Rio women take down Bears

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - Amora Albano scored a pair of second half goals as the University of Rio Grande pulled away for a 4-1 win over rival Shawnee State, Saturday evening, in River States Conference women's soccer action at Evan E. Davis Field.
     The RedStorm, who were playing in their RSC opener, evened their overall mark at 4-4-1 with the win.
     The Bears slipped to 0-6-1 overall and 0-1 in league play as a result of the loss.
     Rio Grande led just 1-0 at the intermission thanks to an unassisted marker by Jitske De Muijnk (Nymegen, The Netherlands) just under 12 minutes into the match.
     The goal came on a free kick from just six yards away from the net after SSU net-minder Julye Derenemesnil was whistled for a foul after touching the ball twice following the official's ready-for-play whistle.
     That's how things stayed until a pair of quick scores from Albano gave the RedStorm some breathing room.
     The Albany, Ohio sophomore scored from the left side of the 18-yard box off of a crossing touch from sophomore Morgan Fannin (Circleville, OH) to make it 2-0 with 23:05 remaining.
     Albano's second score came just 85 seconds later when she collected a long direct kick from beyond midfield by junior Hannah Halstead (Delaware, OH) and then beat Derenemesnil in a 1-v-1 situation to extend the lead to 3-0.
     Rio's final score of the contest came with 11:58 left to play when junior Madison McKenzie (Tipp City, OH) eluded a pair of SSU defenders along the right side of the 18 and then pushed a shot past reserve keeper Harlee Brand.
     The Bears spoiled the RedStorm's hopes of a shutout with 1:19 showing on the clock when Lucie Ashkettle connected on a long shot from just outside the left side of the 18.
     Rio Grande finished with a 19-9 edge in shots overall, along with a 9-6 cushion in shots on frame.
     The RedStorm also had six of the game's nine corner kick chances.
     Senior Alba Vilades Marin (Barcelona, Spain) had five saves in the win for Rio, including a pair of stops - one in each half - on point-blank attempts by Shawnee State's Haynna Addy.
     Derenemesnil was credited with four saves in her 75:45 of playing time in goal for the Bears, while Brand had one save in her mop-up role.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Thursday afternoon when it hosts St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) College for a 4 p.m. kickoff.