Rice University Athletics
Rice University
UTSA
Fans Allowed At Rice Soccer
2/10/2021 4:31:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Owls Host UTSA Thursday at 4 PM; TSU Sunday at 1 PM
Seating will be limited at the matches this spring and all tickets will be General Admission. Tickets will be distributed to season ticket members, player families and students. Fans will be required to wear masks at all times and sit six feet apart from the next group. There are no concessions at Holloway Field this season, but fans are allowed to bring food and drink provided they are masked unless actively eating or drinking. Parking for soccer is free in West Lot 6 or in the lot behind Tudor Fieldhouse on dates when there are no conflicting events at Tudor nor Reckling Park.
Season tickets for the 2021 campaign are currently on sale. Season ticket members can renew their seats online at Riceowls.com/myaccount and new season tickets can be purchased here.
Any ticketing questions should be directed to the ticket office by calling 713-348-6957 or emailing tickets@rice.edu
RICE SOCCER vs. UTSA | Feb. 11 at 4 PM | Watch | Live Stats
RICE SOCCER vs. Texas Southern | Feb. 14 at 1 PM | Watch | Live Stats
(Internet features activate at game time)
QUICK ON THE OWLS (1-0-0): The 2020-21 Rice soccer team returns eight of 11 starters from last season's squad that went 10-6-3 and won a game in the Conference USA Tournament. The Owls return a total of 20 letterwinners from a year ago and welcome in a talented new recruiting class.
20th SEASON OF RICE SOCCER: It may have taken a little extra time to get here, but the 20th anniversary season of Rice Owls Soccer has arrived! After starting a full-scholarship soccer program for the first time in 2001, the fall of 2020 was expected to be the 20th anniversary season of the program. Soccer and a lot of sports around the college landscape, however, were delayed due to the world-wide illness. The NCAA is sanctioning spring soccer this semester with a national championship tournament scheduled for the end of the regular season.
THIS WEEK: The Rice soccer team hosts a pair of rivals as part of a current homestand that last thru Feb. 21. The Owls welcome Conference USA opponent UTSA at Holloway Field at 4 pm on Thursday (Feb. 11). Where the match is between two C-USA foes with a soccer history, Thursday's contest is not is not counting as a league game this time. The official C-USA clash between the schools is set for Feb. 28 in San Antonio. On Sunday (Feb. 14) Rice hosts crosstown foe Texas Southern to Holloway Field for a 1 pm game. The match marks the fourth time for the Owls and Tigers to meet on the soccer field, and the first match between the teams since 2006.
LAST WEEK: The Rice soccer team rallied for a pair of second half goals to claim a 2-1 season opening victory at home over visiting McNeese Feb. 7 (Sun.) at Holloway Field in Houston. McNeese was quick on the attack and scored in the opening minute of the contest. Rice regrouped on defense and turned up the pressure on the offensive side, but the 1-0 margin held to the intermission. Senior forward Haley Kostyshyn was inserted into the lineup to start the second half and soon tallied the equalizer. True freshman Catarina Albuquerque played the ball to Kostyshyn in front of the McNeese goal and the Owl veteran headed a shot attempt to the back of the net to tie the contest in the 55th minute. Kostyshyn's tenth career goal provided a needed spark. Less than four minutes later Rice freshman Mikala Furuto chased down a ball bounding towards the sideline well outside the 18 on the left wing. McNeese still had a plenty of time to find its defensive shape as Furuto was 25-30 yards from the goal and is only a freshman in her first official Division I game. Furuto, however, opportunistically proceeded to launch a rocket shot that found the inside netting on the right side. Her first career goal, on the first shot attempt of her collegiate career, put Rice in front 2-1 in the 59th minute. The rookie from Littleton, Colorado, became only the tenth Owl in program history to score a goal in her first Rice game. Rice finished with a 17-6 lead in shots, including an 11-3 advantage in the second half. The Owls also held a 5-2 edge in corner kicks. Owl goalkeeper Bella Killgore finished the day with a pair of saves, but the junior from Houston also led all players with four shots while coming forward to take free kicks in a new innovation for the Blue & Gray.
