RIO GRANDE, Ohio. — Westmont’s Wilton Quintero converted a penalty kick in the 88th minute to send today’s game against fifth-ranked Rio Grande (Ohio) to overtime. However, the RedStorm broke the Warriors’ hearts with a game winner in the final two minutes of double-overtime to snatch a 2-1 victory.
The Warriors are in Rio Grande (pronounced RY-o to rhyme with “Ohio”) for games with a pair of Midwest powerhouse teams. Named for the river in Texas in order to commemorate the Mexican-American war of 1846-48, the city with a population of 816 is dwarfed by the University of Rio Grande with an enrollment of over 2,400. Ironically, the only body of water near Rio Grande is a small tributary of the Ohio River named Raccoon Creek.
“The guys put in a terrific effort and stretched a very good team to the maximum,” said Westmont head coach Dave Wolf. “That was really commendable on their part and great to see.”
After a scoreless first half, the RedStorm recorded a goal in the 70th minute.
“The ball was played over the top on our right side,” described Wolf. “The initial shot was not from a great angle. Josh (Glover) made a great save but pushed the rebound to his left. They had a player at the back post who finished it off for them.”
Westmont responded with a second less than three minutes to play in regulation.
“A real positive is that the guys came back from a goal down on the road,” noted Wolf.
“We were fighting to get an equalizer so we brought some of the big guys forward on a set piece,” explained Wolf of the events leading up to a Westmont penalty kick. “I think Wilton hit the service. Rio recognized Mo (Muhammad Mehai) was going to have a good look at it – he was very good in the air all game long. Mo got fouled going up to challenge for the service and got tugged down. Wilton stepped up confidently and took the penalty well.”
Unfortunately, less than two minutes later Mehai received his second yellow card of the day, resulting in his ejection from the game and the Warriors forced to finish the game less one man on the field. Also missing from the Warriors’ lineup at the time was Tanner Wolf who left the game in the 83rd minute due to an injury.
“I thought that in the first overtime period, we played it almost perfectly – in terms of our shape, how we defended and the way we communicated,” said Wolf about how his team adapted to the man-down situation. “And we were able to maintain that for about five minutes of the second overtime period.
“But Rio has a lot of quality and put us under a lot of pressure. We conceded a corner at the end. The goal ended up coming from a set piece – not directly, but it created a classic goal-mouth scramble and got put in through a jumble of feet. Josh may not have even seen it.
“After working as hard as they did against a highly-ranked team on the road, to give up a goal with a minute and some change left was heartbreaking,” said the coach. Had the Warriors held on for one minute and 36 seconds more, they would have earned a tie. “I would have liked to have seen us with even numbers in the extra period.”
Tomorrow, Westmont will take on Park Point in Rio Grande, but they will likely be without some key players. Tanner Wolf is questionable for tomorrow’s game and Mehai will still be ineligible. In addition, Asher Booth came off the field in the 105th minute with an injury.
“My guess is that we may be without a few guys tomorrow,” said Wolf. “We will alter the lineup significantly because of the number of minutes that we played today. To come back and play a four o’clock game tomorrow is going to be really tough. I think we have to be real smart and give the game mostly to our reserves tomorrow – especially considering that we have a long trip on Sunday and play (third-ranked) Marymount midweek.”
