Owls Host Houston In City Showdown Friday Night
10/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 12, 2005
activates at 7 pm Oct. 14
THIS WEEK: The Rice soccer team, 7-5-0 on the season and a mere point off the Conference USA lead with a 3-1-0 league record, is back home for its lone game this week. The Owls host crosstown and C-USA rival Houston (7-4-1, 2-2-0) Friday night at the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium. Start time is slated for 7 pm. The soccer showdown for the city's collegiate championship is the only game for either team this weekend.
ABOUT THE OWLS: After splitting a pair of C-USA road games last weekend, Rice is in sole possession of third place in the current league standings. The Owls have a total of six points for three conference wins and trail UTEP and UAB (both with seven points) in the ledger. The Blue and Gray averages a steady 18.1 shots per contest and has scored 30 goals in 12 games. Rice is third in C-USA with 2.3 assists per game and fifth in corner kicks (5.7 p/g).
Rice owns wins over two teams, SMU and Auburn, that were regionally ranked when the Owls faced them. Rice has five losses but a closer look at the those games, however, is in order. Four of the losses were on the road and two were by narrow 1-0 margins. Two of the losses were to Nebraska and Texas, both ranked among the nation's Top 25 at the time. The Saint Louis Billikens are regionally ranked with a solid 10-3 record. (Check out the latest regional rankings by National Soccer Coaches Association of America and the Soccer Buzz.)
With 13 letterwinners returning to the roster, including five starters from last season's squad that won a school record 14 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, Rice received some preseason attention around the region and in Conference USA. Rice was picked to finish fourth in Conference USA on a preseason vote of the league's 12 head coaches despite never having played a game in the league.
HEAD COACH Chris Huston: Now in her fifth season at the helm of the Rice soccer program she started from scratch, Chris Huston has guided the Owls to an established spot alongside the more experienced teams in the state of Texas and the NCAA. The 2004 season was her best yet, with the program earning an NCAA bid and a regional ranking as well as setting new school records for wins (14), goals (36), points (100) and shutouts (14). For the sensational season, Huston was named the 2004 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year on a vote of the leagues' head coaches. It is her second time to earn the honor after winning the award in 2001. Huston's won-loss record at Rice is 43-40-6. Her career college coaching record is 65-56-8.
The 2005 season may be Rice's first year in C-USA, but it's not the first for Huston. The former North Carolina Tar Heel served as the head coach at the University of Houston for two years after starting that program in 1998. Huston owns a career C-USA regular season record of 19-6-1.
PREVIOUSLY: The Owls went 1-1 in a pair of C-USA road games at SMU (Oct. 9) and Tulsa (Oct. 7). In the Friday game Rice recorded more shots and more shots on goal than Tulsa, and even looked to have scored a stunning game-tying goal in the closing seconds of the contest, but it was the Golden Hurricane that slipped away with a narrow 1-0 C-USA win in Oklahoma.
Trailing 1-0, Rice had one final chance to tie the game with a corner kick in the final 15 seconds. Ten Owls, including goalkeeper Adriene Giese, packed their way in front of the Tulsa goal. Freshman Anne Candee sent a textbook corner kick into the crowded keeper's box where senior Erin Droeger blasted a carom to the back of the net with four seconds left. The referee, however, called Rice for a foul and the goal was taken off the scoreboard. The Owls out-shot Tulsa 13-10 for the entire game. The Blue and Gray also held a 4-3 advantage in shots on-goal, but all four were in the second half. Candee, Caitlin Robbins, Lennie Waite and Ashley Lucas all took solid attempts in the second half that were corralled by the Tulsa keeper.
The team bounced back in a big way two days later. Sophomore Samantha Conn's goal in the 109th minute lifted the visiting Owls to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over SMU in double-overtime Sunday afternoon at Westcott Field in Dallas. Rice was 0-4 on the road this year and 0-6 all-time vs. the Mustangs dating back to the start of the program in 2001. The two trends looked like they might continue after SMU scored off a corner kick early in the second half, but the team continued to battle.
Giese made four saves on shots in the second half and the team fought through an 8-1 deficit on corner kicks. In the 65th minute sophomore forward Clory Martin stole the ball in the attacking third then blasted a shot attempt from 25 yards out on the left side. The ball came in high and slid just underneath the crossbar to find its way in on the right side. Martin's second goal of the season tied the game 1-1 and gave the Owls new life.
The physical game that would go on to reach a total of 42 fouls went into overtime. It was Rice's first OT experience of the year but nothing was settled after one extra frame. Just seconds into the 109th minute Martin was again on the offensive prowl. She played a deflection on the right side and as the Mustang defense began to collapse in on Rice's leading scorer from a year ago, the sophomore from Austin passed the ball to Conn at the top of the keeper's box. It took Conn only a moment to settle the ball and release a shot that rattled in the back of net, inches away from the left post.
