November 21, 2009
RedStorm advance with win over Lindenwood
Rio Grande --- Three second half goals propelled the University of Rio Grande RedStorm men's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Lindenwood University in the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Opening Round Game at Evan Davis Field on Saturday afternoon.
Rio Grande (16-3-2), the No. 3 seed in the tournament, had some outstanding chances in the first half, but could not find the back of the net. Lindenwood goalkeeper Victor Francoz played an outstanding game and recorded a pair of tremendous stops to keep the RedStorm off the board in the first 45 minutes of play.
The game remained scoreless until the 67th minute when Rio Grande finally broke through. Great ball movement set up Rio's first goal with freshman mid-fielder Rafael Maccauro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) finishing the play and giving the RedStorm a 1-0 lead. Junior mid-fielder Ederson Lopes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) was credited with an assist on the goal.
Rio would up the score to 2-nil in the 74th minute on a header from senior defender Marc Young (Rishton, England) from point blank range. Young was set up with a nice feed from sophomore Neil Harries (Lancashire, England).
The RedStorm would pad the lead with an insurance goal in the 78th minute off a corner kick. Lopes scored the goal off a Joel Thiessen (Newcastle, Australia) delivery.
Lindenwood (9-10-3) managed only three shots in the game with two on target.
Francoz recorded 14 saves while Rio sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Lower (South Webster, OH) had two saves.
"The most important thing to do when you get to this stage of the season is make sure that you're defensively sound," said Rio Grande head coach Scott Morrissey. "Going into today against Lindenwood we just didn't get really good scouting information."
"We had to really go in to this first round match somewhat conservative, making sure we kept good defensive shape and we didn't expose ourselves in the first half too terribly bad," Morrissey added. "We didn't take a whole lot of chances; we just needed to feel the first 45 minutes out."
Despite the cautious approach, Morrissey felt that his team had good chances to score in the first half. "They're goalkeeper came up with a couple of really key saves in that first half," he said. "I thought, once we got one, that it would be a matter of time before we opened them up and it didn't happen until the start of the second half."
Morrissey credited his team's defensive effort in the win. "The one thing that we focused on for the entire week is defending and defending shape," Morrissey said. "We did a good job today of limiting chances in the final third of the field."
"Once we got into the second half, we found a little bit of rhythm," he added. "When we play that way, I think we are really difficult to deal with," Morrissey added. "They put a great battle, they're well-coached, well-organized and it had that feel of a first round game, it was a good result and I'm really proud of the way my team played."
Rio moves on to the Round of 16 at Ramirez Field in Fresno, California and will face the winner of No. 14 seed Columbia (MO) and Midland Lutheran (NB) on November 30 at 4:30 p.m. PST.
Morrissey knows that the target remains large of the back of his team. "Having made it to the finals last year and with the reputation that we established I think everyone will look at us as a big opponent," he said. "But when you get to this point, no matter if it is Columbia or Midland Lutheran, it's a big game."
Rio Grande improves to 14-6-1 all-time in NAIA Tournament play while Lindenwood now owns a 7-5 mark in tournament competition.
