Soccer: Owls Fall At NCAA Tournament

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Soccer: Owls Fall At NCAA Tournament

11/12/2004

NCAA Scoreboard

Box Score

COLLEGE STATION -- Illinois senior forward Tara Hurless scored a pair of goals to lead the University of Illinois soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Rice in the first round of the NCAA Championship Tournament Friday evening in College Station.

The Owls played well to open the game and gave number 19 ranked Illinois a physical battle. In the 22nd minute the Illini took their second corner kick of the half that the Owls successfully cleared out to midfield. Less than a minute later however, Hurless was all alone with the ball on the far right side. She blasted the ball at the goal from 25 yards away and found the back of the net just below the crossbar and close to the left post.

Rice had only a few decent looks for shots but like the team's previous game in the championship final of the WAC Tournament in Hawaii, the Blue and Gray could not convert the attempts to scores. The Owls tallied a season-low five shots for the game, including only three on goal. An attempt by senior midfielder Marisa Galvan, playing for the first time in two weeks due to a virus she suffered in Hawaii, was just over the top of the crossbar in the first half.

The temperature dropped to the low 50s in the second half, but both teams were able to turn up the offensive tempo. The Illini outshot Rice 12-4 in the second period (and for a 20-5 advantage for the game). The second goal wasn't until the 85th minute when Hurless chipped in a pass from teammate Andrea Ridgeway at a close eight yards in front of the goal.

Owl senior goalkeeper Lauren Shockley finished the night with six saves. Galvan led the team with two shots. Attempts by junior Erin Droeger and freshman Kirsten Seglem were corralled by Illini keeper Leisha Alcia. The last save was as time ticked down to zero in the second half.

It was not the outcome Rice head coach Chris Huston was looking for, but she had nothing but praise for the team's effort at the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

"I'm proud our girls went out there and played hard, my hat is off to them," Huston said. "It was cold, but the weather didn't bother us. We got beat by a better team that's ranked in the Top 20.

"It's exciting that we made it this far because this is our inaugural class of seniors," Huston added. "Making the NCAA Tournament was one of our goals. Obviously it didn't turn out the way we wanted, but it's exciting for them and well deserved."

A total of ten seniors will graduate from the program they helped start four years ago. The Owls' 14 wins this year is the highest single-season total in school history.

Illinois (14-5-2) advances to the second round. The Illini will face the winner of the late Texas A&M-Texas State game on Sunday at 1:30 pm in College Station.

A final box score of the game can be viewed at the link listed above. A link to other NCAA scores from around the country is also provided.

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