HOME SWEET HOME: Returning home for a game is good news for the Owls. In 42 games played on campus at the Track/Soccer Stadium, Rice owns an all-time record of 26-13-3 (.631). Rice began the 2005 campaign with a 4-1 record in five consecutive home games, the longest homestand in Rice soccer history.
CROWDING THE HOUSE: With a good home record, it makes sense that good home attendance follows suit. Rice is averaging 514 fans for five home games in 2005. That is the largest home attendance average for any soccer team in Conference USA. The opening day attendance of 1,276 was the fourth-largest crowd in Rice soccer history. The singe-game attendance record is 1,752 for the program's NCAA debut vs. Army in 2001. Rice has also drawn crowds of 1,487 for Texas State and 1,360 for crosstown rival Houston, both in 2001. The highest average attendance for a full season is 815 per game in 2001. Rice's best attendance games are listed below.
Top Rice Home Attendance MarksOpponent Attendance YearArmy 1,752 2001Texas State 1,487 2001Houston 1,360 2001Auburn 1,276 2005
THE STREAKING STARTERS: Senior defender Erin Droeger, an all-region and all-conference honoree last season, has started every Rice game in which she has played dating back to her freshman year in 2002. Droeger's career starts now stands at 71 games for the third-highest total in school history. The native from Huntington Beach, Calif., had started 61 consecutive games at one point, but there was no need for the Owls' star to start or play in the 12-0 runaway victory over Texas Southern (Sept. 1). Junior midfielder Vanessa Serrano has a streak of starting all 53 games in which she has played, the sixth-highest starts total in Rice history. Sophomore defender Beth Martin owns a streak of 32 consecutive Division I starts that includes her freshman season at Northwestern a year ago. Sophomore Laura Barber's streak of consecutive starts ended at 32-in-a-row on Oct. 9. Sophomore Clory Martin's streak of consecutive starts ended at 25-in-a-row earlier in the year (Sept. 4).
POINTS OF INTEREST: Forward Caitlin Robbins climbed into fifth on the school's list for points in a single season. Robbins tallied her team-leading fifth goal of the season against Marshall (Oct. 2) to give her a total of 15 points. The local standout from nearby Lamar High School is tied for fourth in goals scored in a single season. She also co-leads the team with five assists, the third-highest season mark in Rice history.
SERIES NOTES: It may not be for the Bayou Bucket, Bayou Cup or Silver Glove, but the Rice-Houston soccer series is big. Bragging rights as the city's collegiate soccer champion are at stake for a full year. The Rice-Houston series history is tied 2-2, with the Owls winning each of the last two meetings by narrow 1-0 scores. Win or lose, every Rice-Houston game has been determined by a one-goal margin. The Owls are 1-1 when facing the Cougars at home.
Rice-Houston Soccer SeriesYear, Site Result Attendance2001, Rice UH, 2-1 1,3602002, Houston UH, 2-1 7112003, Rice Rice, 1-0 6302004, Houston Rice, 1-0 704
QUICK ON THE COMPETITION: Houston (7-4-1, 2-2-0) has been playing well as of late. The Cougars defeated Tulsa 1-0 in double-overtime on Oct. 9 and battled SMU to a 2-1 final on Oct. 7. Houston averages three goals per game and has the best goals-against average (0.89) in the league.
THREE RANKED FOES: The Sept. 18 contest against Texas was the Owls' third game against a ranked opponent this season. That's the most ranked foes Rice soccer has faced in one season since the program began in 2001. The 2002 team played two ranked teams. The 2005 Owls are 1-2 against ranked teams with a 2-1 win over Auburn and a 3-1 loss at Nebraska.
RICE TO HOST C-USA TOURNAMENT: Rice has the honor of hosting the 2005 Conference USA Tournament in November. The league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament will be on the line at the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium Nov. 2-6. Sunday's championship final will be televised live by College Sports Television.
UP CLOSE WITH THE OWLS: This year fans will have two ways to get some extra insight to the Rice soccer team via the Internet. Senior Erin Droeger, a member of the 2004 NSCAA all-central region team, will keep a weekly web journal about life as a Rice student-athlete. The players will also be featured one-by-one in the new "Just For Kicks" segment. Fans can check out these features at the following links.
NEXT WEEK: The Owls are at home to face C-USA foes Tulane and UTEP on Oct. 21 & 23. Start times with the Green Wave and Miners are 7 pm and 1 pm, respectively.
