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August 25, 2006 > Sports > Owls picked third in C-USA coachers poll

Owls picked third in C-USA coachers poll

By Matt McCabe | Thresher Editorial Staff

For the first time in its five-year history, the soccer team finished atop its conference with the 2005 Conference-USA Championship, clinching its second consecutive NCAA tournament berth. With nine starters returning and a highly-regarded recruiting class in place for year six, the 2006 season could yield even better results.

“This team has the potential to defend the championship,” head coach Chris Huston said. “When we’re on, we can compete with anybody. I think this is our strongest team yet, [and] as we grow together and gel, anything can happen.”

Sophomore forward Caitlin Robbins said the players have high expectations.

“We set a standard when we came in, and we knew what we wanted,” Robbins said. “It’s never going to be enough unless we get back to where we’ve been. There’s no reason not to.”

The Owls open their season tonight at 7 p.m. with a match at Texas Christian University, a team that is returning eight starters from a 6-11 season. The Horned Frogs’ lone meeting with Rice last year was cancelled due to Hurricane Rita. The last time the teams met was in Fort Worth in 2004, and the Owls won 1-0.

Despite an overall 13-7-1 record, Rice won just two of seven games away from Rice Track/Soccer Stadium in 2005. In 2004, Rice was 7-1-2 in road games, and with 10 regular-season matches away from home, the Owls will have to reclaim success on the road if they want to improve.

“[Winning on the road] is a mental toughness issue,” Robbins said. “Sometimes we got complacent when we jumped out to a lead.”

Unlike last year, Rice will not be able to vie for the C-USA title on its home field, as Southern Methodist University will host the conference tournament. The Owls shut out all three of their C-USA tournament opponents last season.

C-USA coaches picked Rice to finish third behind SMU and the University of Central Florida, two teams that the Owls have on their home schedule. Rice has 3 of its first 4 games on the road to start the year and 10 out of 18 overall. Junior defender and co-captain Beth Martin said that the team must set the tone early.

“What [playing on the road] can do to your brain and to your body is something that you have to break through. We need to make a statement,” Martin said.

In two exhibition matches this year, the Owls fell to Texas A&M University 8-0 but beat Northwestern State University 2-1.

“The preseason has gone pretty well,” Huston said. “I don’t think we came in as prepared as we should have been. We’ve had a lot of tough practices, and there has been no complaining.”

Martin, the coaches’ pick for C-USA preseason defensive player of the year, will share the captain’s duties this season with sophomore defender Alexa Coralli and sophomore midfielder/forward Lauren Stanley. She said the intensity of the preseason helped.

“Our schedule has been packed a lot more,” Martin said. “Last year at this same time, we didn’t have two games like this. We were able to see flaws early on.”

Junior forward Clory Martin, Beth Martin’s sister, said the team has already gotten off to a better start than past years.

“Already I feel like we’ve gotten a head start on last year,” Clory Martin said. “Everybody seems to be waiting for our good talent to come to a stand still. There’s a lot more at stake this every year. We’re just hoping to take it game by game.”

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