Rice Soccer Looks to Take Another Step After Historic Season
8/18/2021 10:16:00 AM | Women's Soccer
When Brian Lee took over the Rice Soccer program in March of 2019, he was known for building programs from the ground up, having started the Furman soccer program in 1994 and leading it to four NCAA Tournament appearances before leading LSU to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, and six total.
Lee was taking over a Rice program just two years removed from a Conference USA regular season championship and an at-large NCAA berth, but also one that was looking for its first NCAA Tournament win.
Sitting in the soccer hotbed of Houston, along with the resources and academics that the university provides, Lee knew Rice had the ability to become a national power.
In his first season, he led the Owls to a 10-6-3 record, including a spot in the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament. Lee then prepared for the following season, knowing they had a chance to take another step. But then something unforeseen happened, a worldwide pandemic that caused the entire world to virtually shut down.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was moved to the spring. Lee and his coaching staff had to shift in their preparation for how to handle something that was unprecedented. That's when they came up with a simple phrase.
"I think we adopted a mantra of 'Prepare, don't plan,' said Lee. "Which for the type of students we have at Rice, planning is a big part of who they are and what they do for their short and long-term future. So, I think it was very effective and it was an ethos we'll continue this fall. As we go into an uncertain fall, hopefully it will help again."
Due to the pandemic restrictions, it would have been easy for any team to have a down year. But the Owls took it as another test, and blew right past it. All they did was have the best season in school history. Rice closed the year with a 14-3-1 record and a conference championship. It not only won he program's first-ever NCAA Tournament match, but added a second when it defeated No. 5 West Virginia to reach their first NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
With a record-setting season comes expectations. Rice already made history before this season started, as it is ranked 22nd in both national polls, the United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer, the first time being ranked in either preseason poll.
Despite the accolades coming in, Lee knows that the team can't get too caught up in them.
"Nothing is given. Everything is earned. It's extremely important that we are conscientious to not eat the poison, such as social media, rankings and things that really have no effect on us. So between those two concepts, we feel like we've got smart kids who are pretty motivationally-based on how they operate as long as we, as a coaching staff, do a good job of keeping them grounded."
Rice brings back the majority of its team from last year, returning 17 letterwinners. Having that kind of experience from a championship can give them a leg up on the competition. However, Lee still expects the team to continue to develop.
"As you build a program, you're in a constant state of growth and improvement. Every class that graduates hopefully leaves a legacy of culture, how you want (the program) to operate and how they want it to operate. The next group of leaders, their job is to build off what their predecessors did. So for us, we're pretty conscientious about that whole idea. Whether we return everyone or not, if we don't keep that mantra going and that growth process going, that will spell trouble."
Two players who return are defender Mijke Roelfsema, who takes advantage of the NCAA's extra year due to the pandemic, and junior goalkeeper Bella Kilgore. Last year, Roelfsema became Rice's first-ever first team All-American while Killgore, who played every minute of the season, became the second net minder in school history earn Conference USA Goalkeeper of the Year. Yet, even with their experience, Lee knows that to get to where they want to go, Roelfsema and Killgore can't rest on their laurels.
"We concentrate on their growth as much as anyone else's. They both have the ability and aspirations to be professional players. So it's our job to help them continue on that path and keep getting better as well. It's just a different kind of getting better. But having experienced, good players is always helpful everywhere on the field."
Joining the returners is a talented six-person recruiting class, as well as transfer Serena Pham, who sat out the spring due to the NCAA's transfer rule. With only two weeks of practice before the first regular season, sometimes the most important thing they can bring to a squad is depth.
"As you acclimate new players, depth is the best thing a college team can have, certain in a COVID time as well. Depth and quality of competition is really important. With the last couple of recruiting classes, that's the thing that they have brought. Our upperclassmen do a great job, and they always have since Day One since we've been here, of being friendly and being mentors to the younger players and helping them learn about our core tenants, our values and how we operate."
In just two years, Lee has brought unparalleled success to the Rice Soccer program. However, he knows there's still plenty to accomplish.
