Soccer on pace for bid in C-USA tournament
The soccer team will look to extend a two game winning streak this weekend as they take on Colorado College today and the University of Texas-El Paso on Sunday. Their last two road wins against the University of Central Florida and the University of Southern Mississippi marked the first time in history that the Owls have managed a win-out on a weekend road trip. With a 5-3 record in Conference USA, they are comfortably on pace to make the conference tournament on Nov. 5-9.
As the players approached last weekend's games, they were looking for redemption from winless trips to the University of Alabama- Birmingham and Memphis the week prior.
"This team set a goal going into this weekend's road trip and that was that we were going to win-out the regular season," head coach Chris Huston said. "We are off to a 2-0 start. That is the mindset of the team, not to take any team lightly and to go out and win every game we got left."
The loss at UAB came as a surprise to many. The Owls have come out on top three out of the last four times the two teams have met, and UAB seemed to be struggling in the standings this season, posting a 3-9 record before the match up.
"They were at the lower end of the standings," Huston said. "I think that we just didn't approach it with the seriousness that each conference game needs to be approached."
Despite having an equal number of shot attempts in the game, the Blazers won by score of 5-2, leaving the Owls reeling and needing to refocus themselves in order to maintain their standing in the conference.
An opportunity for reprieve did not present itself until the following week, because the Owls had to make another roadtrip, this time to Tennessee. There, they suffered a 1-0 loss to defending conference champions Memphis two days after the crushing loss in Alabama.
Putting the losses behind them, the Owls prepared to face regular season champion UCF this past Friday. Huston spent the entire week of practice preparing the team mentally for a strong finish to a challenging four game road trip.
"On Thursday's practice on the road at UCF is the most focused I have seen a team," Huston said. "You could tell they were there and ready to come out."
That focus paid off when the Owls were first to get on the board in Orlando. The Golden Knights were two points ahead of the Owls coming in to the weekend, with 11 points thanks to a 3-2-1 record. Though the score remained tied at 0-0 after the first half, junior forward Erin Scott broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute with an unassisted goal.
After that shot, the Knights, infused with a sense of urgency, unloaded a barrage of shots. Winning the battle for shots-on-goal 16-2 in the second half, they forced the Owls to play up against the ropes for the remainder of the game. Sophomore goalkeeper Meghan Erkel held the one-goal margin with four saves until UCF finally broke through with less than 90 seconds remaining in the game.
"They were getting beat by a team that was lower on the totem pole than they are," Huston said, "So we knew they were going to come out and play extra hard. It was frustrating that it was in the 89th minute."
The goal was especially frustrating considering the extra attention Huston had given to holding 1-0 leads over the past several weeks. Though they were caught off guard by the rapid turn of events, the Owls showed tremendous determination to quell the attack, which was fueled by a home crowd and great momentum.
After preparing mentally for the match all week, the Owls added some extra pre-game cheers to the warm-up. The fervor with which they started the game stuck with Scott for all 106 minutes, at which point she took control once again and scored off an assist from freshman Hope Ward.
"We had been outplaying them the whole game, so we knew we were going to win it," Scott said. "They just started hammering our goal in the second half, and we were just trying to hold on. Instead of trying to hold on early, we should have kept playing."
The win marked the Owls' first-ever victory against UCF and their first two goals ever scored against the Knights, as well.
"What it does show is the character of the team," Huston said. "To be ahead and get scored on in the 90th minute, with the crowd and everything going in their favor we stepped it up. We got focused in overtime and did what it took to get the job done."
Continuing a string of good fortune, the Owls came out and trounced Southern Miss on Sunday, winning by a score of 4-0. Ward's game-winning goal in the 18th minute was the first of her career and marked an outstanding road trip for the young Owl. She had a combined five shots on goal over the last four games, including two that barely missed the crossbar against UAB and Memphis. She also contributed two more assists against Southern Miss for a total of five on the road trip.
"She has been working hard all year, and she has been doing a great for us," Huston said. "Hope was making the most dangerous runs of any of our forwards off the ball all year. She has been creating so many opportunities, and I know it is a monkey off her back to get that one in."
The Owls approach the weekend in fourth place in C-USA with 15 points. Though many of their remaining games will be strong challenges, especially Colorado College and cross-town rival University of Houston in the final game of the regular season, the squad is playing for seeding in the tournament at this point.
"I think it is important," Huston said about the significance of seeding in the tournament, "but every year you see upsets. If you are going to be conference champions, you are going to have to play the best teams. Whether you play them in the first round or the third round doesn't really matter."
Regardless, Huston hopes that the team finishes the season showing more consistency and focus as the conference championship, which will be held at Rice, draws closer. They have three games left to peak at just the right part of the season.
"This would be great if this was the start of a peak," she said. "They have been working hard in practice. The attitude has been great. The mindset has been great, so this weekend will tell if we are peaking. Hopefully this wasn't just a one weekend wonder."
The Owls return to Rice Soccer/Track Stadium today for their final home game, during in which the seniors on the team will be honored.
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