CHICAGO — Maxi Viera’s goal just over eight and a half minutes into the match gave the University of Rio Grande a lead it would never relinquish and the RedStorm went on to post a 3-1 win over host Illinois Tech, Sunday afternoon, at rainy Stuart Field.

The win served as a bounce-back effort for fourth-ranked Rio Grande, which suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of 25th-ranked St. Xavier in its season opener on Friday night.

Viera, a junior midfielder from Montevideo, Uruguay, found the net without the aid of an assist with 36:29 remaining in the first half and sophomore midfielder Patricio Guerra added another unassisted marker with 2:51 left before the intermission to give the RedStorm a 2-0 lead at the intermission.

The Scarlet Hawks (1-1) cut the early deficit in half when Liam Barrett scored off an assist from teammate Bart Grabowski with just under 20 minutes remaining in the match, but Rio junior forward Orlando Zapata sealed the victory for the RedStorm with an unassisted goal with 3:20 left in the contest.

Rio Grande outshot its host, 21-12, while the two teams were whistled for a combined 39 fouls—20 against the RedStorm and 19 against Tech.

Senior goal keeper Jack Marchant recorded four saves in the win for the RedStorm.

Tech keeper Edson Zagal had five saves in a losing cause.

Rio Grande returns to action on Saturday, opening the home portion of its regular season schedule against Aquinas (Mich.) College. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Evan E. Davis Field.

Randy Payton is the Sports Information Director at the University of Rio Grande. For more information on URG athletics, visit the web at www.rioredstorm.com