Strong Defense and Timely Scoring Lead Rice to 1-0 Win over Florida Atlantic

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HOUSTON — Grace Collins' goal in the 65^th minute broke a standstill and the Rice Soccer team weathered an offensive attack in the final minutes to defeat Florida Atlantic, 1-0, Thursday night at Holloway Field.

The Details
Both teams came close to scoring early on. In the second minute, Collins sent a corner kick toward the front of the net where Madison Kent was waiting. But FAU goalkeeper Lexi Gonzalez punched it away before she could head it in. Two minutes later, Bri Austin got in close on the Bella Killgore for a shot, but Shelby Desroches slid in to block it. Florida Atlantic then got off two more shots, but Killgore was there to make the save. Rice put some pressure on the FAU defense in the first half, but could not get a shot off as the teams went into half scoreless.

The teams began to pick up the pace in the second half. Serena Pham almost broke the tie in the 48^th minute, getting in close but sending a shot just over the crossbar, while FAU got off four shots in the first five minutes. In the 55^th minute, following a Florida Atlantic foul, Bella Killgore sent a perfect free kick toward the net, but Madison Kent's header was saved by Gonzalez. However, in the 65^th minute, Collins took advantage of an FAU miscue as a defender clearing pass went straight to Collins, who dribbled past a closing Gonzalez and put it into an open net. Florida Atlantic almost tied it just two minutes later went Daniella Diaz' shot hit the left post and bounced away. FAU kept the pressure on, but Killgore, along with the back-line of Desroches, Carsyn Martz and Mikala Furuto kept the ball out of the net, clinching the victory.

What Head Coach Brian Lee Had to Say
"I thought it was a really good performance, especially by our back three and Bella (Killgore). The back three of Carsyn (Martz), Mikala Furuto and especially Shelby (Desroches) were just outstanding. They were super tough and gritty. It was a good overall effort from the whole team in putting in the work. In the first half, I didn't think we were great. We had a little trouble passing the ball into the right areas on some numerical advantages. But, we talked to the team before the match, some games are worth three points and some are worth six. Florida Atlantic is a team that has a chance to win the league. If you can get three points on another conference championship contender, it's really worth six. So it was a big night for us."

Up Next
Rice steps outside conference play for the final time this Sunday, October 2, when it travels to College Station to face Texas A&M. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed on SEC Network+.

Notes
• This was the seventh meeting between Rice and Florida Atlantic.
• Rice holds a 4-3-0 advantage. In Houston, the series is tied at two.
• Rice has started 4-0-0 in conference play for the first time since 2017 and just the third time in history.
• Through four conference games, Rice has outscored the opposition, 10-2.
• With the victory, Rice became the fastest Conference USA program, and third overall, to win 100 conference matches.
• F Grace Collins tied the team lead with her fourth goal of the season and the 23^rd of her career.
• It was also her first game-winning goal of the year and ninth of her career.
• GK Bella Killgore made six saves for the second straight match, giving her 335 in her career to pass Marshall's Liz Orton (2006-09) for ninth-place in Conference USA history.
• Killgore now has 41 career wins and 21 career shutouts.

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