The Red Storm (7-0-1, 1-0-1 AMC) entered Saturday’s match having won at least a share of eight straight conference titles since 2000 and having posted a 158-14-9 overall record during that span that included winning the 2003 NAIA national title. Rio Grande also held an 18-5-3 record in the all-time series against MVNU with ties coming in 1999 and 2004 and the Cougars’ last win coming in 1989.

In the first half of Saturday’s match, the visiting Red Storm out-shot MVNU 7-3, but the host Cougars (4-2-2, 1-0-2 AMC) were able to put all three of their shots on goal. However, the teams went to the halftime break after the first 45 minutes of action with no score.

After playing a solid first half, MVNU seemed to step up its play even more in the second half as the Cougars kept the pressure on Rio Grande by out-shooting the Red Storm 6-5 in the second 45 minutes. MVNU had its best chance to get on the scoreboard in the 88th minute when sophomore forward Rockey Cane beat Rio Grande goalie Jordan Lower to a ball in the left corner, but Cane’s chip shot sailed just over the empty net as the match went to overtime.

The first 10-minute overtime period belonged to the Cougars as they did everything but score with six shots to just one shot for the Red Storm. Then, in the second 10-minute overtime period, both teams managed two shots before the match ended in a scoreless draw.

MVNU finished with a 17-15 advantage in total shots with both teams recording eight shots on goal. The Red Storm led in corner kicks 3-0, but Rio Grande was whistled for eight offsides violations to just one for the Cougars. MVNU junior goalkeeper Alex Stout (above) notched his fifth shutout of the year as he recorded seven saves, while Lower stopped eight shots for the Red Storm.

“Once again, our back line did a tremendous job of minimizing good scoring chances for (Rio Grande),” said MVNU coach Paul Furey. “Our defense was relentless and was tough in the air. Our midfield worked hard on both ends of the field and did a super job in containing some of their dangerous players in the midfield. It is just unfortunate that we did not take advantage of some good opportunities that we had to score.”

“At the end of the day, we certainly can be very happy with tying the No. 2 team in the country,” Furey added. “However, in talking to the players after the match, there is a certain air of disappointment that we did not take this one with the chances that we had and not capitalizing on them. Nonetheless, I was very proud of our effort. From the guys on the bench to the top player on the team, everyone was in this match and wanted to win it badly. (This result) puts us in a good position in the conference, but the road does not get any easier with our next match on Tuesday.”

The Cougars will return to action on Tuesday when MVNU will host Notre Dame College in another AMC match at 4:00 p.m. at Cougar Field. The Falcons (6-1-0) just missed being in last week’s NAIA Top 25 as they were the first team listed in the “receiving votes” section.