Sunday, March 28
Houston
1 pm
Rice University
4
vs
0
Southern Mississippi
Photo by: Brendan Maloney
Soccer Blanks Southern Miss 4-0
3/28/2021 8:57:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Owls Move Into First Place Tie In C-USA West Division
HOUSTON — With one of its best efforts of the year the Rice Soccer team grabbed a share of first place in the Conference USA West Division standings with a convincing 4-0 victory over visiting Southern Miss Sunday afternoon at the Owls' Holloway Field.
Scoring Story
Southern Miss entered the contest with three straight wins and sole possession of first place in the league's West Division, but it was Rice that quickly went on the offensive with an early goal and never looked back. After a USM foul in their own territory in the 14th minute, Owl junior goalkeeper Bella Killgore came across the center line to take the free kick. From some 25 yards out Killgore blasted the ball and found the back of the USM net for a 1-0 advantage.
The Blue & Gray continued to apply the offensive pressure and lit up the scoreboard again in the 29th minute. Rebecca Keane darted with the ball in front of the goal outside the 18, but passed wide to true freshman Mikala Furuto on the left wing when defenders closed the space. With some room and time the Rice rookie settled the serve and fired her first shot (and only) shot of the day to notch her fourth goal of the season.
The second stanza played much like the first. In the 51st minute senior Haley Kostyshyn sprinted with the ball wide on the right wing, drawing the full attention of the Golden Eagle backline. The threat created some daylight in front of the goal, where a rocket pass back to freshman Natalie Gorgi made for an easy one-touch score. The Owls stretched the margin to 4-0 in the 69th minute with some quick pinball-like play from Furuto to Izzy McBride to Delaney Schultz, who finished the rapid fire sequence with a goal to an almost open net.
For The Record
Rice improved to 8-2-0 on the year with its fourth-straight win. The Owls are now 3-1-0 in league play for a share of first place in the C-USA West Division Standings. Southern Miss is now 5-3-0 overall and 3-2-0 in conference.
Notes & Stats
• With the win Rice moved into a three-way tie for first place in the C-USA West Division along with Southern Miss and North Texas. The trio are deadlocked with nine points each.
• It was the second time in as many games for the Owls to score two first half goals.
• Rice finished with an 18-11 advantage in shots and held an 8-2 lead in corner kicks.
• The Owls are 6-1-0 this spring at Holloway Field.
• Schultz is the first Owl to score in four straight games since Rebecca Keane in 2017 (Tulsa, FAU, LA Tech, WKU).
• Almost lost in all the offensive fireworks was a third straight shutout by the defense. Killgore stretched her scoreless minutes streak to 339:21.
• After meeting for the first time in 2005, Rice improved its career series record vs. Southern Miss to 12-0-0.
Next Up
Rice is next on the road to face Conference USA foe UAB on Friday (April 2). Start time against the Blazers is set for 7 pm in Birmingham, Ala.
Scoring Story
Southern Miss entered the contest with three straight wins and sole possession of first place in the league's West Division, but it was Rice that quickly went on the offensive with an early goal and never looked back. After a USM foul in their own territory in the 14th minute, Owl junior goalkeeper Bella Killgore came across the center line to take the free kick. From some 25 yards out Killgore blasted the ball and found the back of the USM net for a 1-0 advantage.
The Blue & Gray continued to apply the offensive pressure and lit up the scoreboard again in the 29th minute. Rebecca Keane darted with the ball in front of the goal outside the 18, but passed wide to true freshman Mikala Furuto on the left wing when defenders closed the space. With some room and time the Rice rookie settled the serve and fired her first shot (and only) shot of the day to notch her fourth goal of the season.
The second stanza played much like the first. In the 51st minute senior Haley Kostyshyn sprinted with the ball wide on the right wing, drawing the full attention of the Golden Eagle backline. The threat created some daylight in front of the goal, where a rocket pass back to freshman Natalie Gorgi made for an easy one-touch score. The Owls stretched the margin to 4-0 in the 69th minute with some quick pinball-like play from Furuto to Izzy McBride to Delaney Schultz, who finished the rapid fire sequence with a goal to an almost open net.
For The Record
Rice improved to 8-2-0 on the year with its fourth-straight win. The Owls are now 3-1-0 in league play for a share of first place in the C-USA West Division Standings. Southern Miss is now 5-3-0 overall and 3-2-0 in conference.
Notes & Stats
• With the win Rice moved into a three-way tie for first place in the C-USA West Division along with Southern Miss and North Texas. The trio are deadlocked with nine points each.
• It was the second time in as many games for the Owls to score two first half goals.
• Rice finished with an 18-11 advantage in shots and held an 8-2 lead in corner kicks.
• The Owls are 6-1-0 this spring at Holloway Field.
• Schultz is the first Owl to score in four straight games since Rebecca Keane in 2017 (Tulsa, FAU, LA Tech, WKU).
• Almost lost in all the offensive fireworks was a third straight shutout by the defense. Killgore stretched her scoreless minutes streak to 339:21.
• After meeting for the first time in 2005, Rice improved its career series record vs. Southern Miss to 12-0-0.
Next Up
Rice is next on the road to face Conference USA foe UAB on Friday (April 2). Start time against the Blazers is set for 7 pm in Birmingham, Ala.
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Women's Soccer
MF
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
MF
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