TCU's late-game heroics spell heartbreak for Owls soccer

By Yan Digilov     9/18/08 7:00pm

Escaping before the bad weather could trap them in Houston, the soccer team traveled to Fort Worth on Friday looking to climb up the regional rankings with a win over Texas Christian University. For most of the game, it looked as if the Owls were going to reach that goal, but two late scores by the Horned Frogs proved to be Rice's undoing. The first half of the match was a dead heat. TCU outshot the Owls 6-4 as both teams fought for the upper hand. However, it was Rice that first connected with a goal. As Junior forward Erin Scott registered her second score of the year after a deflection from the Frogs' goalkeeper rolled directly in front of her.

The 1-0 lead held until the 78th minute of play, when the Owls' back line was called on a foul 30 feet away from the goal. After a deflection in the box, TCU junior Lizzy Karoly netted the game-tying shot.

"There is a mentality that we need to have going into every game," head coach Chris Huston said. "If we get a 1-0 lead, no matter how tired we are, no matter what else is going on, we have got to find a way to mentally stay focused."

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Though the Owls have repeatedly shown that they are physically capable of keeping up with any opponent, numerous mental lapses led to TCU's second goal in the final minutes of the match.

The final score told only half the story. The Owls' offense repeatedly failed to deliver on close plays near the goal. In the 85th minute, freshman forward Hope Ward delivered a strong cross in front of the net, but no Owl could put it in for the point. Later in the first overtime, the Rice forwards managed to clear the TCU goalkeeper out of the net, but missed the open goal by inches.

"It was a really tough result," junior midfielder Shelley Wong said. "There were moments where we were playing awesome, but there were moments where we clicked it off."

The front line exhibited the most inconsistent play, falling victim to five offsides calls and repeatedly playing out of form. Surprisingly, the Owls' makeshift back line was the backbone of the squad for most of the game.

"I think the defense was probably the strongest part of the game," Wong said.

Though the Owls were out-shot 30-11, the strong performance by a defense that is still getting used to playing together proved to be an encouraging sight.

Unfortunately, senior defender Chandra Ewing suffered an ankle injury in practice on Sunday. Her status is questionable for the weekend's contests.

"If we can learn from any loss, then it is not really a failure," Huston said. "Now we'll see going into the games that we have coming up if we did learn from that experience."

The Owls are now coming home after three straight road games, but they will be hard-pressed to feel completely comfortable against this weekend's competition. They will play McNeese State University on Friday and No. 10 Texas A&M University on Sunday.

According to Huston, though, the home-field advantage should provide the team with a motivational boost.

"It is going to be great to be at home," Huston said. "Playing in front of a home crowd excites the girls."

Anyone who saw last year's rain-drenched tie against McNeese State knows that while Rice expects a victory, the Cowgirls are not an opponent that can be overlooked. On the other hand, Texas A&M could be the strongest opponent the Owls will face all year. A win could mean a national ranking, but even a strong showing could make up for the close loss against TCU in the regional rankings.

"That will probably be our best game of the season," Wong said. "We will come out to play for A&M. We just get really pumped for that game."

With five games behind them, the Owls are 3-2 and just weeks away from Conference USA play, which begins at the end of September. Performing well in conference games is their key to a conference championship, and they hope to get enough recognition along the way to be invited to the NCAA tournament.

"We are still getting votes in the region, and we are still a respected team," Huston said. "We just need those results to start falling our way.

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