RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- The No. 4 seed, WVU Tech (9-10-2), upset No. 1 University of Rio Grande (14-1-3) during a semifinal of the River States Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Thursday evening. The Golden Bears defeated the RedStorm, who were recently picked No. 3 in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, in penalty kicks, 8-7, after a 1-1 double overtime draw.
The RedStorm struck first when Eduardo Zurita found the back of the net off an assist from Omar Walcott in minute nine of the semifinal.
The Gold and Blue marked their goal in the 72
nd minute when sophomore
Jesus Naves posted the equalizer that forced overtime between the rivals. Junior
Matias Pazos was credited on the assist.
In overtime, Rio managed three shots compared to Tech's zero with no goals for either team, sending the decision to penalty kicks. The Golden Bears were able to pull off the upset after eight players (complete list below) capitalized on their PK opportunity and freshman keeper
Jose Domingo Xam-mar was able to stop Rio's eighth attempt.
The RedStorm held the advantage in corner kicks, 11-2, but, Tech's defense prevailed and held Rio to just one goal and five shots on frame. Domingo finished with four stops after 110 minutes of play while Rio's keeper, Luis Rodriguez, was forced to make six stops.
Tech will advance to the final of the tournament to face No. 2 Midway University (10-5-1) in Kentucky on Saturday, November 11 at 2 p.m. The Eagles took a 2-0 shutout over Indiana University East earlier Thursday to move on. During the regular season, WVU Tech and Midway finished with a double overtime draw of 3-3 in Kentucky on September 28.
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| Shootout |
|
| URG Ben MENDOZA makes the shot. |
| WVUT Francisco Neto makes the shot. |
| URG Jorge GUINOVART makes the shot. |
| WVUT Sergio Sanchez makes the shot. |
| URG Spencer REINFORD makes the shot. |
| WVUT Scott Brown makes the shot. |
| URG Deri CORFE makes the shot. |
| WVUT Matias Pazos makes the shot. |
| URG Matheus MORGAN makes the shot. |
| WVUT Matias Gandulfo makes the shot. |
| URG Omar WALCOTT makes the shot. |
| WVUT Jesus Naves makes the shot. |
| URG Samuel PEDERSON makes the shot. |
| WVUT Cameron Glennon makes the shot. |
| URG Harry REILLY misses the shot. |
| WVUT Mark Magallanes makes the shot. |
| WVUT wins (8/8) over URG (7/8) |
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