THE FALSE START: Originally Rice was scheduled to open the season on Feb. 4 against McNeese on the road in Lake Charles, La. That match indeed started, but was canceled in the seventh minute due to field conditions. By NCAA rule a Division I match must reach the 70th minute to be considered an official result. Rice head coach Brian Lee issued the following statement: "This was collaborative decision with the McNeese coaches, administration and officials that one area of the field was unplayable to the point of risking player safety," coach Lee explained. "We appreciate the professionalism of the officials and McNeese staff, and wish them good luck this spring and to the community that continues with hurricane recovery efforts." Rice was quickly able to adjust its schedule allowing for the cancellation to be made up at Holloway Field just three days later. A game against HBU originally scheduled for that same Sunday date and time was moved to March 25 at Holloway Field.
COACH'S CORNER: Rice soccer is under the direction of head coach Brian Lee, who is in his second season at the helm of the program. A 2018 finalist for National Coach of the Year and with more than 25 years of experience as a Division I head coach, Lee enters this week's action with a career record of 298-194-58. Lee's Rice coaching staff includes Megan Kinneman, Travis Curson and new volunteer assistant Lianne Mananquil. Coach Lee's video preview of this week's games is available at the above link.
C-USA PRESEASON ACCOLADES: IRVING, Texas – Led by the duo of Mijke Rolfsema and Delaney Schultz as preseason Conference USA honorees, the Rice soccer team was picked to finish second in the C-USA West Division in the league's head coaches' poll announced on January 26. The preseason all-conference honors and ranking were determined on a vote of the 14 C-USA head soccer coaches. It is the eighth-straight year for Rice to be picked to finish among the league's Top 3 teams in the annual head coaches' poll. Defending regular season co-champions North Texas and Florida Atlantic were picked to finish first in the league's West and East Divisions, respectively.
SEC STANDOUT JOINS OWLS: Coach Lee announced the addition of SEC junior transfer Serena Pham to the Owls' roster, to be eligible for competition starting the Fall of 2021. Pham, a midfielder originally from Chantilly, Virginia, played the previous two seasons at Alabama (2019-2020). She appeared in a total of 28 matches for the Crimson Tide with 15 starting assignments. In 2019 Pham recorded the most assists by a freshman in Alabama soccer history (6). Two of her assists in 2019 were on both Tide goals in the 2-1 win at Rice on August 29. It is also worth noting the program has enjoyed great success when ACC transfer Mijke Roelfsema (originally at Boston College and now an Owl senior) joined Rice in Lee's first year at the helm of the program.
THE RICE-UTSA SERIES: Rice leads the all-time series with UTSA 9-1-0. The Owls are 5-0 vs. the Roadrunners when playing in Houston. Due to some odd quirks in the C-USA scheduling, last season's match (in 2019) was the first time Rice had faced the Roadrunners in San Antonio in three years.
DID YOU KNOW?: From 2008-2010 Rice and UTSA met three times as non-conference opponents.
THE RICE-TSU SERIES: Rice and TSU have met in soccer three times with the Owls holding a 3-0-0 advantage in the series. The Blue & Gray have not faced the Tigers since 2006.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING: Texas Southern's previous games at Holloway Field were from 2004 to 2006, a stretch of some of Rice's best soccer teams in program history. In 2004 the Owls went on to post a school record 14 wins earn an at large appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In 2005 Rice would return to the NCAAs after claiming its first C-USA Tournament Championship. In 2006 the Blue & Gray jumped out to a school best 9-0-1 start to earn Top 10 national ranking by Soccer America.
CITY SHOWDOWN, PART I OF IV: This spring Rice is scheduled to play city foes Texas Southern (Sunday), the University of Houston and Houston Baptist. Coach Lee classifies each of these respective crosstown showdowns as a "Derby Game."
Players Mentioned
