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September 15, 2006 > Sports > Win over Longhorns sign of soccer’s success

Win over Longhorns sign of soccer’s success

By Matt McCabe | Thresher Editorial Staff

Some victories build a team’s character, others determine a season’s outcome and a select few define a program. The soccer team’s 1-0 win over then eighth-ranked University of Texas Sunday night falls into that last category.

The soccer program is entering its sixth year at Rice under head coach Chris Huston. The Owls have already made two NCAA tournament appearances — in 2004 and 2005 —and have won a conference championship.

Sunday’s win can and should be the springboard that catapults Rice soccer to another level. The Owls had never beaten a top-10 team. With recruiting letters mailed just a week ago, this win will impress potential players when they research the program. On top of that, Rice was ranked 11th in Division I by Soccer America in its recent poll. Though that poll is not used to determine NCAA tournament bids, it is great exposure for a program that is changing from an up-and-comer to a true contender.

In order to put the win in perspective, consider the two teams that UT beat the week before coming to Rice: then third-ranked Penn State and No. 13 Illinois. In the Owls’ first postseason soccer appearance in 2004, they faced the Fighting Illini, who proceeded to beat Rice 3-0 in College Station, Tex. Penn State was ranked No. 1 in the country for multiple weeks last season and was undefeated until its season-ending loss on penalty kicks to Portland in the College Cup semifinal.

Rice held the same UT team that beat Penn State 2-1 scoreless for 90 minutes Sunday, adding another win to a program-best 5-0-1 season record. I have no doubt this is the best soccer team Rice has ever fielded.

If you want more to prove the legitimacy of the 2006 team, consider this — sophomore forward Caitlin Robbins, Rice’s leading scorer last year, didn’t play a minute last weekend, nor did sophomore midfielder Anne Candee, the 2005 Conference USA Tournament MVP. Both players are starters and key members of the team, but have been sidelined due to injuries.

What may have been the brightest aspect of the game was the fact that Huston started three freshmen and substituted two others during the game. Huston and assistant coaches Nicky Adams and Justin Zoslow have done a remarkable recruiting job. To get recruits in every year who will vie for a starting job immediately is laudable. The benefits are already here — wins like the one against Texas give Huston and her staff ammunition in the fight for the best recruits in the country. I feel confident in saying that Rice is winning the battle for soccer recruits in C-USA.

The past two seasons have been marked with unprecedented success for soccer with the postseason appearances. However, this team has realized a new goal. These players will not be satisfied with another first round exit. This team has the capability to find its way into the round of 16 come November.

Although many of you are enamored with the advent of the Todd Graham era in the football program, don’t forget that soccer — along with men’s tennis — is one of only two programs to beat Texas in the past three years. I’m not discouraging you from supporting Renaissance Rice. I look forward to seeing more than 50,000 fans at Reliant Stadium Saturday evening watching the Owls give the Longhorns a run for their money. However, I am asking you to remember that football at Rice isn’t the only bright spot this fall; women’s futbol is undefeated and well on its way to writing a new chapter in the Rice record books.

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