"We thought it would take at least four to five seasons. But we didn't really put a timetable on it because we didn't know the current team well enough. It certainly has been a quicker ascension than we thought, but we still have plenty of work to do."
Lee was taking over a Rice program just two years removed from a Conference USA regular season championship and an at-large NCAA berth, but also one that was looking for its first NCAA Tournament win.
Sitting in the soccer hotbed of Houston, along with the resources and academics that the university provides, Lee knew Rice had the ability to become a national power.
In his first season, he led the Owls to a 10-6-3 record, including a spot in the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament. Lee then prepared for the following season, knowing they had a chance to take another step. But then something unforeseen happened, a worldwide pandemic that caused the entire world to virtually shut down.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was moved to the spring. Lee and his coaching staff had to shift in their preparation for how to handle something that was unprecedented. That's when they came up with a simple phrase.
"I think we adopted a mantra of 'Prepare, don't plan,' said Lee. "Which for the type of students we have at Rice, planning is a big part of who they are and what they do for their short and long-term future. So, I think it was very effective and it was an ethos we'll continue this fall. As we go into an uncertain fall, hopefully it will help again."
Due to the pandemic restrictions, it would have been easy for any team to have a down year. But the Owls took it as another test, and blew right past it. All they did was have the best season in school history. Rice closed the year with a 14-3-1 record and a conference championship. It not only won he program's first-ever NCAA Tournament match, but added a second when it defeated No. 5 West Virginia to reach their first NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
With a record-setting season comes expectations. Rice already made history before this season started, as it is ranked 22nd in both national polls, the United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer, the first time being ranked in either preseason poll.
Despite the accolades coming in, Lee knows that the team can't get too caught up in them.
"Nothing is given. Everything is earned. It's extremely important that we are conscientious to not eat the poison, such as social media, rankings and things that really have no effect on us. So between those two concepts, we feel like we've got smart kids who are pretty motivationally-based on how they operate as long as we, as a coaching staff, do a good job of keeping them grounded."
Rice brings back the majority of its team from last year, returning 17 letterwinners. Having that kind of experience from a championship can give them a leg up on the competition. However, Lee still expects the team to continue to develop.
"As you build a program, you're in a constant state of growth and improvement. Every class that graduates hopefully leaves a legacy of culture, how you want (the program) to operate and how they want it to operate. The next group of leaders, their job is to build off what their predecessors did. So for us, we're pretty conscientious about that whole idea. Whether we return everyone or not, if we don't keep that mantra going and that growth process going, that will spell trouble."
Two players who return are defender Mijke Roelfsema, who takes advantage of the NCAA's extra year due to the pandemic, and junior goalkeeper Bella Kilgore. Last year, Roelfsema became Rice's first-ever first team All-American while Killgore, who played every minute of the season, became the second net minder in school history earn Conference USA Goalkeeper of the Year. Yet, even with their experience, Lee knows that to get to where they want to go, Roelfsema and Killgore can't rest on their laurels.
"We concentrate on their growth as much as anyone else's. They both have the ability and aspirations to be professional players. So it's our job to help them continue on that path and keep getting better as well. It's just a different kind of getting better. But having experienced, good players is always helpful everywhere on the field."
Joining the returners is a talented six-person recruiting class, as well as transfer Serena Pham, who sat out the spring due to the NCAA's transfer rule. With only two weeks of practice before the first regular season, sometimes the most important thing they can bring to a squad is depth.
"As you acclimate new players, depth is the best thing a college team can have, certain in a COVID time as well. Depth and quality of competition is really important. With the last couple of recruiting classes, that's the thing that they have brought. Our upperclassmen do a great job, and they always have since Day One since we've been here, of being friendly and being mentors to the younger players and helping them learn about our core tenants, our values and how we operate."
In just two years, Lee has brought unparalleled success to the Rice Soccer program. However, he knows there's still plenty to accomplish.
"We thought it would take at least four to five seasons. But we didn't really put a timetable on it because we didn't know the current team well enough. It certainly has been a quicker ascension than we thought, but we still have plenty of work to do."
Players Mentioned
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