Soccer Hits the Road
10/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Oct. 21, 2010
Friday - 7 p.m.
Houston Cougars (11-3-2, 6-1-1) vs. UAB Blazers (6-8-2, 2-4-2)
Birmingham, Ala. - West Campus Field
Sunday - 1 p.m.
Houston Cougars at Memphis Tigers (11-3-2, 5-1-2)
Memphis, Tenn. - Mike Rose Soccer Complex
HOUSTON - The Houston Cougars Soccer team makes their last two-game road trip this weekend as they travel to UAB Friday night for a match at 6 p.m. and then head to Memphis for Sunday's noon kickoff.
The Cougars emerged as first place in Conference USA following last weekend's homestand where they beat East Carolina 2-1 and defeated Marshall 2-0. Houston holds a 6-1-1 record in C-USA and an 11-3-2 mark overall, the best in program history.
Against East Carolina, the Cougars got off to 2-0 lead due to freshman Kylie Cook's free kick and Nicole Duarte's long through ball to Lauri Byrne. ECU answered with a late goal in the 82nd minute and added more high pressure on the Houston defense, but the Cougars remained resilient and captured the win.
Houston preserved the shutout against Marshall on Sunday's Senior Day. It was the ninth shutout of the season for Houston, another school record for the squad.
Freshman Fabi Cirino scored her first goal with a neat shot from distance and Kylie Cook added another goal off a set piece, this time a penalty kick, in the 63rd minute.
COUGARS IN THE NCAA
Houston moved up to number 55 in the NCAA RPI rankings following the weekend sweep.
Houston enters this weekend's contest allowing the 12th fewest goals per game (0.54 - 9 goals in 16 games) and has scored the 44th most goals per game (2.00 - 32 goals in 16 games) among the 325 ranked NCAA teams.
Although not an official NCAA Statistic, those two totals combine for the 19th best goal differential in the nation.
UAB
The UAB Blazers are 6-8-2 (2-4-2) and have a -1 goal differential (28 goals scored, 29 goals allowed) this season.
Houston is 3-7-1 against the Blazers all-time and captured the draw in last season's 1-1 double-overtime game. Stephanie Derieg provided an assist to Katelyn Rhodes off a corner kick for the equalizing goal in the 70th minute for Houston.
The Blazers are led by Laura McCalla who leads the team in goals (11) and is tied for the team-lead in assists (5).
MEMPHIS
Houston is 6-5 all-time against the Memphis Tigers with both sides winning all their matches in a streak. Houston earned the first six wins in the series from 1998-2003 and since then, Memphis has a five-game win streak against Houston.
The Tigers, three-time defending C-USA Tournament Champions, are 11-3-2 (5-1-2) this season and currently reside in a three-way tie for second place in conference.
Taylor Isenhower leads the team in goals scored (5). Memphis has outscored their competition 32-12 this season and has doubled the amount of shots as their opposition.
