Women's soccer enjoys weekend with first win of the young season

By Nicki Chamberlain-Simon     9/5/13 7:00pm

Czyz Steps Up, Career High of 11 Saves

Junior goalkeeper Amy Czyz tied her career high of 11 saves in Rice University soccer's scoreless game against Western Kentucky University. The team traveled to Bowling Green, Ky last Friday, Aug. 31, where they held off an aggressive Western Kentucky to finish in a 0-0 tie.

Czyz, who has the fourth-highest number of single game saves in Rice history, had to compensate for a new defensive combination and an offense and midfield that was not able to maintain ball possession.

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"It's fun for me to make saves and it was a nice change of pace, but that probably means that something else is lacking," Czyz said.

Western Kentucky outshot Rice 6 to 1 in the first period, which set the tone for the rest of the game. Sophomore forward Danielle Spriggs had Rice's one shot on goal, but the Owls could not reach the goalkeeper for the remaining 88 minutes of the game.

"I thought where we struggled the most against Western Kentucky was in our midfield and our forwards," Head Coach Nicky Adams said. "We were having a hard time holding the ball...we would get forward and just give it right back to them."

 

Hughes Earns 2 Goals and 1 Assist in First Season Win

Sophomore Lauren Hughes found her rhythm on Sunday after scoring two goals and providing an assist for the third. The team faced the Southeastern Conference's Vanderbilt University for the first time in school history on Sunday and won 3-2. The Owls are currently 0-1 at home and 1-0-1 on the road.

Hughes and fellow sophomore forward Holly Hargreaves led the team to a win with two goals and one goal, respectively. Hughes was named the Conference USA Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after her Vanderbilt performance that included a total of eight shots with four shots on goal. This is Hughes' second C-USA Player of the Week Award in her career.

Hughes said that the first goal helped play get going.

"Once we scored the first goal, I feel like it opened up the floodgates for the rest of the game," Hughes said.

Hughes' first goal was a shot outside the goal box in the 33rd minute and was assisted by Quinny Truong. Freshman back Jenny Fichera provided the second assist toward the end of the first half. Even after Vanderbilt scored two goals and outshot the Owls 9-2 in the second half, the team was able to clinch the win.

Adams was happy that the team was able to rebound after a difficult tie two nights before.

"The entire team stepped up this weekend. There was a lot of good individual play, but I was really proud of the team," Adams said. "What took us over the edge against Vanderbilt was the amount of heart and grit that our team portrayed against an SEC school."

Hughes is looking forward to seeing where the team will go from this point.

"I'd like to see how our team chemistry can continue because that's something that we had on Sunday that we haven't had all season," Hughes said.

The Owls continue their 2013 season Friday, Sept. 6 against the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque. While New Mexico is currently 1-3, all three losses have been to nationally ranked teams. The Lobos' 13game win streak at home was broken only last week by Texas Tech. Adams is expecting the cross-conference matchup to be a very physical game.

"[University of New Mexico] is probably regarded as one of the most physical teams in the nation...so that's something that we're going to have to match," Adams said.

The 7 p.m. game at Albuquerque will be followed by a Sunday, Sept. 8 matchup against Texas State University (3-2) in San Marcos. The game will take place at 1 p.m.

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