Rio Grande News
Candace Chapman had one goal in leading Rio to its first win
Candace Chapman had one goal in leading Rio to its first win
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 - [Women's Soccer]

September 10, 2009

RedStorm women gain first win

Rio Grande---The University of Rio Grande RedStorm women's soccer team came away with their first victory of the 2009 season on Thursday evening at Evan Davis Field against visiting Ohio Valley University. The RedStorm attacked the offensive end early and often and scored a 4-0 win in the home opener. 

Rio Grande (1-2) was able to get on the board early in the game when sophomore forward Jessica Preston (Jackson, OH) beat OVU goaltender Abbi Menear to give the RedStorm a 1-0 lead in the 7th minute. Freshman mid-fielder Mandi Thoma (Ontario, OH) was credited with an assist on the play. This would be the only goal Rio would need on the night, but were not finished scoring.
Rio pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 23rd minute when Chapman notched her first
collegiate goal. Senior defender Sarah Rice (Enon, OH) assisted. The RedStorm took the 2-0 lead to halftime.

Rio had two other golden scoring chances turned away by Menear in the first half. 

The RedStorm put the game on ice with markers in the second half. Freshman Erica Feeman (Bremen, OH) scored her first collegiate goal in the 63rd minute. Thoma gained her second assist of the night on Feeman's goal.
Rio closed out the scoring with an unassisted goal from freshman defender Jordan Rutan (Galloway, OH) in the 68th minute. 

The Rio coaching staff was able to play all three goalkeepers in the game with starter Kaitlyn Schultz (Plain City, OH) recording two saves and sophomore Bobbie Fitzpatrick (Cincinnati, OH) had one save. Freshman Hannah Riffel (Circleville, OH) did not face a shot attempt in 31 minutes.

Menear posted 11 saves for Ohio Valley University (0-6).

"We've been working very hard on getting the girls to shoot more, I believe we had 24 shots today, so we're pretty pleased with that," said Rio Grande head coach Amber Oliver. "It also gave us an opportunity to see a couple of different girls up top that haven't had the chance so far this season."

"We were very pleased with the girls, very pleased with the win," Oliver added. "Everyone had a good game, they all played well and we were able to work on things that we needed to address."

Oliver thinks this will give her team some confidence heading into the Bluefield College contest next week. "Definitely, we are glad to get this win after losing our first conference game last Saturday," she said. "It's great to get this, get the girls' confidence up as we head into the rest of the season."

Rio and Bluefield will tangle at Bluefield College, September 16. Kick-off is set for 5 p.m.