Rio men, WVU-Tech battle to scoreless draw

Rio Grande Sports Information
     BECKLEY, W.Va. - The University of Rio Grande ran its unbeaten streak to seven consecutive outings, but saw its six-game winning streak snapped on Thursday night after a 0-0 draw with rival West Virginia University-Tech in River States Conference men's soccer action at the Paul Cline YMCA Soccer Complex.
     Rio Grande, which climbed to No. 7 in the latest NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll earlier in the week, finished the night at 9-1-2 overall and 6-0-1 against RSC foes.
     The Golden Bears moved to 6-4-2 overall and 4-0-1 in the league.
     Tech was limited to just four shots in the contest - two of which were on goal - but failed to find the back of the net against Rio graduate senior net-minder Matheus de Campos (Brasilia, Brazil), who recorded both saves.
     Rio Grande had nine shots on the night, five of which were on frame. Three of the five shots on goal were halted by team defensive saves, with the other two stopped by Golden Bears keeper Ramon Ferrari.
     The RedStorm also enjoyed a 6-4 edge in corner kick chances.
     Rio's final scoring chance came with 11:01 left to play when a shot by Tommy Munoz Salazar was knocked away, while Tech's last chance to break the tie was denied when de Campos saved a shot by Juan Minguez Malonda with 5:06 remaining.
     The contest, to no surprise, was a physical one with the two teams combining for 29 fouls - 16 on the hosts and 13 against Rio Grande.
     The RedStorm is scheduled to return to action on Saturday evening when it hosts Indiana University-Purdue University-Columbus in the first ever meeting between the schools.
     Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., with the annual Rockets Over Rio fireworks celebration slated to follow at approximately 8:30 p.m.