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Rio Grande's Gabriel Silva tries to gain control of the ball during the first half of Saturday night's 1-1 tie with WVU-Tech at Evan E. Davis Field
Rio Grande's Gabriel Silva tries to gain control of the ball during the first half of Saturday night's 1-1 tie with WVU-Tech at Evan E. Davis Field
Posted: Oct 15, 2022

RedStorm men, WVU-Tech battle to 1-1 draw

Rio Grande Sports Information
      RIO GRANDE, Ohio - A spectacular post-game fireworks display aside, Saturday night's River States Conference men's soccer showdown between the University of Rio Grande and West Virginia University-Tech had everything a fan from the two schools could've asked for.
      Everything except a winner, that is.
      The RedStorm and the Golden Bears both had plenty of opportunities in a hotly-contested affair but, in the end, finished in a 1-1 tie at chilly Evan E. Davis Field.
      Rio Grande, ranked No. 23 in the latest NAIA coaches' Top 25, finished the night at 8-3-2 overall and 4-0-1 in conference play.
      WVU-Tech, which was among the schools receiving votes in the same poll, moved to 9-2-3 overall and 4-0-1 in the RSC.
      Rio Grande finished with a 20-16 advantage in shots overall and a 10-9 edge in shots on frame. Both teams had seven corner kick chances.
      The Golden Bears got on the scoreboard first when Julian Diaz scored off of a crossing pass from Edward Tordoff just over 16-1/2 minutes into the contest.
      The RedStorm netted the equalizer with just 1:33 remaining in the first half when junior Vilius Labutis (Ireland) scored off of a touch by sophomore Bobby Turner (England) following a scramble in front of the net after a corner kick by senior Charlie Chechlacz (Liecestershire, England).
      While neither team scored in the second half, there certainly was a shortage of opportunity, intensity and excitement after halftime.
      Both teams had five shots on goal in the final 45 minutes. Two of Tech's shots came in the final 30 seconds, including one by Marvin Urena which Rio senior keeper Daniel Merino Correa (Madrid, Spain) stopped as time expired.
      The RedStorm also stopped some hearts twice in the game's latter stages.
      Freshman Altan Sayar (Switzerland) hit the crossbar on a shot attempt with 11:30 remaining and the ball narrowly missed bouncing over the goal line on the ricochet, while junior Benjamin Cam Orellana (Santiago, Chile) had a shot saved by Tech net-minder Lucas Rivera Paramio with 2:18 left to play after another corner kick try by Chechlacz.
      The contest also included 11 yellow card cautions - seven against the RedStorm and four against the Golden Bears - on 11 different players. All but one of the cards was issued after halftime.
      Merino Correa stopped eight shots for Rio.
      Rivera Paramio recorded nine saves for WVU-Tech.
      Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Thursday afternoon when it faces Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pa.