Crusaders rally to tie Rio men

Rio Grande Sports Information
     LIVONIA, Mich. - Host Madonna University spotted the University of Rio Grande a two-goal halftime lead before rebounding after the break and forging a 2-2 deadlock with the RedStorm, Saturday afternoon, in non-conference men's soccer action at the MU Soccer and Lacrosse Field.
     Rio Grande, ranked No. 23 in the most recent NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll, moved to 1-2-3 with the draw.
     The Crusaders, who were among the teams receiving votes in the voting but just outside the Top 25, finished the day at 6-0-1.
     Rio Grande grabbed the lead just under 15-1/2 minutes into the match when freshman Facundo Rossich (Buenos Aires, Argentina) scored off an assist by freshman Nahuel Coppiz (Cordoba, Argentina), before extending their advantage when sophomore Estevao Goncalves (Sao Paulo, Brazil) scored off of a feed from freshman Will Perry (Crewe, England) with 6:56 left before halftime.
     Madonna got on the scoreboard a little less than eight minutes into the second half when Jordy Lopez scored off of a touch by Ryushin Hirami and then netted the equalizer with 14:05 left to play when Hirami assisted on a score by Jonas Hoerner.
     Rio Grande had the lone shot on frame the rest of the way, but junior Lucas O'Donnell's (Leeds, England) boot was stopped by Madonna keeper Afonso Henrique.
     The Crusaders outshot the RedStorm 15-8 overall and 5-3 in shots on goal, while also enjoying a 6-5 edge in corner kicks.
     Rio Grande was whistled for 20 of the game's 31 fouls and received four of the five yellow card cautions in the contest.
     The late save was the only stop recorded by Henrique.
     Rio freshman Samy Hamou (Paris, France) had three saves in goal for the RedStorm.
     Rio Grande returns to action next Saturday when No. 6-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University visits Evan E. Davis Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff.