Sports
Filho Lifts Rio To 1-0 Victory Over Indiana Wesleyan
By: Kaleb Carter
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The Rio Grande RedStorm struggled to find a rhythm throughout much of Friday night’s matchup with the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats. Even as Luiz Filho had his issues on the night doing good things in the box, he was rewarded for his persistence with the goal that would ultimately decide the contest. The 88th-minute score gave Rio a 1-0 victory.
Coach Scott Morrissey came away pleased with the result.
“I was encouraged with what I saw,” he said, “encouraged with some of the new guys. We certainly have things to work on, but it’s coming together nicely.”
Both teams struggled to find their footing early on as neither could string together more than a few consecutive passes. Indiana Wesleyan managed to shank a few balls that entered the box, allowing the RedStorm to maintain possession of the ball on the Wildcats’ side of the field for much of the first half.
Both teams managed a few shots in the general vicinity of the goal, but nothing outstanding came from either squad in the first half.
The Wildcats made a couple nice saves in the second half as the RedStorm upped the pace, and managed to string together more passes. Ryota Tonegawa played the role of facilitator in the midfield all night, completing nearly all of his passes on the evening.
“He was really effective in the midfield,” said Morrissey. “He really dictated the game in the midfield. I thought he was very effective on getting the second balls, and getting us the balls in wide areas when we needed to.”
Rio is back in action Friday, Sept. 6, against Davenport (Iowa) University in the Indiana Wesleyan Tournament in Marion, Ind.