SSU MSOC makes program history; advances to first-ever conference semifinal with 3-0 victory over Indiana-East

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- The main story of the Shawnee State men's soccer program has been how united the Bears have been as a unit throughout the season.

In a Wednesday evening River States Conference Quarterfinal matchup against the Indiana-East Red Wolves' men's soccer program, that fact proved to be truer than ever.

Théo Cavaleiro Trindade scored off of a rebound in the 11th minute to put Shawnee State ahead early in the RSC Quarterfinal, and the Bears not only remained ahead to stay from there, but built on their lead as Darian Rodrigues' corner kick found Clement Akanyah for a late first-half goal to put the Bears up by a 2-0 tally through the first 45 minutes of action, while senior Matt Stam added in a 70th minute blast to lift Shawnee State to a 3-0 victory over IU-East at Shawnee Turf in Portsmouth.

The Rundown

With the triumph, Shawnee State (8-7-3) moved its record above .500 overall and earned its first postseason victory since the 2020-21 campaign that was shortened due to COVID-19, with the conference championships played in the spring.

The Bears also clinched a berth in its first-ever conference semifinal with Wednesday's victory, setting up a showdown against Rio Grande (9-4-1) in a 1 p.m. River States Conference Semifinal that will be held in Rio Grande on Saturday, Nov. 9.

In accomplishing the above feats, Shawnee State dominated play against Indiana-East, posting 12 shots compared to the Red Wolves' five -- and placing eight shots on frame while IU-East nabbed four shots on goal.

Théo puts Bears in front

Continuing to showcase a fantastic touch that has the freshman building upon a strong campaign, Third-Team All-RSC selection Théo Cavaleiro Trindade punched a ball home for his fourth goal of the 2024 season and his 11th point in all to lead the Bears.

Trindade scored off of an initial shot attempt from Marco Riva, whose shot was stopped initially by Indiana-East starting goalkeeper Peter Lamprou. The freshman now sits third on the team in points behind only Riva (12 points) and Nikos Pontikis (18 points), and is tied with Riva for third on the team with four goals.

Rodrigues' skilled corner kicking leads to opportunity for Akanyah

Two cerebral players by nature who play their roles well and therefore have helped Shawnee State become a whole unit in doing so, Darian Rodrigues and Clement Akanyah connected for a massive goal that proved to be a major gut punch to Indiana-East's chances.

With less than 20 seconds left in the first half, Rodrigues took a corner kick after a ball was cleared out of bounds by Indiana-East and found Akanyah from the far side to the edge of the box on the near side -- who hammered home his first goal of the year on his only shot attempt of the contest with 12.3 seconds remaining in the first half.

The play resulted in Rodrigues' third assist of the year -- tied for third on the Shawnee State roster -- while Akanyah nabbed his third point of the season with his maiden goal as the defensive talent came through in a major way to give the Bears a 2-0 advantage just before the halftime break.

Akanyah became the 13th different Shawnee State player to score a goal this season with his clutch finish, and now has three goals, an assist and seven points for his Shawnee State career.

Stam brings it home for the fam

Fittingly, it was a senior talent that capped off the scoring for Shawnee State -- as the Bears, who allowed nothing to come close to a goal following a 33rd minute shot by Tristan Thomas that glanced off of the post -- got the punctuation mark from Matt Stam in the 70th minute.

Stam, who continues to play well in a role that has primarily been of the reserve variety, posted his second goal of 2024 and now has three goals, two assists and eight points for his Shawnee State career. The Girona, Spain native, who is a dependable and durable talent as well, is one of five players who has played in all 18 matches for Shawnee State this season.

Additional

Eric Green made three saves in goal for Shawnee State, while João Coqueti Léo, Nikos Pontikis, Marco Riva, Guilherme Bitencourt, Benjamin Chandler, and Trevor Aveiro Masanjala combined to post nine shots with four on goal between them in the 3-0 triumph.

More information will be coming regarding Saturday's River States Conference Semifinal matchup.