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First team NAIA All-American and River States Conference Player of the Year Vilius Labutis returns this fall for the University of Rio Grande and is one reason the RedStorm are picked at the top of the RSC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
First team NAIA All-American and River States Conference Player of the Year Vilius Labutis returns this fall for the University of Rio Grande and is one reason the RedStorm are picked at the top of the RSC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Posted: Aug 15, 2023

RedStorm men sit atop RSC coaches' poll

Rio Grande/RSC Sports Information
     MIDDLETOWN, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande is once again a strong favorite as the top pick in the 2023 River States Conference Men's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Poll.
     The RedStorm received nine of a possible 10 first-place votes and totaled 99 of a possible 100 points in the polling of the league's 11 head coaches.
     Rio Grande followed up its conference tournament title with a run to the NAIA National Championship semifinals in 2022 and ended the year at 18-4-2 overall and 8-0-1 in the RSC.
     Head coach Scott Morrissey's club sees its chances for success in 2023 bolstered by the return of senior midfielder Vilius Labutis (Dublin, Ireland), a First Team All-America pick who was also named the River States Conference Player of the Year, the RSC Offensive Player of the Year and the RSC Newcomer of the Year. He ranked second on the team with 18 goals and 43 points. His seven assists were fifth on the club.
     Also back is senior defender Rodrigo Basso (Santiago, Chile), who was an honorable mention All-American selection.
     Rio Grande opens its season on Friday, Aug. 18, at Saint Xavier University in Chicago.
     WVU Tech was second in the poll with 92 total points and the remaining two first-place votes. The Golden Bears won the RSC regular season title last year after drawing with Rio Grande in the regular season.
     WVU Tech was the conference playoff top seed after a tiebreaker on goals conceded and ended the year at 13-2-3 overall and 8-0-1 RSC.
     Point Park (Pa.) University placed third in the poll with 77 points. The Pioneers moved up one spot from their fourth-place finish a year ago.
     Oakland City (Ind.) University also moved up taking fourth in the poll with 68 points. The Mighty Oaks placed fifth last year and were an RSC semifinalist.
     New RSC member Shawnee State University was fifth in the poll with 64 points. Next was Indiana University East (53 pts.) and Brescia (Ky.) University (46 pts.), a couple of playoff teams from last year.
     The RSC features 11 men's soccer teams this year with Midway (Ky.) University, new member Indiana University Purdue University Columbus and Ohio Christian University rounding out the preseason polling.