Soccer wins against Lamar, LSU

9/3/14 12:54pm

The Rice University women’s soccer team went on the road this past weekend to play two non-conference matches against Lamar University and Louisiana State University. The Owls secured their first win of the season against Lamar and followed up with a second win by defeating the LSU Tigers. The Owls improved to 2-1-1 on the season.

On Friday night, the Owls traveled to Beaumont, Texas in their first of two weekend games. In nearly 20 mph winds and a constant downpour, Rice fought off the wet conditions to defeat Lamar 2-0, giving them their first win of the season.

After a scoreless first half of the game, the Owls came out in the second half looking to score. The first goal came in the 71st minute when junior forward Holly Hargreaves found the back of the net for her first goal of the 2014 season. Hargreaves connected for her second goal of the contest just nine minutes later.

Following the victory, the Owls headed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to play LSU. Rice held a 9-1 corner kick advantage and senior goalkeeper Amy Czyz only needed to make one save the entire game. Having played more than 80 minutes of soccer at a 0-0 deadlock, the game looked like it was headed into extra time. The Owls quickly changed that, however. Senior midfielder Quinny Truong took a corner kick in the 86th minute of play, and freshman Samantha Chaiken connected on the header for her first career goal and the clinching score. Senior goalkeeper Amy Czyz secured her 20th career shutout, breaking a Rice school record.

Head Coach Nicky Adams said she was pleased with the effort her team displayed against a quality Southeastern Conference opponent on the road.

“You always love a game winner in soccer, and we got one,” Adams said. “Anytime you beat an SEC opponent on their own turf, it’s even better. [I] couldn’t be any prouder at this moment.”

Chaiken said having her first career goal clinch the win was an incredible way to start her career at Rice.

“It was getting late in the game, and we really wanted to score a goal to prevent heading to [extra time],” Chaiken said. “I got a great cross in and put a good head on it. It was an amazing feeling to send us home with that goal.”

Czyz said she loves how Rice embraces the opportunity to play major NCAA soccer programs such as LSU and noted the confidence they have going into not only those games but all future games this year.

“The entire game, we played awesome[ly],” Czyz said. “We love playing teams like LSU because we want to compete with these schools as much as possible. We keep our confidence high and play full on every time we head out on the field.”

The Owls return home to Holloway Field this upcoming weekend to face Vanderbilt University and Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi. Friday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 5, and Sunday’s match is at 1 p.m. on Sept. 7.