Wednesday, May 5
Cary, North Carolina
8 pm
Rice University
vs
Virginia
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Owls Face ACC Power Virginia In Sweet 16
5/3/2021 7:40:00 PM | Women's Soccer
NCAA Start Time Set For 8 PM Central Time
RICE SOCCER vs. Virginia | May 5 at 8 PM (Central Time) | Watch | Live Stats
(Internet Features Activate At Match Time)
NCAA Championship Home page
Women's Soccer Bracket PDF
Interactive Women's Soccer Bracket
THIS WEEK: The Conference USA champion Rice soccer team, 14-2-1 overall and ranked No. 22 in the nation in the latest United Coaches national poll, is playing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Championship Tournament. Rice meets Atlantic Coast Conference power Virginia (12-4-2) in third round action on Wednesday, May 5, at 8 pm (Central Time). The match will be played at the WakeMed Soccer Park (Field #2) in Cary, North Carolina. This Spring's NCAA Tournament is a consolidated 48-team field with all bracket games to be played in the state of North Carolina. The winner of the Rice-Virginia match would face the winner of Georgetown-TCU in the NCAA Elite Eight on Sunday, May 9, at 4 pm.
LAST WEEK: So far so good! On April 28 (Wed.) Rice won its opening game in the Tournament by rallying for three unanswered goals in a 3-1 victory over previously undefeated Southern Conference champion Furman. That set up a second round match with No. 5 seed (and No. 4 nationally ranked) West Virginia on May 2 (Sat.). The Owls stunned collegiate soccer circles with a 1-0 win over the Mountaineers to advance to the NCAA's Sweet 16.
NEW TERRITORY: Last week's victories were only the first and second time for Rice Soccer to win a match in the NCAA Tournament. In four previous trips to 'The Dance' the Owls had never advanced past the first round. The Blue & Gray previously made the NCAAs in 2004, 2005, 2014 and 2017.
'DANCE' HISTORY: This is the Owls' fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament, but the first time outside the state of Texas. Rice had previously played in the 2017 NCAAs in Waco after earning an at large bid as the C-USA regular season champion. In both 2014 and 2005 the Blue & Gray traveled to Austin, facing the University of Texas and Cal, respectively. In the program's NCAA Tournament debut in 2004 Rice played Illinois in College Station after making the field as an at-large team with a school record 14 wins.
UNBEATEN STREAK: Rice enters Wednesday's contest against Virginia with an 11-match unbeaten streak (10-0-1). Nine of the last eleven have been by shutout.
PROGRAM RECORD 14 WINS: With the win over West Virginia the current Rice squad tied the program record of 14 wins in a single season. The Owls reached 14 wins for the first time in 2004 and then tied that mark again in 2014.
SERIES HISTORY vs. UVA: The Owls are facing Virginia for the first time. The is also the first time Rice has faced a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
C-USA CHAMPIONS: Rice won the week-long C-USA tournament on April 17 playing on its home field. The Owls defeated Old Dominion 3-0 in the first round (April 13), advanced past Southern Miss in a penalty kick shootout (April 15), and topped Charlotte 2-0 in the Championship Final to claim the league's automatic bid. The Blue & Gray have also won the C-USA Tournament in both 2005 and 2014 (which are also league championships but separate from the regular season). Rice won the league's regular season title in 2012 and also 2017.
NATIONAL RANKING: The No. 22 ranked Owls received 133 points in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll. View the full United Coaches national poll here.
HIGH R.P.I.: If you have disdain for the politics of the various national and regional polls, and prefer the cold, hard, math of the NCAA's rating power index, then note that Rice's April 18 RPI was listed as No. 33 in the nation. View the NCAA's latest RPI here.
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 in still going strong! 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 current spring campaign is serving as the program's 20th year of Division I scholarship soccer.
COACH'S CORNER: Rice soccer is under the direction of Conference USA Head Coach of the Year Brian Lee, who is in his second season at the helm of the program. Lee was named the league's coach of the year this season on a vote of the 14 C-USA coaches. 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 311-196-59. In his ten previous trips to the NCAA Tournament his squad had advanced to the next round in three different times. Lee's Rice coaching staff includes Megan Kinneman, Travis Curson and new volunteer assistant Lianne Mananquil.
