Bitencourt's 45th minute penalty kick leads Bears past Pomeroys in 1-0 victory; SSU MSOC clinches RSC Tournament berth

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- Gritty play that included poised leadership from all involved with the Shawnee State men's soccer program in a Saturday evening River States Conference match against the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) Pomeroys' men's soccer program, along with a 45th minute penalty kick from junior captain Guilherme Bitencourt and two critical second-half stops in the final 25 minutes by senior captain Eric Green, proved to make all the difference as SSU claimed a 1-0 victory over SMWC to move to 13 conference points and officially clinch its berth in the River States Conference Tournament in the process at Shawnee Turf in Portsmouth.

Holding serve

In a physical match that saw both teams combine for 36 fouls, but well-contested affair that saw both defenses give up just 13 shots throughout the course of the match, Shawnee State won out as the Bears posted nine shots -- including five on goal -- while holding Saint Mary-of-the-Woods to only four shots and two on goal in a scrappy defensive effort that saw many different figures contribute in the triumph.

Big-time Belo

After going the first half without a shot on goal either way, Shawnee State capitalized on a big opportunity.

Sean Williams, who was splendid throughout the match and has been a strong presence throughout the 2024 season on the backline for the Bears, found a crease in the middle of the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods backline and created an opportunity inside the box after drawing a whistle by being fouled as the Pickerington native attempted to launch a shot.

With the foul occuring in the box, this gave Bitencourt, a penalty kick maestro, a chance to come through -- and true to form, the junior did just that for his second goal of the 2024 season and his first since scoring against Michigan-Dearborn in the same way back on Sept. 14.

Saturday's goal marks the third goal of Bitencourt's career as well as his eighth point -- having tallied two career assists in addition to his three career goals.

Defensive hustle, pride carries Bears home

Along with Williams and Bitencourt, who made their usual impacts defensively, Lars van de Pol, Clement Akanyah and Cameron Thompson were among those who flew around defensively, as did Ephraim Mutombo, who did a splendid job as he teamed with Williams to make several strong slide tackles.

Behind them, Eric Green was nails between the posts -- especially in the closing stages of the match.

Over the final 25 minutes, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods was able to get three shots off within close range, but on each occasion, Green was there to keep the sheet clean, saving a 66th minute free kick by Jaime Gayol and then sliding to stop a Ivan Gelado shot to preserve the winning result.

Additional

With Saturday's victory, the Shawnee State men's soccer program has officially clinched a berth in the River States Conference Tournament. The Bears, who are positioned to be the No. 4 seed in the RSC Tournament if the season were to end now, can clinch no worse than a No. 4 seed and at least one home match if Shawnee State defeats Midway (Ky.) in the Bears' regular season finale Wednesday evening, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m.

Additionally, with help, SSU could rise to as high as No. 2 in the RSC Standings -- but need to defeat Midway, have Indiana-East and Rio Grande claim wins in their matches against Oakland City (Ind.) and root for a Saint Mary-of-the-Woods triumph over West Virginia Tech to set the table for such a move. A full rundown of the River States Conference Standings can be found at https://riverstatesconference.com/standings.aspx?standings=71.

Shawnee State's match against Midway (Ky.) will also be Senior Night, with Eric Green and Guillermo Conejo Martin being honored in the traditional manner Wednesday evening. Matt Stam, who previously participated in Senior Night ceremonies last year, will also be mentioned for his dedication to the program.