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November 18, 2005 > Sports > Soccer loses 2-0 in NCAA first-round game

Soccer loses 2-0 in NCAA first-round game

By Stephen Whitfield | Thresher Editorial Staff

The soccer team’s season ended Saturday with a 2-0 loss to the University of California-Berkeley in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Austin.

California (16-3-2), ranked eighth in SoccerBuzz Magazine’s National Top 30 poll, scored both its goals during a flawless first half in which Rice (13-7-1) was completely overmatched. In the 21st minute, California took a 1-0 lead when forward Liz Eisenberg intercepted a pass and lofted a 25-yard shot that sailed over freshman goalkeeper Adriene Giese’s outstretched hands.

The Golden Bears extended their lead to 2-0 in the 40th minute, when midfielder Laurie Gartrell scored on a rebound off the left post.

Senior defender Erin Droeger said Rice’s lack of attention on defense allowed the second goal.

“[California] just got penetration, and [we] didn’t follow the shots,” Droeger said. “They got the goal, … and that was completely our defense’s fault — and mine — for not following [Gartrell] or the ball.”

California, the third seed in the Owls’ and Golden Bears’ quarter of the bracket, asserted itself in the first half, outshooting Rice 16-2, with several of those shots just missing high or wide. The Golden Bear defense was physical, and the Owls’ primary offensive threats — redshirt freshman forward Caitlin Robbins and true freshman forward Anne Candee — were non-factors in the first half.

Head coach Chris Huston said she was not surprised by California’s performance in the first half.

“We knew they were … going to play good, California-style soccer,” Huston said. “They were very athletic all over, and they worked hard defensively and offensively. They didn’t do anything different from what we [had] heard all year long.”

The Golden Bears had only allowed eight goals all season going into the game, so a 2-0 halftime deficit could have seemed insurmountable. But the Owls came out strong in the second half; the defense held the Golden Bear offense scoreless and allowed California few good looks at the goal.

The Owls twice came close to scoring off headers — one from redshirt sophomore defender Laura Barber in the 59th minute and another from sophomore forward Clory Martin in the 79th minute. California goalkeeper Ashley Surprizio saved one, and an alert Bear defender cleared the other shot off the goal line after a Rice corner kick. Rice did not seriously threaten California again.

The Owls went into their first-round game with a young roster, starting five freshmen and four sophomores. Huston said the new players’ inexperience may have hurt them against the Golden Bears, who had five seniors and three juniors in their starting lineup.

“We had six starters on our team who weren’t with us last year,” Huston said. “It’s a very young team, and I don’t say that [as an excuse]; I just think there were probably some jitters there for [those] starters for whom it was their first-ever NCAA appearance.”

The loss to California ended a successful season for the five-year-old program. The Owls opened the season with a 2-1 victory over then-24th-ranked Auburn University at home Aug. 26. Another regular-season highlight was a 2-1, double-overtime win at Southern Methodist University Oct. 9 — Rice’s first win in seven attempts against its former Western Athletic Conference and now C-USA rival. The Owls also secured a 3-1 victory at home against the University of Texas-El Paso, which entered the game with a 16-1-1 overall record, Oct. 23.

The C-USA season ended with Rice winning its first-ever conference championship, beating UTEP 3-0 in the title game Nov. 6. Robbins set Owl single-season records with 14 goals and 35 points recorded, and Candee and Giese won the C-USA Tournament Offensive and Defensive Most Valuable Player awards, respectively.

Huston said she considers the year successful, despite losing to California.

“This year one of our goals was to win the conference and actually secure ourselves a spot in the tournament,” Huston said. “We were able to achieve that. … We had a tough schedule, and I think we learned a lot from that. It was one reason we were able to come in here today and put up a good fight.”

With only three players on this year’s roster — Droeger, senior midfielder Kelly Brolan and senior goalkeeper Amanda Garrison — graduating, Rice will be in a position to vigorously defend its C-USA championship and improve on its NCAA tournament results in 2006.

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