Soccer wins Conference USA trophy

By Michael Kidd     11/12/14 2:26pm

The Rice University soccer team entered the Conference USA tournament as the No. 2 overall seed while riding a four-game winning streak. With three consecutive wins in tournament play, the Owls stretched their winning streak to a season-best seven games and were crowned the 2014 C-USA champions.

The Owls clinched the conference’s automatic bid for the NCAA tournament and will play in the opening round of games this upcoming Friday. This marks the second time in program history the Owls have won the C-USA tournament and the third time Rice has earned a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Rice opened up the C-USA tournament on Wednesday afternoon against No. 7 seed Western Kentucky University. In the 16th minute of the match, junior forward and C-USA Offensive Player of the Year Lauren Hughes slipped the ball past the WKU goalkeeper to put Rice up 1-0. Hughes extended her Rice school record by scoring in her sixth consecutive game, proving to be the game winner as the defense earned their ninth shutout of the season and Rice advanced to the second round of the tournament.

---

---

On Friday afternoon, the Owls played No. 6 seed Louisiana Tech University, who had upset the No. 3 seed University of Texas, El Paso two days before. Rice outshot LTU 12-2 in the first half and had many opportunities to push through for a goal, but the score remained 0-0 at halftime. Finally, in the 79th minute of the match, Hughes received the ball from sophomore Jenny Fichera and scored a goal off a deflection by the LTU goalkeeper for what proved to be the game-winning goal. The goal scored by Hughes marked her 14th of the season and the 32nd of her Rice career, a Rice record, and tied the all-time mark for goals in a season while breaking the record for points in a season with 37.

Sunday’s championship game matchup featured Rice and the No. 1 seed and regular season C-USA champions the University of North Texas. The Owls got off to a quick start, taking the first seven shots of the match. The offensive pace paid off as senior midfielder Quinny Truong raced down the field and fired a pass to senior midfielder Gabriela Iribarne, who was open on the left side of the goal, striking the corner of the net to put Rice ahead 1-0. The senior duo of Iribarne and Truong again connected in the 64th minute of the match to double the margin and give Rice a 2-0 advantage. For the fourth consecutive game, senior goalkeeper Amy Czyz and the Rice defenders completed the shutout and did not allow a goal all tournament to bring home the title.

Head Coach Nicky Adams took over the soccer program in 2010 and has led Rice to two C-USA championships in four years. Adams said she is proud of the team for accomplishing the feat, but she is not surprised they won the conference.

“[The team] put in so much hard work in the preseason … and just stayed focused on our goal of winning the conference championship,” Adams said. “I’m not surprised in the least bit that we got this done because of the amazing all-around team we have and our determination to win.”

Looking ahead to entering the NCAA tournament, Adams said she is confident in the team’s ability to compete with anyone they are matched up with.

“Our very tough non-conference schedule we played this year has prepared us for this tournament,” Adams said. “We are going to give them all we have.”

Czyz, a defensive captain and four-year starter at goalkeeper, said she commends her teammates for the way they played together as a team during the tournament.

“In whole, it was a complete effort with [Iribarne] scoring twice in the final, [Hughes] scoring in the other games and our defense shutting them out,” Czyz said. “We had a team goal of staying the whole week [for the tournament] and not [coming] back to Rice without the trophy.”

According to Czyz, the victory in the conference final is especially meaningful to the senior class.

“For us in the senior class, I don’t think we could have written our last year any better,” Czyz said. “As for our program, it’s been awesome. This is the first time we’ve won the tournament in almost a decade, and I can’t wait to see where Rice soccer is headed in the next couple of years.”

Iribarne, named the tournament’s Most Valuable Offensive Player, said the team’s success this year is due to the its work ethic and chemistry.

“This year has been so special; it’s hard to describe,” Iribarne said. “We’ve all been getting so many accolades and awards that are truly a testament to all our hard work this year and our commitment to playing for each other.”

The Owls will face the University of Texas, Austin in the opening round of the NCAA tournament in Austin. Rice will be looking to win their first ever NCAA tournament match on the road against in-state rival Texas Longhorns. The game is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 14, at 5 p.m. 

---