Women's soccer defeats UTEP, falls to UTSA on the road

By Luke Samora     9/30/13 7:00pm

The Rice Owls women's soccer team started conference play with a weekend on the road, playing both the University of Texas, El Paso and the University of Texas, San Antonio. Rice defeated the UTEP Miners 2-1 on Friday, earning the team its first conference win. The Owls then traveled to San Antonio, where they lost to the UTSA Roadrunners, bringing their conference record to 1-1.

The Owls showed a lot of heart against UTEP, fighting back and rallying to win 2-1 in El Paso. The game remained scoreless until the 71st minute, when UTEP's Tayler O'Hare scored off a long free kick to put the Miners up 1-0. Immediately after UTEP scored, Owls junior midfielder Gabriela Iribarne scored off an assist from freshman Bella Hernandez, tying the game 1-1. Sophomore Holly Hargreaves then scored the game's final goal with a header off a cross from freshman Jenny Fichera. 

Head Coach Nicky Adams said she was pleased with Fichera and her development as a player.

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"[Fichera] has done a really good job of providing an attacking presence from behind,"  Adams said. "Every weekend, she steps up her game and improves."

Adams said she was impressed with how the team played in El Paso.

"UTEP is a very tough team that plays in a very tough environment," Adams said. "I was very impressed with how we fought the various elements."

After the win, the Owls traveled to San Antonio for their second game in three days. The team lost 2-0, despite an 11-8 shot advantage and strong play from both Iribarne and junior goalkeeper Amy Czyz. 

Senior defender Hayley Williams said she noticed some key differences between the UTEP and UTSA games.

 "We had a hard pair of games this weekend, and while we got a good result against UTEP, we weren't as successful against UTSA," Williams said. "Because we aren't an established dynasty like some women's soccer programs, we can't just show up and win. We have to play our best game every game, and we found our way to win on Friday, but [we] weren't all on the same page on Sunday, and it showed in the results."

Adams said consistency is key for the team going into practice this week.

 "Consistency is a huge thing for us," Adams said. "We're showing up for certain things some games, and other times, we're not. All three positions have to be on the same page, and sometimes they're just not."

The Owls' next two games are at home. The University of North Texas and the University of Tulsa come to Rice's Holloway Field in hopes of securing conference wins. 

Adams said both teams bring different challenges that will force the Owls to be at the top of their game.

"Both teams are top teams on the schedule," Adams said. "[UNT] is a direct team with speed up top that [has] so far produced really great results. Tulsa is a huge rival that goes way back, and this is one of the best teams they have had in years. Ultimately, we can't worry about what they do; we have to worry about what we do."

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