HOST OF HONOREES: This year Rice has been recognized with a host of postseason honorees - including three of the league's major awards with Mijke Roelfsema selected as the C-USA Defender of the Year, Bella Killgore as the Goalkeeper of the Year, and Brian Lee as the Coach of the Year. The lengthy 2021 spring honors list that was determined by a vote of the 14 C-USA head coaches. Killgore and Roelfsema earned the individual superlative honors and were named to the C-USA First Team. Senior Haley Kostyshyn and junior Delaney Schultz were named to the C-USA Second Team. Rookie Mikala Furuto was named to the league's 12-player All-Freshman squad.
KILLGORE KILLIN' IT: On April 19 the Internet publication TopDrawerSoccer.com selected Killgore as its National Player of the Week after helping the Owls win the C-USA Championship. Until Furman's first half score last week in the NCAA Tournament, Killgore had amassed a streak of 833:22 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal. It was the first time a team had scored on Rice dating back to March 15. Killgore bounced back by keeping Furman off the board for the remainder of that game plus 90 shutout minutes vs. No. 5 seed West Virginia.
CLASSROOM STARS: Rice's Bella Killgore, Mijke Roelfsema and Delaney Schultz have been named 2020-2021 Conference USA Soccer All-Academic honorees. Killgore was named to the All-Academic First Team while Roelfsema and Schultz were both named to the All-Academic Second Team. Killgore is a junior chemical engineering major who maintained a 3.70 grade point average. Roelfsema is a senior Psychological Sciences major with a 3.88 GPA. Schultz is a junior Cognitive Sciences, Computer Science double major who has juggled her studies and Division I soccer to maintain a 3.75 grade point average.
OWL IN: The Owl In logo represents the continued commitment of Rice Athletics' student-athletes, coaches, and staff to come together for positive change throughout our department, campus, and world. With increased efforts in education, policy development, and action as it relates to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice, members of the Rice Athletics community will become better equipped to ensure we can fulfill our department's desire to be a more inclusive and welcoming place. To learn more about being Owl In, visit RiceOwls.com/OwlIn.
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.
(Internet Features Activate At Match Time)
NCAA Championship Home page
Women's Soccer Bracket PDF
Interactive Women's Soccer Bracket
THIS WEEK: The Conference USA champion Rice soccer team, 14-2-1 overall and ranked No. 22 in the nation in the latest United Coaches national poll, is playing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Championship Tournament. Rice meets Atlantic Coast Conference power Virginia (12-4-2) in third round action on Wednesday, May 5, at 8 pm (Central Time). The match will be played at the WakeMed Soccer Park (Field #2) in Cary, North Carolina. This Spring's NCAA Tournament is a consolidated 48-team field with all bracket games to be played in the state of North Carolina. The winner of the Rice-Virginia match would face the winner of Georgetown-TCU in the NCAA Elite Eight on Sunday, May 9, at 4 pm.
LAST WEEK: So far so good! On April 28 (Wed.) Rice won its opening game in the Tournament by rallying for three unanswered goals in a 3-1 victory over previously undefeated Southern Conference champion Furman. That set up a second round match with No. 5 seed (and No. 4 nationally ranked) West Virginia on May 2 (Sat.). The Owls stunned collegiate soccer circles with a 1-0 win over the Mountaineers to advance to the NCAA's Sweet 16.
NEW TERRITORY: Last week's victories were only the first and second time for Rice Soccer to win a match in the NCAA Tournament. In four previous trips to 'The Dance' the Owls had never advanced past the first round. The Blue & Gray previously made the NCAAs in 2004, 2005, 2014 and 2017.
'DANCE' HISTORY: This is the Owls' fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament, but the first time outside the state of Texas. Rice had previously played in the 2017 NCAAs in Waco after earning an at large bid as the C-USA regular season champion. In both 2014 and 2005 the Blue & Gray traveled to Austin, facing the University of Texas and Cal, respectively. In the program's NCAA Tournament debut in 2004 Rice played Illinois in College Station after making the field as an at-large team with a school record 14 wins.
