Soccer Hits Road for Final Away Series
10/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
HOUSTON - The University of Houston Cougar Soccer team heads east for its final road series of the regular season, where they will face Cincinnati on Thursday, Oct. 13 in Cincinnati, Ohio, before traveling to Greensville, N.C., to play against East Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 16.
THIS WEEK
Thursday, Oct. 13 - at Cincinnati (Gettler Stadium), 6 p.m.
| Live Stream
Sunday, Oct. 16 - at East Carolina (Johnson Stadium), Noon
Live Stats | Live Steam
BETWEEN THE POSTS
Houston is the first team in the league to have two different goalkeepers take home Goalkeeper of the Week honors. Sophomore Rachel Estopare took home the honor the second week of the season, while freshman Nicole Young earned conference laurels Sept. 19.
Estopare leads the American Athletic Conference and is 35th in the nation in goals against average, 0.68. The Bend, Ore., native also leads the league and is 23rd in the nation in save percentage, 0.865.
The Cougars have five shutouts this season. Houston tied the most non-conference shutouts in program history (2005 and 2010). Arizona transfer Estopare and freshman Young have 58 saves so far this season and have a combined goals against average of 1.16.
GOALS GOALS GOALS!
Through 11 games, five Cougars have scored 17 goals. Sophomore Desiree Bowen leads the squad with six including nabbing a hat trick in Houston's match against New Mexico State. Juniors Hannah Dauzat and Selena Peters each have four goals. Dauzat's includes a hat trick in the season opener against Texas Southern. Junior Vanessa Almaguer has netted two and freshman Brook Runyon has scored one goal.
HELPING HANDS
Peters leads the team in assists this season tallying four. Junior Margo McEntire has three and senior Tiffani Echeverria rounds out the top-three with two on the season with Shayne Clewett, Dauzat, Runyon, Kaitlyn Wild and Kelsey Thein all with one each.
FRESH FACES
Freshman Nicole Young earned conference laurels Sept. 19 after her impressive first outing between the posts against UTSA. The Pearland, Texas, native, captured a season-high nine saves after replacing an injured Estopare. Young went on to record the first shutout of her collegiate career.
Against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, freshmen Runyon and Kaitlyn Wild notched their first collegiate points. Runyon scored the game-winning goal at the 62-minute mark on a breakaway to the right post. The Sugar Land, Texas, native also tallied her first collegiate assist against the Islanders.
Runyon leads the freshmen with three points. Wild also tallied her first collegiate assist on Peters' game-tying goal. Three freshmen, Kaitlin Bub, Morgan Ford, and Nolin Packer have started for Houston this season.
THE USUAL SUSPECTS
The backfield for Houston has seen the same three faces all season. Defenders Courtney Dudley, Hayley Hubbard and Margo McEntire have started all eleven games for the Cougars along with forward Peters in the front line. Hubbard has played every minute for Houston this season.
OPPONENT PREVIEW
Cincinnati (8-4-1)
Bearcats lead the series 6-2-0
Last Meeting: Cincinnati won 1-0 (Sept. 27, 2015)
Goals for: 7, Goals Against: 15
Cincinnati returns home to face the Cougars after dropping a 5-1 contest to Memphis. The Bearcats are 4-0-1 at home this season and 1-2-0 in conference play.
East Carolina (4-8) (0-3-0)
Pirates lead the series 10-2-0
Last Meeting: East Carolina won 2-0 (Oct. 24, 2015)
Goals for: 9, Goals Against: 22
Prior to playing the Cougars Sunday, the Pirates will host RV SMU on Thursday. East Carolina is looking for their first conference win and are 2-4-0 at home.
UP NEXT
The Cougars return home for their final homestead of the regular season. Up first Houston will play host to Tulsa at 7 p.m., Oct. 20 at Carl Lewis Complex. On Oct.23, Memphis comes to town to play the Cougars at 1 p.m.
TICKETS
The Houston Athletics Ticket Office is proud to offer the Shasta Pass for the 2016-17 athletic season. For just $80, Cougar fans can purchase one Shasta Pass, which allows season-long general admission entrance to all Houston Soccer, Women's Basketball, Volleyball and Softball home games. Single-game tickets start at $5. To purchase a Shasta Pass, CLICK HERE.
FOLLOW THE COUGARS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in University of Houston Cougar athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonAthletics), Twitter (@UHCougars), Instagram (houstoncougars) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/UHAthletics). In addition, the soccer team has established its own official Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonCougarSoccer) and Twitter pages (@UHCougarSoccer), which provide regular updates on the team and live results during home meets.
--UHCougars.com--
