GAMEDAY CENTRAL
#13 Embry-Riddle (14-3) vs. #2 Rio Grande (16-2-2)
DATE: Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013
CITY: Montgomery, Ala.
SITE: Emory Folmar YMCA Soccer Complex
START: 11 a.m. (CST)
LIVE STATS: DakStats
LIVE VIDEO: NeuLion
EMBRY-RIDDLE'S LAST 5 GAMES: 3-2
EMBRY-RIDDLE'S LAST 10 GAMES: 8-2
EMBRY-RIDDLE AT NEUTRAL SITES IN 2013: 0-0
RIO GRANDE AT NEUTRAL SITES IN 2013: 3-1
AT A GLANCE
A tough test awaits the 13th-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles when they compete in the round of 16 at the NAIA National Tournament on Dec. 3. The Eagles will be pitted against perennial NAIA power Rio Grande (Ohio), the tournament's fifth-seed and the second-ranked team in the country. The Red Storm are making their 13th appearance at the national level, including a national title back in 2003. Last season, Rio Grande lost in this round of the national tournament to Hannibal-LaGrange, 2-1 in double-overtime.
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ABOUT THE RED STORM
Head Coach Scott Morrissey has his Rio Grande team back in the national tournament for the ninth consecutive year after compiling a 12-2-2 record during the regular season. The Red Storm swept through the Mid-South Conference Tournament with a 12-2 overall goal advantage before holding off Point Park, 2-1 in the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round.
URG has registered a 4-1-1 record against 2013 National Tournament participants during the 2013 season, with wins over Indiana Wesleyan (1-0), Davenport (2-1), Point Park (6-0, 2-1) and a draw with Lindsey Wislon (1-1), as well as a loss to defending national champ Belhaven (1-2).
Statiscaily, the Red Storm has the best offense in the country, scoring 76 goals in 20 games thus far for an average of 3.8 per contest. Luiz Filho leads leads the nation with 28 goals, scoring 1.4 per match for Rio Grande. Pau Delgado Rodriguez has added 15 goals and seven assists, while Maximiliano Viera has six goals and seven assists and Orlando Zapata has chipped in five goals and seven helpers.
While the offense might be most of the attention, the Rio Grande defense has proven to be just as good, allowing just 14 goals (0.700) on the season. Jon Dodson has started in all 20 games for URG, making 37 saves and registering four shutouts.
Rio Grande is 20-9-2 all-time in the NAIA National Tournament.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Sept. 16, 2006 - RIO GRANDE, OHIO - Second-half goals by
Joe Yoffe and
Ian Thompson lifted the fourth-ranked Embry-Riddle men's soccer team to a 2-1 upset of second-ranked Rio Grande in the final game of the Rio Grande Tournament on Saturday. The win snapped a 112-game regular season unbeaten streak for the Redmen who suffered their last regular season loss to Ohio Dominican on Oct. 17, 2000. The Eagles improved to 5-0 on the year, while the Redmen drop to 6-1 with the loss.
From the first whistle, both teams played at a very fast pace with Rio Grande holding a 4-1 advantage in shots, including one on goal in the first half. But neither team was able to find the back of the net resulting in a scoreless tie at the halftime break.
Rio Grande broke the deadlock in the 69th minute when the referree called a foul on the Eagles in the penalty box. Conar Dawson converted on the penalty kick to give the Redmen a 1-0 advantage.
The Rio Grande goal served to ignite the Eagle offense and after a couple of near misses, ERAU finally got on the scoreboard in the 75th minute. Yoffe took a shot that was deflected by a Redman defender resulting in an Embry-Riddle corner kick. Phil Middleton's short corner went to Liam McIlhatton who lifted a ball into the box. Yoffe was on the receiving end and knocked home his 11th goal of the season to knot the score at one goal apiece.
With 2:20 remaining on the clock, the Eagles earned a throw-in from deep in the Redman defensive third. Middleton's fancy footwork allowed him to get by three URG defenders and find Thompson on the far side of the six-yard box. Thompson slid in and beat Redman keeper Derek Talcott low to net the game-winner.
EMBRY-RIDDLE IN THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
The Eagles moved to 7-8 all-time in the national tournament with their 1-0 shutout win over Georgia Gwinnett on Sturday. Embry-Riddle's last round of 16 appearance occurred in 2009 when the Eagles registered a 3-1 win over host Fresno Pacific before falling to Simon Fraser, 1-0. The Eagles have appeared in a trio of "Elite Eights" at the national tournament, but have never been able to advance further.
CONFERENCE HONOR ROLL
Ally MacDonald etched his name in Embry-Riddle history when he was named The Sun Conference's Defensive Player of the Year. The senior from Inverness, Scotland became a four-time first team All-Conference performer, and he was joined on the first team by
Nils Carlson,
Sigurbergur Elisson,
Magnus Magnusson and
Nicklas Petersson. Junior
Veit Couturier earned second team All-TSC honors while seven Blue and Gold players were named Academic All-Conference performers.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
Nicklas Petersson's four-goal, eight-assist performance against Ave Maria on Oct. 12 will be remembered for a long time. The Gothenburg, Sweden native's eight assists set an NAIA record for a single-game, while his 16 points were the fourth-highest ever recorded. Petersson earned NAIA National Offensive Player of the Week accolades for his outstanding performance in the Eagles' 18-0 win.
NO DRAWS?
The Eagles sport a 14-3 overall record in 2013. Similarly, in 2012, the Eagles finished 8-9 overall. Since Dave Gregson took over the ERAU program in 1994, the Eagles have only once before posted back-to-back drawless seasons: 2004 (14-4), 2005 (17-2) and 2006 (14-6).
LUCKY 12 SEED
Last season, Belhaven took the No. 12 seed and ran with it, winning four games in Montgomery to claim the national title. Belhaven. The Blazers knocked off the five-seed, one-seed and 11-seed en route to the 2012 championship. In each of the last three seasons the 12th-seeded team has advanced to the quarterfinals.
600+ WINS
Tuesday's matchup will feature more than 600 career wins between Coaches Gregson and Morrissey. Morrissey has posted 370 wins while at Rio Grande and Gregson has collected 233 victories with the Eagles.
