Rio Grande 2-1 during their regular season match-up. 

Rio had a 2-1 record against teams in the national tournament having beaten Bryan College and Notre Dame College. 

The 51^st Annual NAIA National Men's Soccer Tournament runs through December 5 with the championship game set to kick-off at 3 p.m. PST.