Kidd's Corner: UNT's style of play has no place in NCAA

By Michael Kidd     9/19/16 10:38pm

 Over the past four years at Rice, I’ve had the privilege of covering sports for the Thresher, meeting many incredible athletes and coaches along the way. It’s been a lot of fun for me, and on the same token, I become very invested in the teams I cover, particularly the women’s soccer team every fall and the men’s baseball team every spring.

On Sunday, the women’s soccer team faced the University of North Texas in its first Conference USA game. The Mean Green pride themselves on being physically reckless, racking up yellow cards in many of the games they play. I’ll be the first to say that UNT’s style of play is infuriating and has no place in NCAA soccer.

Not all games are created equal. I say this because of rivalries: the games that mean even more than the others, the matchups that are circled on the schedule before the year begins. At these games, the pregame speeches are more passionate and the benches are far more vocal. The adrenaline is flowing on the field, the fans are restless in the stands, the tension in the stadium is palpable and the emotion lingers long after the game is over, regardless of the outcome.

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The Sunday night soccer match between Rice and the University of North Texas was played between two bitter rivals. Each team has had much success as of late. On a talent level, the teams are similar, but the teams fall on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to aggressiveness and style of play.

North Texas forces opponents, such as Rice, to either compete at its level of borderline dirty play or succumb to the numerous fouls on the field. In a match earlier this season between Oregon State University and North Texas, players received six yellow cards. UNT junior Rachel Holden earned two cards and was ejected from that particular match. Rather than playing hard with the talent they possess, the Mean Green pushed the envelope in Sunday’s match with the referees and with the Owls. Frequently, their shoves in the back, flailing elbows, and late challenges were played off as “incidental” contact. Rice junior midfielder Samantha Chaiken, freshman goalkeeper Samantha Colley and freshman midfielder Lianne Mananquil all went down due to unsportsmanlike conduct on the part of UNT.

That’s only half of the story, though. UNT players could also be seen “diving” on the ground following challenges from Rice players attempting to draw a call from the referee. In general, the team was slow to take corners and free kicks, ruining the tempo of the game. The Mean Green consistently disputed calls with the refs and multiple players smirked and chastised Rice when whistled for blatant fouls. This team generally enjoys the dirty, chippy style of play it practices. You could expect to see this in a professional match where the pressure to excel is so high that players will look to any advantage they can. However, this type of play has no place in an NCAA regulated women’s soccer match. In this recent match against Rice, there were five yellow cards handed out, four of which were on UNT. The referees did not do a good enough job of protecting the Rice players and maintaining order, and it is disappointing to know that North Texas can get away with this on a weekly basis.

All of these tactics were understandably frustrating to the Rice fans, many of whom are friends and family of the athletes. Many players were visibly frustrated and nobody was in the mood for postgame interviews. But looking past the fans, the Rice players and coaching staff were clearly irritated following the game as well. Rice junior midfielder Aliza Wolfe had no comment on the way UNT played. Head coach Nicky Adams simply said that North Texas was a quality opponent. Those were the extent of the comments on UNT’s style of play, and it is understandable.A loss is a loss, and North Texas did play tactically sound defensively, but I presume this one stings more than most. The team needs to focus on moving past this game and preparing for Louisiana Tech University on Thursday night, but others such as myself can dwell on the difficult loss.

Holden of North Texas is an extremely talented player. She scored both goals against Rice but her edge and style of play is ridiculous. But scoring two goals? So what? I would like to believe upholding your reputation and character should mean more than that. North Texas head coach John Hedlund said he was happy with the way his team played.

“We have so much respect for Rice, [but] I’m really proud of my team,” Hedlund said. “They played like warriors.”

First off, I would tell him that he can keep his “respect” for Rice. Secondly, I’d recommend that if his team continues to play like “warriors” in his eyes, it should pick up the sport of rugby and get off a soccer pitch. 

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