No. 4 Firehawks burn Rio women

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - If there was any question as to whether or not the University of Tennessee Southern women's soccer team was worthy of its No. 4 preseason ranking, the answer came fairly quickly.
     The Firehawks scored early - and often - and cruised to an 8-0 win over the University of Rio Grande, Sunday morning, in non-conference play at steamy Evan E. Davis Field.
     UT-Southern improved to 3-0 with the victory.
     The loss was the first for the RedStorm in three outings this season.
     The Firehawks enjoyed a 28-1 edge in total shots and a 13-1 advantage in shots on goal, while also being responsible for seven of the nine corner kicks in the match.
     UT-Southern, which used nearly as many substitutes (18) as Rio Grande has players in total (20), scored twice inside the game's first 8-1/2 minutes and led 5-0 at the intermission.
     Keito Ido and Marina Nawa both finished with a hat trick and an assist for the Firehawks. Ido had two of her three scores in the opening half, while Nawa had two of her trio of markers after halftime.
     Kamilia Tayebi added a goal and an assist in the winning effort, while Hikaru Uchida had the remaining goal for UTS. Jessica Glassman was credited with an assist on Ido's second goal of the day.
     Petra Brncova, the first of four goal keepers for the Firehawks, was credited with the win. She recorded a save on Rio's lone shot.
     Senior Alba Vilades Marin (Barcelona, Spain) had five stops in net for the RedStorm.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Saturday against Grace College in Winona Lakes, Ind. Kickoff is set for noon.