UNBEATEN STREAK: Rice enters Wednesday's contest against Virginia with an 11-match unbeaten streak (10-0-1). Nine of the last eleven have been by shutout.
PROGRAM RECORD 14 WINS: With the win over West Virginia the current Rice squad tied the program record of 14 wins in a single season. The Owls reached 14 wins for the first time in 2004 and then tied that mark again in 2014.
SERIES HISTORY vs. UVA: The Owls are facing Virginia for the first time. The is also the first time Rice has faced a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
C-USA CHAMPIONS: Rice won the week-long C-USA tournament on April 17 playing on its home field. The Owls defeated Old Dominion 3-0 in the first round (April 13), advanced past Southern Miss in a penalty kick shootout (April 15), and topped Charlotte 2-0 in the Championship Final to claim the league's automatic bid. The Blue & Gray have also won the C-USA Tournament in both 2005 and 2014 (which are also league championships but separate from the regular season). Rice won the league's regular season title in 2012 and also 2017.
NATIONAL RANKING: The No. 22 ranked Owls received 133 points in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll. View the full United Coaches national poll here.
HIGH R.P.I.: If you have disdain for the politics of the various national and regional polls, and prefer the cold, hard, math of the NCAA's rating power index, then note that Rice's April 18 RPI was listed as No. 33 in the nation. View the NCAA's latest RPI here.
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 in still going strong! 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 current spring campaign is serving as the program's 20th year of Division I scholarship soccer.
COACH'S CORNER: Rice soccer is under the direction of Conference USA Head Coach of the Year Brian Lee, who is in his second season at the helm of the program. Lee was named the league's coach of the year this season on a vote of the 14 C-USA coaches. 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 311-196-59. In his ten previous trips to the NCAA Tournament his squad had advanced to the next round in three different times. Lee's Rice coaching staff includes Megan Kinneman, Travis Curson and new volunteer assistant Lianne Mananquil.
HOST OF HONOREES: This year Rice has been recognized with a host of postseason honorees - including three of the league's major awards with Mijke Roelfsema selected as the C-USA Defender of the Year, Bella Killgore as the Goalkeeper of the Year, and Brian Lee as the Coach of the Year. The lengthy 2021 spring honors list that was determined by a vote of the 14 C-USA head coaches. Killgore and Roelfsema earned the individual superlative honors and were named to the C-USA First Team. Senior Haley Kostyshyn and junior Delaney Schultz were named to the C-USA Second Team. Rookie Mikala Furuto was named to the league's 12-player All-Freshman squad.
KILLGORE KILLIN' IT: On April 19 the Internet publication TopDrawerSoccer.com selected Killgore as its National Player of the Week after helping the Owls win the C-USA Championship. Until Furman's first half score last week in the NCAA Tournament, Killgore had amassed a streak of 833:22 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal. It was the first time a team had scored on Rice dating back to March 15. Killgore bounced back by keeping Furman off the board for the remainder of that game plus 90 shutout minutes vs. No. 5 seed West Virginia.
CLASSROOM STARS: Rice's Bella Killgore, Mijke Roelfsema and Delaney Schultz have been named 2020-2021 Conference USA Soccer All-Academic honorees. Killgore was named to the All-Academic First Team while Roelfsema and Schultz were both named to the All-Academic Second Team. Killgore is a junior chemical engineering major who maintained a 3.70 grade point average. Roelfsema is a senior Psychological Sciences major with a 3.88 GPA. Schultz is a junior Cognitive Sciences, Computer Science double major who has juggled her studies and Division I soccer to maintain a 3.75 grade point average.
OWL IN: The Owl In logo represents the continued commitment of Rice Athletics' student-athletes, coaches, and staff to come together for positive change throughout our department, campus, and world. With increased efforts in education, policy development, and action as it relates to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice, members of the Rice Athletics community will become better equipped to ensure we can fulfill our department's desire to be a more inclusive and welcoming place. To learn more about being Owl In, visit RiceOwls.com/OwlIn.
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.
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
MF
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
MF
/ Women's SoccerWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02