Sunday, August 27
Natchitoches, LA
12 p.m.
Rice University
2-2-0, 0-0-0
2
at
1
Northwestern State
0-3-0, 0-0-0
1
2
F
Rice
1
1
2
Northwestern State
0
1
1
Rice Fends Off Northwestern State for Back-to-Back Wins
8/27/2023 2:24:00 PM | Women's Soccer
NATCHITOCHES – The Owls scored their goals in the early minutes of each half to fend off Northwestern State 2-1 to wrap up the team's four-match road trip to open the 2023 season. The Owls have won back-to-back matches to even the team's record at 2-2.
Post-Match Reaction: Head Coach Brian Lee
"I thought we started really slow and very fortunate to get a goal early which I think settled us down. I thought the middle of the game we generally had control of it and playing the way we want to play. Then we had our hands full the last 15 to 20 minutes."
How It Happened
The Owls picked up right where they left off Friday night, with Ellen Halseth scoring the first goal of the match off a pass from Natalie Gorji at the 12:33 mark. Gorji had an opportunity to extend the Owls lead with 15 minutes left in the half, but her shot was scooped up by the Demons keeper. Rice held on to the 1-0 lead at halftime.
Rice quickly doubled its lead just three minutes into the second half as Sarah Piper netted her first career goal off a pass from Halseth. Northwestern State continued to try to get their offense clicking with a great chance on a rebound off the crossbar, but Ann Stephanie Fortin's sliding stop kept the Demons from scoring. The Demons eventually were able to sneak one past Fortin with just 15 minutes remaining, cutting the Owls lead down to 2-1. The Demons looked to score again, but a great defensive stop from Jordyn Mariam prevented the goal. Rice didn't let the Demons get any closer, holding on to the 2-1 win.
Up Next
Rice will return home for their home opener against Houston on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m.
Quick Hits
Rice out-shot Northwestern State 17-15, while both sides had six shots on goal.
The Owls also held a 4-3 corner kick advantage.
Rice moves to 4-0 all-time against Northwestern State.
Rice has won its last 29 matches when scoring two or more goals.
Under Coach Lee, Rice is now 34-1-2 when scoring two or more goals in a match.
The Owls are now 29-1-1 when leading at halftime under Coach Lee.
GK Fortin made four saves in the match.
MF Halseth has six points (two goals, two assists) in the last two matches.
Post-Match Reaction: Head Coach Brian Lee
"I thought we started really slow and very fortunate to get a goal early which I think settled us down. I thought the middle of the game we generally had control of it and playing the way we want to play. Then we had our hands full the last 15 to 20 minutes."
How It Happened
The Owls picked up right where they left off Friday night, with Ellen Halseth scoring the first goal of the match off a pass from Natalie Gorji at the 12:33 mark. Gorji had an opportunity to extend the Owls lead with 15 minutes left in the half, but her shot was scooped up by the Demons keeper. Rice held on to the 1-0 lead at halftime.
Rice quickly doubled its lead just three minutes into the second half as Sarah Piper netted her first career goal off a pass from Halseth. Northwestern State continued to try to get their offense clicking with a great chance on a rebound off the crossbar, but Ann Stephanie Fortin's sliding stop kept the Demons from scoring. The Demons eventually were able to sneak one past Fortin with just 15 minutes remaining, cutting the Owls lead down to 2-1. The Demons looked to score again, but a great defensive stop from Jordyn Mariam prevented the goal. Rice didn't let the Demons get any closer, holding on to the 2-1 win.
Up Next
Rice will return home for their home opener against Houston on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m.
Quick Hits
Rice out-shot Northwestern State 17-15, while both sides had six shots on goal.
The Owls also held a 4-3 corner kick advantage.
Rice moves to 4-0 all-time against Northwestern State.
Rice has won its last 29 matches when scoring two or more goals.
Under Coach Lee, Rice is now 34-1-2 when scoring two or more goals in a match.
The Owls are now 29-1-1 when leading at halftime under Coach Lee.
GK Fortin made four saves in the match.
MF Halseth has six points (two goals, two assists) in the last two matches.
Team Stats
RICE
NSU
Goals
2
1
Shots
17
15
Shots on Goal
6
6
Saves
5
4
Corners
4
3
Fouls
7
9
Scoring Plays
Ellen Halseth (1)
Assisted By: Natalie Gorji
GOAL by RICE Halseth, Ellen Assist by Gorji, Natalie.
12:33
Sarah Piper (1)
Assisted By: Ellen Halseth , Elizabet Velkova
GOAL by RICE Piper, Sarah Assist by Halseth, Ellen and Velkova, Elizabet.
48:13
Caitlin Le Roux (1)
Assisted By: Annie Stook
GOAL by NSU Le Roux, Caitlin Assist by Stook, Annie.
74:52
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
5
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
1
mid
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's SoccerF
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MF
/ Women's SoccerMF
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