Rice University
Memphis
Soccer Hosts Weekend Tourney
9/5/2018 3:44:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Owls Face Longtime Foes Memphis & Tulsa
Friday (Sept. 7)
Louisiana vs. Tulsa, 5 pm
LIVE STATS: https://riceowls.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
Memphis at Rice, 7:30 pm
LIVE STATS: https://riceowls.co/SocVsMemphis
WATCH ONLINE: http://conferenceusa.com/watch/default.aspx?Live=5021&path=rice
Sunday (Sept. 9)
Louisiana vs. Memphis, Noon
LIVE STATS: https://riceowls.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
Tulsa at Rice, 2:30 pm
LIVE STATS: https://riceowls.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
WATCH ONLINE: http://conferenceusa.com/watch/default.aspx?Live=5023&path=rice
(Internet features activate at game time).
THIS WEEK: The Rice soccer team returns home to host one of the best regular season tournaments in the country this weekend. The Owls welcome Memphis, Tulsa and Louisiana to Holloway Field for two days of tournament action Sept. 7/9. Rice hosts Memphis Friday at 7:30 pm while Louisiana and Tulsa clash in the day's 5 pm opener. On Sunday Rice plays Tulsa at 2:30 pm. Memphis and Louisiana are Sunday's first game, beginning at 12 noon.
FUN & GAMES!: There's always a lot of activities and promotions for Owl fans at home soccer games. Friday is another Soccer Club Night where all youth teams in uniform receive free admission at the gate (club parents & other club guests must pay for admission). Fans will also have a chance to win another free Rice team-signed soccer ball, meet the Owls and get their autographs after the game, but that's not all! The first 100 Rice students (with I.D.) will receive a free Rice bucket hat! Sunday's game vs. Tulsa is Hispanic Heritage Day at Holloway Field featuring a live Mariachi Band!
ALUMNAE WEEKEND: The soccer program is proud to welcome back home to South Main its former players/Rice University graduates who are participating in the annual Soccer Alumnae weekend. These special Owls, including many who started the program from scratch in 2001, will be introduced at halftime of the Rice game Friday night. The Alumnae have also planned to have an 'old-timers' game at Holloway Field on Saturday (Sept. 8) at 10 a.m.
QUICK ON THE 2018 OWLS (1-3-0): The 2018 Rice soccer team returns 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. The Owls return a total of 19 letterwinners from a year ago and welcome in a talented new recruiting class.
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 71-49-22. 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. 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.
WATCHING WALKER: Senior forward Annie Walker is one of just 45 Division I women's soccer players named to the inaugural 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, presented by World Wide Technology, the Missouri Athletic Club and United Soccer Coaches announced on Aug. 9. The MAC Hermann Trophy, presented by World Wide Technology, is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and is presented annually to the most outstanding women's and men's players of the year. The award's respective watch lists are compiled by members of the United Soccer Coaches Men's and Women's NCAA Division I All-America Committees. Fifteen semifinalists will be named for both the men's and women's MAC Hermann Trophy near the end of the college season based on voting by NCAA Division I coaches and from those candidates. Three finalists will ultimately be placed on the ballot for the coveted award. This year's winners will be announced Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. Seventeen of the 45 players on the women's watch list were United Soccer Coaches All-America selections last season.
C-USA PRESEASON FAVORITE & INDIVIDUAL HONORS: IRVING, Texas – Led by the duo of preseason honorees Maya Hoyer and Annie Walker the defending Conference USA regular season champion Rice soccer team was picked first in the 2018 C-USA head coaches' poll announced on Aug. 6. The preseason all-conference honors and ranking were determined on a vote of the 14 C-USA head soccer coaches. This is the second time since 2014 for Rice to be tabbed as the league's preseason favorite. A year ago Walker led the conference, and was tied for ninth in the nation, in assists per game. The senior forward from Grand Blanc, Michigan, passed out nine assists on Rice goals last season while also scoring four of her own as the Owls went on to post a 9-0-1 record in C-USA matches. Walker also finished among the C-USA leaders in shots and is serving as a Rice team captain for a second-consecutive year. As a sophomore last season the league coaches voted Hoyer as the C-USA Goalkeeper of the Year. The Los Gatos, Calif., native tied for 39th in the nation with eight complete game shutouts in first season as a starter. Hoyer also tied for the C-USA lead in shutouts despite playing three fewer matches than the league's other co-leader.
THE RICE-MEMPHIS SERIES: Memphis leads the all-time series with Rice 6-2-1. The Owls' best two results were a pair of dramatic upsets over the Tigers by the scores of 2-1 in 2009 and 2-0 on the road in Memphis, Tenn. in 2012. Both contests were nationally televised. Rice dropped a 3-1 match to the Tigers last season in Memphis.
THE RICE-TULSA SERIES: In a long history of soccer matches that dates back to the Owls' first year to field a varsity program, Rice leads the all-time series with Tulsa 11-5-0. The Owls defeated the Golden Hurricane 5-2 in the most recent meeting between the former conference rivals, held a year ago in Memphis.
PREVIOUS OUTING: TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — SEC foe Alabama recorded four goals in the second half to claim a 5-1 victory over the visiting Rice soccer team Sunday evening on the road in Tuscaloosa, Ala…. Rice is now 1-3-0 on the season. Alabama improved to 3-2-0 overall… Alabama scored the first goal of the contest in the 30th minute and had a 1-0 lead at the intermission. The game was still just a narrow 1-0 margin until the 71st minute, but Alabama added a quick pair of scores to go up 3-0 by the 78th minute. Rice battled to get on the scoreboard in the 82nd minute as senior Darcy Mickalow recorded her first goal of the season. Alabama added two more late to the board to stretch the final margin to 5-1. Playing at home Alabama held a 19-11 advantage in shots, a 7-3 margin in corner kicks and a 10+ difference in fouls (17-7)… "The first half we were playing well, with a high level of energy and we were very competitive," said Rice head coach Nicky Adams. "I was pleased with the first 60 minutes. We had some opportunities to put the ball away, but we didn't. We knew Alabama was very good on set pieces, and we gave up four goals on set pieces. We want to get back to work to get better. We have more tough games this weekend and then conference games after that."
