Rice University
3-2-0
Cleveland State
2-3-1
Rice Blanks Cleveland State Sunday, 2-0
9/8/2019 7:04:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Owls Next Face Longtie Foe SMU Thursday Night In dallas
With the win the Owls improved to 3-2-0 on the season. Cleveland State is now 2-3-1 overall.
"This is a really good sign moving forward in the season, playing Friday night and then turning right around and getting a win in a Sunday morning game," said Rice head coach Brian Lee. "We were resilient, tough, gritty and played as though we had pretty fresh legs. The team was ready to do the job mentally and physically."
Rice opened the scoring midway through the first half. In the 23rd minute sophomore Delaney Schultz had the ball inside the 18 in front of the goal. When the Cleveland State defenders swarmed to surround Schultz, she threaded a right side pass to a charging Louise Stephens, who blasted away on shot that found the back of the Viking net on the left side. The goal was Stephens' second of the season.
Cleveland State, however, would not go away so easily. The Vikings continued to apply offensive pressure and had a tremendous scoring chance in the 83rd minute after the Owls committed a foul in its defensive area. The Vikings attempted the penalty kick, but Killgore made a dramatic diving save to keep CSU off the scoreboard.
Killgore's sensational save sparked an emotional surge, and a few minutes later the Blue & Gray improvised a scoring opportunity. In the 88th minute Kostyshyn stole the ball on the right wing deep in the Vikings' defensive third of the field. The international standout quickly launched a shot for her team-leading third goal of the season. Instead of a potentially tie score in the 82nd minute, the Owls had suddenly stretched the margin to 2-0 with two minutes left to play.
"Bella's save was a game-changer," Lee said. "It's funny how the game works. I honestly thought we had played our best ten minutes of the entire game right up until they got in our end and lined up for that PK. It was an absolutely key moment, and Bella came up big."
Killgore finished the day with a season-high four saves. She was joined by Stephens and Schultz on the Invitational's All-Tournament Team.
The Owls are next in action on Thursday (Sept.12) with a road match against longtime state rival SMU. The Blue & Gray then return home to Holloway Field to host Pac-12 power Oregon State on Sept. 15 (Sunday).
Team Stats
Louise Stephens (2)
Assisted By: Delaney Schultz
GOAL by RICE Louise Stephens (FIRST GOAL), Assist by Delaney Schultz, goal number 2 for season.
22:11
Haley Kostyshyn (3)
shot from right side of field, found mid
87:27
