River City FC stays undefeated with 1-0 win over Liberty Arsenal International
A first-half penalty and four key goalkeeper saves claims the victory
It was a 1-0 River City FC win over the visiting Liberty Arsenal International SC Saturday night in Irmo, South Carolina. The hosts used a Jacob Gardner penalty kick and then four crucial Robert Morales saves in the nets to remain undefeated on their fall 2025 UPSL Division 1 campaign.
The opening minutes of the match saw River goalkeeper Robert Morales make his first major contribution quickly diving to his left to turn away a low Liberty Arsenal shot in the 7th minute to keep things scoreless. Morales was again called into action in the 27th minute this time diving to his right to turn away a Liberty volley off a corner kick. The final moment of danger in the 34th minute was a high, driven shot that Morales calmly guided over the bar with a strong hand to again keep the score 0-0.
At the 35th minute mark is when Liberty seemed to tire and an errant Liberty pass in the 39th minute at the top of their penalty box created a scrambling sequence of defending that ended in a trip inside the area resulting in a River City penalty. River defender Jacob Gardner stepped up to the spot and wasted no time as he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way as he slotted the ball low into the nets and the hosts into the lead.
With the score 1-0 River at the half, Morales made another diving save in the 58th minute pushing a Liberty free kick around the near post to preserve the shutout and send the hosts into the win column.
Liberty Arsenal forced the four saves out of the River keeper but failed to use the numerous free kicks and over a dozen corner kicks to provide the equalizer. River City stayed very organized in defense and always had the answer to the Liberty set pieces to preserve the result down the stretch.
With the win River moves to 2W-0L-1T and the top of the UPSL Division 1 Mid-Atlantic table. Up next is a trip to the undefeated Tar Devils SC on Sunday, October 12 in Chapel Hill, NC. Kickoff in this top-of-table clash is set for 6 PM.
