Three second half goals spelled doom for the Lindenwood Lions soccer team as they fell to Rio Grande, 3-0 in the opening round of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.

After a scoreless first half the Red Storm got on the board first in the 67th minute when Rafael Maccauro scored with help from Ederson Lopes to give Rio Grande the, 1-0 lead. It only took the home team seven more minutes to tack on another goal, as Marc Young gave the Red Storm a commanding 2-0 margin. The final score for Rio Grande came in the 78th minute when Lopes scored to put the nail in the Lions' coffin.

Lions' goalie Victor Francoz did everything he could making 14 saves on the day compared to Jordan Lower of Rio Grande who was only forced to stop two Lindenwood shots.

The Lions 2009 season comes to a close with a record of 9-10-3 but a Heart of American Athletic Conference postseason tournament championship.