Rice University
Texas Southern
Soccer Hosts TSU 1 PM Sunday
2/20/2021 8:46:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Crosstown Foes Meet At Holloway Field
(Internet features activate at game time)
Rice hosts Texas Southern on Sunday at 1 pm and fans will be in the stands at Holloway Field. Thanks to the Rice Crisis Management Team's approval of a set of protocols for outdoor athletic venues. 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
QUICK ON THE OWLS (2-0-0): 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 crosstown foe Texas Southern at Holloway Field On Sunday (Feb. 21) 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 TIME: HOUSTON – Rice junior goalkeeper Bella Killgore recorded a complete game shutout with a season high three saves and her game-winning goal in 70th minute lifted the Owls soccer team to a 1-0 victory over visiting UTSA Feb. 11 at Holloway Field. As both the Houston area temperature and rain began to drop over the course of the game, a 0-0 stalemate on the scoreboard seemed entirely plausible. Steady as ever, Killgore was again playing well while making her 35th career start in goal. The visiting Roadrunners were also sound and solid applying offensive pressure and denying Rice shot attempts to keep the game scoreless two-thirds of the way through the contest. A Rice innovation that made its debut in the 2-1 seasoning opening win against McNeese over the weekend was Killgore coming forward to take free kicks, even if the attempts were on the opponents' half of the field. The result Sunday was Killgore ended up leading both teams in shot attempts, including one near miss that rattled off the post. Thursday Killgore was again back on free kick duty and game two proved to be the charm. In the 70th minute, the Houston native from Memorial High School blasted away from the visitor's half of the midfield circle on the right side. The ball found the back of the UTSA net as the Roadrunners hustled to defend."Bella commanded her area, and her free kicks continue to pose issues for opponents," said Rice head coach Brian Lee. "The back line and our overall team defending is getting close to where we want to be. Today was another positive step forward for us," he added. "We've made progress in attacking and getting into good spots to make something happen. We are not where we want to be yet, but the team's toughness and grit - while not in ideal conditions tonight - is a great sign for the future." Killgore is the first Owl goalkeeper to score in a game, and she is the 24th player in program history to have her first career goal prove to be the game-winning goal. The 23rd time it happened was with true freshman Mikala Furuto vs. McNeese just four days before. Rice held a 10-8 advantage in shots and finished with a 5-0 margin in corner kicks. The Owls improved to 2-0 on the young season. UTSA dropped to 1-1. Rice is next scheduled to host crosstown for Texas Southern on Sunday (Feb. 14). Start time vs. Tigers is set for 1 pm 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 299-194-58. 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-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: The Owls are 3-0-0 against Texas Southern in games played between 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
