Box Score Campbellsville University's hopes of its first NAIA postseason fell short Wednesday in a 4-0 loss to Rio Grande.
The Tigers were dished another shutout by the top-ranked RedStorm, as James Clements allowed all four goals by Rio and collected seven saves in net.
CU defender Alan Karapandzic had the only shot on goal for the Tigers, while Casey Clarke also had a shot for the Tigers.
"We came out a little timid. They came out and applied pressure and got on top of us early, and we played nervous the rest of the way. We weren't ourselves, but credit to Rio, they were a much better team than when we saw them two months ago," CU head coach Adam Preston said. "It's my job to get my team ready, and they weren't there."
Rio received its goals from four different players with Ederson Lopes leading the way. Lopes stabbed the Tiger defense early with a goal in the second minute of play, assisted by Rafael Maccauro. Lopes turned around and assisted a goal by Richard Isberner in the 25th minute to enter halftime up 2-0. Orlando Zapata and Mike Torbert had goals in the 64th and 80th minutes to close out the RedStorm scoring.
Preston played 19 players in the game, working in some subs in the final minutes after Rio's fourth goal. Clements recorded the loss after 85 minutes in goal. Kyle Thomas finished out the final five minutes.
Campbellsville (15-5) will travel to Covenant College next weekend, Nov. 19-20, for the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Mid-East Region Tournament. A tournament schedule will be released later this week.
Rio (20-0) advances to the Mid-South Conference Championship game Thursday night against Lindsey Wilson College. Game time is 7:30 p.m. ET.
