Soccer Opens C-USA Tournament against Middle Tennessee

HOUSTON — The Rice Soccer team will open the 2021 Conference USA Tournament as the West Division second-seed and face East third-seed Middle Tennessee this Wednesday, Nov. 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT and the match will be livestreamed by ESPN+.

Match 18
What: Rice vs. Middle Tennessee
When: Wednesday, November 3 at 10 a.m.
Where: Boca Raton, Fla.
Stadium: FAU Soccer Stadium (1,000)
Television: ESPN+
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: Rice leads 4-2-2 (1-1-0 at Neutral Sites)

Scouting Rice
• Head Coach Brian Lee is in his third season at the helm of the Rice soccer program. He holds a 34-13-6 record and is 321-202-61 in 24 years as a head coach.
• The Owls enter the Conference USA Tournament with a 10-5-2 record after earning a 1-1 tie at North Texas in their regular season finale last Friday.
• Junior midfielder Delaney Schultz was named the Conference USA Player and Midfielder of the Year. She is second in the conference with nine goals and 25 points while leading the league with four game-winning goals. She is also third on C-USA with seven assists and leads the team with 56 shots and 29 shots on goal.
• Junior defender/forward Caleigh Boeckx is second on the team with three goals and nine points while adding three assists.
• Goalkeeper and Second Team All-Conference USA honoree Bella Killgore leads the league with an 84.8% save percentage, 95 saves and 5.59 saves per game. She is also sixth with a .944 goals against average.
• The Owls are outscoring the opposition, 25-to-17 and have recorded 84 points to the opposition's 43.
• Rice is averaging 1.47 goals per game while allowing 1.00.
• The Owls are averaging 14.06 shots per game and 6.94 shots on goal per game while allowing 15.18 shots per game but just 6.82 on goal.

Scouting Middle Tennessee
• Head Coach Aston Rhoden is in his 20th season at the helm of the Middle Tennessee soccer program, where he holds a 198-147-34 record. In 25 years as a head coach, he is 237-197-35.
• The Blue Raiders enter the Conference USA Tournament with a 9-7-1 after defeating Marshall, 3-2, last Friday.
• Senior forward and Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year Peyton DePriest leads Conference USA with 11 goals, 26 points, 75 shots and 38 shots on goal
• Freshman midfielder/forward Kirstine Lykke is second on the team with five goals and 12 points.
• Junior goalkeeper Hannah Suder has a 1.33 goals against average and a 0.761 save percentage while placing second in the conference with 70 saves.
• The Blue Raiders are second in Conference USA with 15.82 shots per game, but are placing just 6.59 on net while allowing 14.24 shots per game but just 5.82 on goal.

Rice-Middle Tennessee Series History
• Wednesday's match will be the ninth time in history that Rice and Middle Tennessee will meet.
• Rice holds a 4-2-2 advantage in the series.
• Rice earned the victory earlier this year when Delaney Schultz scored in double-overtime to defeat the Blue Raiders, 2-1, on Senior Night.
• This will be the third time that the teams will meet in the Conference USA Tournament.
• MTSU won the first meeting, 1-0, in 2015 while the Owls evened things in 2019 with a 4-2 victory.
• All eight meetings have come as members of Conference USA.

Rice in the Conference USA Tournament
• Rice owns an all-time record of 11-9-3 in in the C-USA Tournament since joining Conference USA prior to the 2005-06 season.
• The Owls are looking for their fourth tournament championship, having won in 2005, 2014 and 2020-21.
• Rice will enter the tournament as the West Division second seed.

Next Up
• With a victory, Rice will face the winner of Old Dominion and UTSA on Friday, Nov. 5 at 3:30 p.m. The match will be livestreamed on ESPN+.

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