Soccer Preps For Showdown With Local Foe Rice Friday
10/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Oct. 13, 2005
HOUSTON, Texas - The University of Houston women's soccer team returns home to close out a three-match road swing against crosstown rival Rice, in a Conference USA match on Friday at 7 p.m. CDT in Rice's Track/Soccer Stadium.
The two squads have faced off four times, with the all-time series knotted at two apiece. UH won the first two meetings in 2001 and 2002 while the Owls have won the past two affairs. All four matches have been decided by one goal and neither team has scored more than two goals in a match.
"Anytime you can get a good result on the road, you will take it," head coach Bill Solberg said. "It's a big boost for our girls because it gives them belief in our system and they know they can win on someone else's field."
UH is 7-4-1 overall and are seventh in the conference with a 2-2 record league games. Rice enters the game with a 7-5-0 record, 3-1 in C-USA play, and currently sit in third place.
The Cougars split their matches last weekend, dropping a 2-1 decision to SMU Friday and winning a 1-0 double overtime thriller over Tulsa Sunday. Freshman Courtney Gaines (Sugar Land, Texas/Clements HS) knocked home the game-winning goal in the 108th minute from 17 yards out after the ball deflected off of senior Kristin Bay (Flint, Texas/Robert E. Lee HS) and rolled to Gaines' feet. UH earned its first road win of the season and knocked off Tulsa for the first time in school history.
Rice also won a double overtime affair on Sunday, handing SMU a 2-1 defeat. The Owls are led by redshirt freshman Caitlin Robbins and freshman Samantha Conn, who share the team lead with five goals. Robbins has also dished out five assists and leads the team with 15 points.
"It's going to be a battle," Solberg said. "These kind of games are always fun because they are played with great intensity and passion. It may come down to whoever gets the lucky bounce will win."
Junior transfer Sophia Mundy (Katy, Texas/St. Pius HS/Portland State) leads the conference with 73 shots this season, the top single--season effort in UH history and the seventh-best career total. Mundy, who owns the league's single-match record with her 19 shots against Texas Southern on Sept. 16, is 35 shots away from breaking the single-season mark. It is currently held by DePaul's Julianne Sitch who tallied 107 shots in 2003. Senior Stephanie Pucek (Alvin, Texas/Alvin HS) has stared the last three games in net for the Cougars. She grabbed four saves and picked up her second shutout of the season against Tulsa, moving her record to 2-4.
