Rice University
FIU
Soccer Plays Sunday At Charlotte
10/26/2018 11:22:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Postseason Bid On The Line In Final C-USA Match
LIVE STATS: https://charlotte49ers.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
WATCH ONLINE: http://conferenceusa.com/watch/default.aspx?Live=4839&path=rice
(Internet features activate at game time, and may contain data from a previous event until the actual start.)
SCHEDULE CHANGE: This weekend's league match at Charlotte was originally scheduled for Sept. 16, but was postponed due to Hurricane Florence. Rice's match at North Texas was originally scheduled for Oct. 27 (Friday), but was moved up to Oct. 5 when the shuffling began.
QUICK ON THE 2018 OWLS (6-8-1, 4-4-1 C-USA): Prior to the start of the 2018 season the Rice soccer team lined up to return eight of 11 starters from last season's squad that went 12-4-2 and won the Conference USA regular season championship with a 9-0-1 league record. Injuries this year, however, sidelined some of the veteran players and key contributors. There was in fact one game where the Blue & Gray started five true freshmen in the lineup. The Rice offense averages 14.7 shots per game and has maintained a steady .391 shots-on-goal percentage.
DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME: There is just one game left for both Rice and Charlotte in the C-USA regular season, and it is big for both programs. The winner of Sunday's contest will automatically qualify for next week's C-USA Championship in Norfolk, Va. If the teams tie Sunday, Rice would be the team to advance to the postseason based on a slightly higher season-long point total.
COACH'S CORNER: Rice soccer is under the direction of head coach Nicky Adams, who is now in her eighth full year at the helm of the program. Adams enters the weekend with a career record of 86-54-23. A former pro player and All-America honoree while playing at Texas A&M, Adams was inducted into her alma mater's Athletics Hall of Fame in the fall of 2015. She previews the upcoming match in the above video. Adams' coaching staff includes Brenton Saylor in his third year with the program, Kelly Madsen her first year, and volunteer coach Javier Jerez in his first season.
TOP G.P.A. IN DIVISION-I SOCCER: KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Rice soccer team posted the highest team grade-point average among all Division I programs (as well as the second-highest GPA for all divisions) on the way to receiving the United Soccer Coaches' Team Academic Award, the organization announced on Oct. 4, 2018… United Soccer Coaches, the national coaches association for college programs, recognizes exemplary performance in the classroom with its annual Team Academic Award. The organization honored 773 women's and men's teams from all divisions college soccer for maintaining a composite grade-point average of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale for all players on the roster during the 2017-18 academic year… Rice registered the highest GPA among Division I women's and men's programs with an eye-opening 3.77 for a total of 27 student-athletes on the roster. The women's program from Division II Bellarmine University led the nation with a composite 3.79 GPA... "I am of course very proud of the players in our program," coach Adams said. "Our student-athletes work equally hard on the soccer field and in the classroom. The players know coming-in that the Rice curriculum is one of the most challenging in the country, and for them to do so well both academically and athletically is really very special. Congratulations to all the Team Academic Award recipients, and their respective student-athletes."
THE RICE-CHARLOTTE SERIES: Rice leads the series with Charlotte 4-1-0. The most-recent clash was a 1-0 Charlotte win on November 1 in Boca Raton, Fla., at the 2017 C-USA Tournament. The Owls topped the 49ers in Charlotte by the scores of 1-0 in 2016, and 2-1 in 2015.
DID YOU KNOW?: True freshman Delaney Schultz has played all 1,384 of the team's minutes so far this season. The versatile rookie defender/midfielder from Saint Louis, Mo., is in fact the first Rice player in program history not to be subbed-out of any game, and play 100-percent of the team's total minutes in a single season.
PREVIOUS OUTING: HOUSTON — Visiting Florida Atlantic slipped-in a goal in the closing seconds of the first half, and then hung-on for 45 minutes in the second half, to claim a 1-0 Conference USA win Sunday afternoon at Holloway Field… Rice fell to 6-8-1 on the season and 4-4-1 in C-USA play for a total of 13 points in the league standings. The C-USA point total, based on three points for a win and one for a tie, is used to determine each team's place in the conference standings. Sunday's result Rice moved into a three-way tie for sixth place, and is still one of the top eight teams that would advance to the league's postseason tournament... Rice was playing well Sunday against a Florida Atlantic squad that holds a share of first place in C-USA (22 points). It was not until there was 30 seconds left in the first half, the game's 45th minute, when the lone goal of the day was scored. As both teams lined up for a Rice goal-kick, officials instead called for a FAU corner, which was more than welcome news for the visiting side… FAU sent the ball into traffic in front of the goal and players swarmed around the ball on the ground. FAU's Tiril Haga knocked it in from close range for her fifth goal of the season on her only shot of the day… Rice finished with 17-12 lead in shots and held a 6-4 margin in corner kicks. Senior Marissa Topolski led all players Sunday with seven shots, including three on-goal. It was the second time in as many games for Topolski to post a season-high seven shots. Both goalkeepers finished with four saves each. FAU improved to 10-7-1 overall and 7-1-1 in conference.
HAIL SENIORS!: Last weekend Rice's five seniors, Gabriella Martinez, Dominique Mazero, Darcy Mickalow, Marissa Topolski and Annie Walker played the final home games of their Rice career. The five Rice seniors, who have amassed 39 wins in the last three-plus years, were honored before the start of the Oct. 19 match vs. FIU.
