Rio Grande --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm men's soccer team has advanced just about as far as a team can advance without winning the title in each of the last two seasons. Two years ago, Rio Grande played for the national championship for the second time in school history and lost in the opening moments of overtime. Last season, Rio Grande was ousted in the national semifinal on penalty kicks. Expectations for 2010 are as high as they have ever been and Rio Grande may be equipped better than they ever have to win a championship. It's just a matter now of seeing how it all plays out on the pitch.

Rio Grande is ranked No. 4 in the NAIA Pre-season Top 25 poll and has been picked to finish second in the Mid-South Conference behind defending MSC and national champion Lindsey Wilson.

Rio Grande posted an 18-3-3 record last season advancing to the national semi's before falling to NAIA pre-season No. 2 The Master's College on penalty kicks. 

Rio Grande head coach Scott Morrissey begins his 22^nd season as head coach. He brings 312 career victories and a .740 winning percentage into the 2010 campaign. He thinks this year's team is stronger than the Final Four team from last season. "I think for the first time in a couple years, we return just about every single player with the exception of a couple of seniors and I think we've strengthened our squad a little bit," Morrissey said. "We're working out a few other issues on the squad itself, but I'm pretty pleased with where we're at to this point in the pre-season."

"Overall, I think we've got a really good balance, we've got great chemistry, we've got players who can play in various positions, we've got enough depth in every single area and quality in every single area," Morrissey said. "We have guys who can step in and contribute and change the complexion of the game for us."

"Overall, where we were a year ago to where to we are now, I think we're ahead of where we were in 2009," Morrissey added. "Does that mean we're going to be that much more successful or get to the same level? You've got to go out and play, you've got to go out and work hard every day and that ultimately will be the challenge - to make sure that this group stays focused and understands that you're not just going to walk out and get a result, not against any opposition that we play. You've got to work for it and you've got to earn it and that will be the challenge with this group."

Morrissey knows that the expectations are high for his team and he knows that the opposition will have the Rio game circled on their calendars. "I think we're probably the biggest game for every team on their schedule, with the exception of a couple of teams, and they're in the same boat we're in, where every team that they play, it's the biggest game of the year," Morrissey said. 

"The Mid-South Conference is a great conference to compete in," Morrissey added. "We certainly still have the luxury of some of our familiar foes in the AMC (American Mideast Conference) that we're still playing."

In addition to the conference foes, Morrissey says that the RedStorm have another strong schedule of opponents to have to deal with. "We've got a great schedule, a great non-conference schedule in Indiana Wesleyan, Bethel (TN), Grace and a couple of other teams escape me, but it should be a good season, expectations are very high, but we're trying to just take it one day at a time and improve from one day to the next."

The RedStorm return nearly every player from last year's team, including MSC Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and NAIA 1^st Team All-American Scott Bibby (Doncaster, England). Bibby, a sophomore forward, was the team's top scorer from last season (24 goals, 8 assists). High scoring forwards Richard Isberner (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Rafael Maccauro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) are also returning sophomores. Isberner was the team's second leading scorer with 19 goals and 10 assists on the season, earning All-MSC accolades. Maccauro scored seven goals and had 12 assists. Senior midfielder Ederson Lopes (Sao Paulo, Brazil), an All-MSC and 1^st Team All-American performer, is back from an injury-plagued campaign in which he still managed to produce 12 goals and 10 assists. 

Other key returning players include junior forward Joel Thiessen (Newcastle, Australia), junior midfielder/forward Neil Harries (Lancashire, England), senior midfielder Chris Anderson (Lancaster, England), senior midfielder Phil Stansfield (Yorkshire, England), sophomore midfielder/forward Oliver Hewitt-Fisher (Swansea, Wales) and senior defenders Steven O'Hara (Liverpool, England) and Dylan Williams (Bangor, Wales). Stansfield was an All-MSC award winner last season while Harries and Thiessen were given All-MSC honorable mention nods. 

Junior goalkeeper Jordan Lower (South Webster, OH) returns to once again to mind the net for the RedStorm. Lower, an athletic presence at the back end of the Rio defense, was an All-MSC performer a season ago. He registered 56 saves and had a 1.04 goals against average. 

Rio is once again blessed with plenty of talented newcomers. Roberto Lopes (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Brandon Tyler (Phoenix, AZ) and Mike Torbert (Annandale, VA) are all expected to be factors in the defensive backfield for the RedStorm. 

Morrissey said that there has been one newcomer that caught his eye this pre-season and that is Orlando Zapata (Miami, FL). "He's going to factor in for us," Morrissey said. "He brings something a little different to the game up front that we haven't had in a long time. He's got a load of pace and has a good nose for the goal."

Morrissey also sees freshmen Kort Wolfe (Circleville, OH) and Wyatt Smith (Chillicothe, OH) as players who could push for some varsity time. 

Injuries can always play a role in possibly derailing the success of a team. Outside of injuries, Morrissey discusses what must happen for the RedStorm to be where they want to be at the end of the season. "I think my team has to do a much better job mentally of staying focused and being prepared mentally for each and every game that we play," Morrissey said. "The big X-factor is how are the players going to prepare game in and game out?"

"I think the mental side of the game is going to be the most critical part for us," Morrissey added. "We've worked on a lot of, not just conditioning, but what the approach is going to be like." 

Morrissey has not talked about specific goals with his team other than to still be playing the first weekend in December. "We really haven't set any of the team goals that you would expect a team to, getting ready to play the season," he said. "We haven't talked specific as far as getting into details. We've only talked about one thing and that's making sure that we're in a position to be playing on that first Saturday in December. That's what we've discussed." 

Rio Grande opens the season on Wednesday (August 25) versus Houghton College at Evan Davis Field with a scheduled 4 p.m. kick-off. 

For more information on the Rio Grande men's soccer team please log onto www.rioredstorm.com.