DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- The deep Indiana Wesleyan University run through the 2015 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship came to an end on Wednesday as No. 1-ranked Rio Grande (Ohio) scored early in a 3-0 outcome in the national quarterfinals. This marks the first time that Indiana Wesleyan was one of the final eight teams remaining in program history. 

Game Vitals

• Score:  Rio Grande - 3   |   Indiana Wesleyan - 0
• Records:  Indiana Wesleyan 16-6-1   |   Rio Grande  21-1-0
• NAIA Top- 25 Rank:  Indiana Wesleyan - No. 23   |   Rio Grande - No. 1
• Location:   Hilltopper Stadium   |   Seacrest Soccer Complex   |   Delray Beach, Florida 
• Brief:  The deep Indiana Wesleyan University run through the 2015 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship came to an end on Wednesday as No. 1-ranked Rio Grande (Ohio) scored early in a 3-0 outcome in the national quarterfinals. This marks the first time that Indiana Wesleyan was one of the final eight teams remaining in program history.

What Went Down

• Luiz Filho stunned everybody with a goal just 36 seconds into the game to give Rio Grande the quick 1-0 lead.
• Just 15 minutes later Eduardo Zurita gave the Red Storm a 2-0 advantage on a goal that beat IWU keeper Josh Goepper (SR/Shelby Township, Mich.) to the far post.
• Heitor De Malo gave Rio Grande its third goal in less than 31 minutes. De Malo scored off a free kick situation for the 3-0 lead.
• Rio Grande took the 3-0 lead into halftime. URG outshot Indiana Wesleyan 8-3 and 3-1 in shots on goal.
• Neither team recorded a score during the final 45 minutes. Rio Grande held a 4-3 advantage in shot attempts in the second half with each tem putting one shot on net.
• The Red Storm outshot the Wildcats 12-6 on the day with a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal.
  
   

Coach’s Corner

• “There are a lot of positives to take away from this season. The guys have shown nothing but pride in what we have done. We have gone further than any other team at Indiana Wesleyan and I am proud of that and I’m sure the guys are proud of that too. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to but you can’t chase the game against a team like Rio Grande and they put us in a hole early and that is really tough.”  -- IWU head coach Luke Sanford

Extra! Extra!

• The national championship quarterfinal appearance is the first in men’s soccer history. The previous best was the Round of 16 in 2013.
• The Wildcats are now 2-2-2 in three national championship appearances.
• The last time Indiana Wesleyan faced the No. 1-ranked team was in 2013 when IWU defeated No. 1 and defending national champion Belhaven (Miss.) by a 1-0 score at Wildcat Field.
• Indiana Wesleyan had defeated the No. 1-ranked team the last two times they played them. IWU defeated Belhaven 1-0 in 2013 and defeated Auburn-Montgomery (Ala.) 6-2 in 2008.
  
   

Next Time Out

• Indiana Wesleyan ends the 2015 season with a 16-6-1 record. IWU won the Crossroads League regular season and tournament championships and went 1-1-1 at the NAIA National Championship.