PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- From the time that Shawnee State head coach Stan Rodrigues came to campus in August 2024, the men's soccer program at Shawnee State has been building momentum -- one small building block at a time.

Fresh off of the program's first conference semifinal appearance in program history, Rodrigues' group already rallied from two halftime deficits in the opening weekend of the 2025 season to claim positive results -- getting a 78th minute goal by Marco Riva to force a 1-1 tie with Ave Maria, then spraying out three goals over a 24-minute stretch in the second half to win going away against Warner.

With an opportunity to make a major statement and show the country -- and world -- what it could do Saturday evening against nationally-ranked (No. 20) Milligan, Tenn. Rodrigues' group swung the door wide open on the possibilities of what could be done going forward in 2025.

Never shy about being confident in his opportunities, Shawnee State's Marco Riva made the most of the Bears' best opportunity to score all evening -- as Riva launched a rip that will forever be remembered in SSU soccer lore, moving to the middle of the box and, with a pair of clever dribble moves, creating just enough space to launch a committed hole-punch that beat the diving arms of Milligan goalkeeper Adria Alles to lead Shawnee State to a 1-0 win over the highly-touted opposition in Milligan at Shawnee Turf in Portsmouth.
Shawnee State, who moved to 2-0-1 with the win, was involved in a grudge match all evening long with Milligan. The Bears were called for 18 fouls to just seven for the Buffaloes, but Shawnee State's pressure at all ends of the pitch, depth and overall team speed were simply too much for Milligan to have many good looks on goal.

Overall, SSU outshot Milligan by a 9-8 count and posted five shots on goal to Milligan's two. The Buffaloes were held to just four shots, total, in the second half -- with one of those pulls being of a desperate manner with less than 40 seconds left and not close overall.
The win is arguably the biggest in the three-and-a-half decades of the Shawnee State men's soccer program's existence, as Milligan, who has won no less than 10 matches in each of the last five years, went 13-1-5 in 2024 and won the Appalachian Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championship en route to a NAIA Second Round appearance in the 2024 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Tournament bracket.

In 2023, Milligan went 19-3-4 and not only won the AAC regular season and conference tournament titles, but advanced to the 2023 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Game. The Buffaloes have gone 19-0-6 in AAC conference play the last two seasons alone.

"This is a major step in moving toward the goals that we have for ourselves," Rodrigues said. "I couldn't be more proud of every one of our guys for their attention to detail and how they maintained a high energy level in such an important match for our season and our program. We are talented, have excellent depth, have bought into our roles, and have bought into each other as a part of one family. When all of those things come together, you can achieve and create special moments such as what we did (Saturday evening). Credit to Milligan. It was a fight full of punches and counter punches, but ultimately, we stayed in the fight and were able to get that difference-making goal in. We've got to continue to channel the intensity that we had Saturday evening so we can really build on this with another great opponent in Campbellsville coming in Tuesday evening. I want to thank our fans from South Webster for coming out as part of South Webster Jeeps night, and our crowd as a whole for bringing excellent energy throughout. This was a high-level soccer match and we needed every effort that we got to get the win." Outside of a near-conversion in the 21st minute by Milligan's Emir Basar that hit the crossbar, Shawnee State held the shot advantage as the Bears posted five shots to Milligan's one over the first 40 minutes of play. Joao Coqueti Leo nearly snuck a ball past Alles in the 22nd minute, but Alles made the stop to keep the sheet scoreless. The Bears also kept the Buffaloes on their toes in the first half as Nikos Pontikis' header from beyond 20 yards was on frame and of high velocity, but ultimately stopped by Alles as well.

Milligan rallied with shots in the 42nd, 43rd, and 45th minutes of action, but Shawnee State's team speed and defensive communication forced the Buffaloes to settle for just one shot on goal, which was stopped by Forsythe with relative ease. Milligan only posted one additional shot on goal the rest of the way -- a 64th minute scare that Milligan's Marco Lattanzi nearly sneaked in, but Forsythe quickly reacted to by diving and trapping the ball just inches from crossing the goal line.

For much of the next 25 minutes, it appeared that both teams were destined to play to a scoreless tie.

However, Riva, who plays with an optimist's mentality, had a pair of tricks up his sleeve.

After just missing on a shot that was high 20 seconds prior, Riva got the ball again just beyond 25 yards out and, with creative dribble touches, drove up the middle into the box while creating space. Seeing his opportunity, Riva wasted no time and fired a quick bullet of a shot that Alles reacted too slow to in order to track effectively.

The goal was the second in three games for Riva to start the season, and the biggest of his eight career goals so far in his Shawnee State career. Riva now has not only eight goals, but five assists as well for 21 career points.

"Excellent shot by Marco," Rodrigues said. "Great finish and never hesitated in his idea of where he wanted to go or what he wanted to do with the ball once he got there. We've had a lot of guys step up this season so far and Marco is certainly one of them. I'm excited with his efforts and where he, as well as our team, are at. This win can be a major stepping stone for us."
With the win, Shawnee State (2-0-1) will turn its attention to another major test in Campbellsville (0-2). The Tigers have lost both of their matches but the contests were losses to Georgia Gwinnett and Dalton State (Ga.), both teams who hold 3-0 records to start 2025.

For more information on the Shawnee State men's soccer program, visit https://ssubears.com/sports/mens-soccer or visit https://www.instagram.com/ssumsoc.