Droeger, Robbins Earn SoccerBuzz All-Region Honors
12/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Dec. 21, 2005
NEW YORK, N.Y. -
Two of the stars of Rice's 2005 Conference USA championship soccer team, senior defender Erin Droeger and freshman forward Caitlin Robbins, were named all-Central Region honorees by the SoccerBuzz Magazine, the publication announced on Wednesday.
Droeger was named to the SoccerBuzz' central region second team for an outstanding season. She has been one of the team's cornerstone players the last four years while anchoring the Rice defensive unit that proved to be one of the best in C-USA. On the field the senior from Huntington Beach, Calif., had the role of marking the other team's top scoring threat. Her defensive skills, tenacity and field-leadership earned her the respect of other teams across the country. Defensively the Owls allowed among the fewest goals of any C-USA team (0.93 per game). Droeger was also selected as an all-region selection by the National Collegiate Soccer Coaches Association last week.
Robbins was named to the Buzz' central region all-freshman team. She was a redshirt who sat out 2004 after suffering an injury early in the year. In her first full season of Division I soccer in 2005, the Houston native scored a school record 14 goals with 7 assists for a school record 35 points. Robbins ranked among the C-USA leaders in goals, game-winning goals, goals per game, points, points per game, shots and shots per game. The standout from nearby Lamar High School maintained a .269 shooting percentage and .558 shots-on-goal percentage. Though just a freshman, Robbins moved into second place on Rice career list for goals scored with 15.
In 2005 Rice won its first C-USA championship in soccer and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Owls finished the year with a 13-7-1 record. Five Owls have earned six all-region honors from SoccerBuzz since the Owls started the program five years ago.
