Soccer defeats McNeese St. 4-2, but Owls fall to Texas A&M in final moments of game
Entering their final weekend before conference play, the soccer team knew they were waging a war against history, but they could not have been prepared for how difficult gaining even a partial victory would turn out to be. Though they were able to fend off McNeese State University, whom they played to an underachieving 2-2 tie last season, and challenge eighth-ranked Texas A&M University, who beat them 6-0 last year, the Owls were unable to complete the sweep.
The weekend kicked off with a home match against McNeese St., and though the competition heavily favored the Owls on paper, two early goals from freshman midfielder Amy Beger and junior forward Anne Candee were not enough to put the game away. The Cowgirls took advantage of a sluggish defense after halftime with goals in the 48th and 50th minutes. With half of the game remaining, the Owls appeared to be heading towards a repeat of last year.
Beger took advantage of the opportunity to change the team's direction in the 76th minute when junior defender Alexa Coralli found her open 18 yards away from the goal. She put the ball in the back of the net for her second goal of the game, which was followed by a goal from junior midfielder Shelley Wong two minutes later.
The 4-2 win exposed several weaknesses in the Rice's defense that were fixed in time for their nationally televised game against A&M on Sunday.
Head coach Chris Huston had been preparing her team mentally and physically with intense practices in the week leading up to the match. She made it clear that the team would have to climb a tough hill in order to defeat the Aggies, but the team did not expect that they would have to make the hike to the top without Candee, who suffered an ACL injury against McNeese St. The hill to climb even turned into a mountain to scale when Candee's replacement on the backline, junior midfielder Ashley Lucas, also went down with an injured ACL.
Huston said those injuries were major detriments for the team.
"That definitely hurts," Huston said. "Anne was a major contributor for us. When she went down, we subbed in Ashley, so in essence, we lost two starters this weekend. They are key players, and we are going to miss them, but this is where you see the character of the team."
In the Sunday game against A&M, the team appeared to key up their effort. The defense, which was completely remade at the start of the season and currently has four players out due to injury, performed beyond all expectations, holding the game tied 1-1 for 80 minutes.
A&M struck first in the 26th minute with a shot inside the 18 yard line after a free kick from midfield. Though Rice was outshot 7-2 in the half, they walked off the field at halftime down only 1-0. The one goal deficit would be enough motivation for the squad to come out firing.
Freshman forward Hope Ward placed a corner kick in the 50th minute, and sophomore midfielder Kate Edwards shocked the Aggies with a header, tying the game 1-1. For the rest of the game, the Owls put together their best performance of the year, keeping strong form defensively and offensively.
"Communication was awesome," sophomore goalkeeper Meghan Erkel said. "The organization was awesome. Everyone really stepped it up."
Erkel received Conference USA Defender of the Week honors for her effort in the match. Though A&M outshot Rice again in the second half, 10-3, her six saves and numerous batted away corners were vital in the effort.
Despite the valiant underdog effort, Rice's run at an upset fell apart. In the 81st minute, Jennifer Kmezich registered her second goal of the game for A&M. The Aggies left the match with a close 2-1 victory, but it was the Owls who proved their worth in the match.
"We came out with a goal to play our best against A&M," Erkel said. "We really showed that we can play against anyone in the country [even though] going into conference, we are sometimes known as the underdog."
A win against a nationally ranked opponent would have given the Owls the national recognition they need to make the NCAA tournament, and now the upcoming conference schedule is the Owls' only ticket into the show.
The Owls are set to play East Carolina University and Marshall University on Friday and Sunday this weekend. Both matches will be held at Rice Track/ Soccer Stadium.
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