Rio Grande Sports Information

    PORTSMOUTH, Ohio - Reigning Mid-South Conference Offensive Player of the Week Richard Isberner continued his strong play, scoring one goal and assisting on three others as the University of Rio Grande pounded rival Shawnee State, 5-0, Wednesday afternoon, at rainy, wind-swept Shawnee Turf.

     The RedStorm, who remained No. 3 in the latest NAIA coaches poll released Monday, won for the fifth straight time, improving to 13-1 overall and 5-1 in league play.

    Isberner, a junior forward from Sao Paulo, Brazil, increased his conference-leading goals scored total to 19 and points total to 47. He ranks fifth nationally in each category.

    With the three assists, Isberner vaulted into second place in the MSC with nine for the season, trailing only is URG teammate, senior midfielder Joel Thiessen (Newcastle, Australia), who picked up his 13^th of the year in the victory.

   Sophomore midfielder Mike Torbert (Annandale, Va.) got the scoring underway when he found the net off of a feed from Thiessen at 24:17.

    Two minutes later, freshman forward Kenny Doublette (Greenwich, CT) made it 2-0 when he scored courtesy of a pass from Isberner.

    The lead grew to 3-0 with just 24 seconds left before the intermission when junior forward Scott Bibby (Doncaster, England) scored with the aid of an Isberner assist.

    Isberner scored his goal at 57:56 off a feed from junior forward Rafael Maccauro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) before assisting on a goal by senior midfielder Dylan Williams (Banger, Wales) at 64:10 to set the final score.

    Rio Grande enjoyed a 24-4 edge in shots, including a 16-2 cushion in the opening stanza.

    Junior goalkeeper Jack Marchant (Leeds, England) recorded one stop en route to his fifth shutout of the season.

    Kevin Fischer started in goal and took the loss for the Bears (7-7-1, 2-3) despite being credited with eight stops. Zachary Miller added two stops in net over the final 19-1/2 minutes.

    Rio Grande returns to action Saturday night, hosting MSC foe Campbellsville University for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Evan E. Davis Field.