Columbia Mo. - The No. 1 seeded Central Methodist men's soccer program won a thriller over No. 2 seeded Rio Grande in the Opening Round Championship of the Columbia Bracket, 3-2 Saturday afternnon in Columbia, Mo. 

With the win, Central improves its perfect record to 21-0, and advances to the NAIA National Championship Final Site for the fourth-straight season. The Red Storm end their season with a 17-2-1 mark. 

The Eagles jumped out in front in the first nine minutes of the match on Alessandro Salvadego's 21st goal of the season. Central's defense kept Rio Grande out of the net for the entirity of the first half, taking a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

Rio Grande would put pressure on Central early in the second half, scoring two goals in a span of four minutes including an own goal by the Eagles. 

Trailing 2-1 with under 18 minutes remaining, Christian Sanchez evened the match with his seventh goal of the season on the assist from Isaac Johnson. 

Less than six minutes later, Marcos German sent a ball into the box which found the foot of Tom Irion, who fired the ball into the lower left corner of the net for the game winner. CMU's defense held off the Red Storm's offense in the final 15 minutes to preserve a thrilling 3-2 match victory. 

Both sides were fairly even in shots taken, as Central finished the afternoon with 20 shots including nine on goal, while Rio Grande tallied 15 shots with seven on goal. 

Salvadego led the CMU offense with seven shots including three on goal, while Sanchez and Theo Klein each recorded three shots. 

Stefano Camerlengo earned his 17th win of the season, playing all 90 minutes between the posts and picking up four saves. 

Central has earned a first-round bye at the Final Site, and will face the winner of No. 8 MidAmerica Nazarene vs. No. 9 Ottawa (Ariz.) in the national quarterfinals Thursday, Dec. 2 at 1:00 p.m. (CST) at the Jack Allen Soccer Complex in Decatur, Ala. 

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