Sports
Rio Rolls Bluefield In First Round Of MSC Tournament
By: Kaleb Carter
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Same team, different field, different weather, same results. The Rio Grande RedStorm defeated Bluefield College for the second time this season, beating the Rams by a score of 6-0.
This game featured bigger stakes as Rio fought Bluefield for a spot in the semifinals of the Mid-South Conference Tournament. Just like their last matchup on Sept. 25, Rio scored six goals and the Rams did not net a single goal. Just like last time, the RedStorm were led by a Luiz Filho hat trick.
However, this one was a bit cooler with the game temperature in the 30’s (Fahrenheit) while the game was played on the practice field. Coach Scott Morrissey did not want to play on Evan E. Davis Field after rainfall during the course of the week.
“With all the rain we had, the game field was just swamped in about six or seven major areas of the field,” Morrissey said. “The practice field was in good shape.”
Rio outshot Bluefield on the night 36-2 after playing most of the night on Bluefield’s side of the pitch. William Paulino recorded eight shots, scoring one of them in the 13th minute. Patricio Arce netted two nice goals, one at the very end of the first half and the second in the 70th minute to push the score to 6-0.
Rio played well in the back, with Cesar Lopez playing solid defense to keep the Rams from putting together too many good looks on goal. Bluefield had most of its opportunities in the first half, but Rio really tightened up its defensive play in the second half.
The Rio defense did not miss a beat in the second half, not even after subbing in much of its second group.
Jamaican senior Nikoy Wallace had plenty of touches as his teammates continually fed him the ball in the final minutes, but he just was not able to get a clean look on the goal.
“I thought the execution was really good tonight,” Morrissey said. “Overall really a good performance, and we are just happy to move on.”
The RedStorm moved to 13-2-2 on the season. Rio plays the winner of Georgetown College and Campbellsville when they travel to Lindsey Wilson for the semis.