RedStorm, IUK play to scoreless draw

Rio Grande Sports Information
     KOKOMO, Ind. - The season's first River States Conference Women's Soccer Game of the Week ended just like the final RSC contest of the 2023 season - in a scoreless tie.
     The University of Rio Grande and Indiana University Kokomo, the two teams who met in last year's title tilt, played to a scoreless draw in their rematch, Thursday night, at wind-swept Northwestern High School.
     The deadlock left Rio Grande at 3-4-1 overall and 0-0-1 in conference play.
     The Cougars finished the night at 3-5-2 overall and 0-0-1 in the RSC.
     IUK, which advanced to the NAIA national tournament last season by defeating Rio in a penalty kick shootout, now has a five-game unbeaten streak against the RedStorm dating back to the 2021 campaign.
     Rio Grande outshot the Cougars 9-7, including 4-1 in the opening half. The RedStorm also enjoyed a 6-4 advantage in shots on frame and a 4-2 cushion in corner kick chances.
     Rio had, perhaps, the best scoring chance of the second half when senior Amelia Willis (Waverly, OH) hit the crossbar on a shot with 23:38 left in the contest.
     IUK had a pair of scoring chances within 91 seconds of each other inside the game's final four minutes, but Charity Lewis' shot with 3:50 remaining was stopped by RedStorm senior keeper Alba Vilades Marin (Barcelona, Spain) and Kelsi Hoot's shot with 2:19 left sailed high.
     Vilades Marin had four saves for Rio Grande.
     Kailee Moore stopped five shots in goal for the Cougars.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Saturday evening when it hosts rival Shawnee State University at Evan E. Davis Field.
     Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.