Rice University Athletics
Rice University
-262, 02 CUSA
Marshall
-910, 20 CUSA
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MARSHALL | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Soccer Team Falls At Marshall 1-0 Sunday Afternoon
9/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 27, 2009
Huntington, W.Va. -- The Rice soccer team led the game in shots (12), shots-on-goal (6) and corner kicks (6), but it was the Marshall Thundering Herd that slipped away a 1-0 Conference USA win at home Sunday afternoon in Huntington, W.Va.
The loss is the Owls' second-straight 1-0 decision on the road to start C-USA play this weekend. The Owls are now 0-2-0 in league action after opening at defending C-USA co-champion East Carolina on Friday. Rice head coach Chris Huston said the final result on the scoreboard from the two games this weekend is not matching an otherwise solid effort on the field. It is simply a function of finishing what you start.
"That's twice now where we played in the other team's half (of the field) most of the game and don't have anything to show for it," Huston said. "We played well, but not for 90 minutes, and that was the difference. Our conference has improved across the board and every game is going to require a complete effort from every player, on the road or when we're at home. We created opportunities today and had a lot of different players taking shots, but we didn't finish the plays. We worked to get break-aways, then didn't put it across the line. Another time we hit the crossbar on shot. We're close, but close is not enough and we're going to work on getting the right results."
Rice senior Shelley Wong led the team with three shots, all on-goal, as the Owls out-shot Marshall 12-8. The Blue & Gray held a 6-2 advantage in both shots-on-goal and corner kicks. Late in the contest Rice sophomore forward Hope Ward hit the crossbar on a shot that could have tied the game, 1-1. It was some unwelcome deja vu as the Owls also hit the crossbar in the East Carolina game two days before.
The Herd came up with six saves to keep Rice off the scoreboard. The Owls needed to make only needed two saves the entire game and one ended up leading to the only score. In the 11th minute Marshall's Erika Duncan made a steal in the Owls' defensive third and took a close-range shot from six yards out. The ball found the back of the net for her first goal of the season and a 1-0 Herd advantage.
Marshall held on for the next 79-plus minutes to extend its best start in school history, 9-1-0 overall and 2-0-0 in C-USA. The Owls dropped to 2-6-2 on the year and 0-2-0. Rice is only halfway through its current four-game road swing. The Blue & Gray next play at longtime rivals SMU and Tulsa on Oct. 2-4, respectively. Start times are set for 7 pm at SMU and 1 pm in Tulsa.
Team Stats
DUNCAN, Erika (4)
Takes ball away from defender and shot o
10:34
