Rio Grande Sports Information
DECATUR, Ala. – Sometimes in life, despite our best efforts, things don’t turn out like we hope they will.
The University of Rio Grande men’s soccer team can attest to the fact.
The RedStorm saw their quest for a third national championship fall just short with a 2-1 loss to Bethel (IN) University in the semifinal round of the NAIA National Championship, Saturday afternoon, at the Jack Allen Soccer Complex.
Rio Grande, which was seeded ninth at the tourney’s final site and ranked No. 20 in the final regular season coaches’ poll, finished 18-4-2 with the loss.
The Pilots, seeded fourth and ranked sixth, improved to 21-1-1 and advanced to Monday’s national title game to face Mobile (Ala.), which beat Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in Saturday’s other national semifinal.
“I was really proud of our effort and hard work today,” said Rio Grande head coach Scott Morrissey, whose team was making its first Final Four appearance since 2016. “I believe that, in the end, we just ran out of gas and that three games in five days took it out of us.”
Both teams had a handful of scoring chances in the first half, but neither was able to cash in on the opportunities.
Rio had the first scoring chance of the second half, just two minutes into the stanza, but junior Osvaldo Pereria‘s (Campo Grande, Brazil) hit the crossbar with his attempt.
Bethel finally broke the scoreless deadlock by scoring on a penalty kick by Eduardo Da Silva with 33:13 remaining in the contest.
The Pilots threatened to add to their lead on their ensuing possession, but were turned away thanks to a pair of dazzling stops by Rio senior net-minder Daniel Merino Correa (Madrid, Spain).
Bethel did increase its advantage, though, on another penalty kick by Da Silva with 15:57 left to play.
“At 1-0, I still thought we had a chance to equalize,” Morrissey said. “But the second penalty was a back-breaker.”
Rio Grande did make things interesting with just under two minutes remaining when junior Vilius Labutis (Ireland) got the RedStorm on the scoreboard, pushing the rebound of his own blocked shot into the back of the net to slice the deficit in half.
However, Rio failed to manage another shot in the waning moments of the match.
Bethel finished with a 17-14 edge in overall shots and a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal, while the RedStorm had seven of the game’s 12 corner kick chances.
Merino Correa was credited with seven saves in a losing cause.
Finn Popescu had four stops in net for the Pilots.
“I’m so proud of this team and how it evolved over the course of the season,” Morrissey said. “We overcame several obstacles and really can be proud of the run we made to a conference title, getting through the opening round and making it to the Final Four. I want to thank the coaches and the players for a job well done.”
