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November 16, 2007 > Sports > Soccer falls to UCF in C-USA semifinals

Soccer falls to UCF in C-USA semifinals

By Casey Michel | Thresher Editorial Staff

For the first time in school history, the soccer team lost a match in the Conference USA Tournament. Granted, Rice has only been in C-USA since 2005, but still, the Owls’ 1-0 semifinal loss to the University of Central Florida was a hard one to deal with.

Rice’s (11-6-2, 5-3-1 C-USA) second trip to the C-USA Tournament started off well — the Owls blanked the University of Alabama-Birmingham 1-0 in the quarterfinals Nov. 7.

Top-seeded UCF (12-3-3, 7-1-1 C-USA) provided a much tougher obstacle. The Owls had many scoring opportunities in the first half against the Knights, letting loose 10 shots, but none of Rice’s looks found the back of the net. On the other side of the ball, the Owls were able to knock away four attempts by UCF. Rice’s defense, which was fifth in C-USA with 1.10 goals allowed per game, also prevented the Knights from registering a single shot on goal.

However, the defense could not hold on for the entire game. In the 55th minute, the Knights were awarded a free kick on a Rice foul. As the set piece’s low-curling kick wound its way toward the goal, UCF midfielder Brianna Schooley leapt and redirected the ball just inside the far right post to put the Knights up 1-0. It was the first goal Rice has ever allowed in the C-USA Tournament.

“[The goal] was off of a set piece, which we’re notoriously bad with,” sophomore defender Katelyn Ostendorf said. “Most of their girls were significantly taller than us, [but it] is so frustrating that their one goal was off of a set piece.”

The Owls could not make up the one-goal deficit: Despite equaling UCF’s seven shots in the second half, Rice could not get anything past Knight goalie Jennifer Manis.

Ostendorf, who joined sophomore midfielder Shelley Wong on the C-USA All-Tournament team, also said although she and her teammates played their hardest, they just could not get the lucky breaks.

“Everyone was totally on,” Ostendorf said. “We outshot them, we outplayed them, but we couldn’t seal the deal. We couldn’t finish it, which made it all the more disappointing. … We had some great opportunities, but as much as the game is skill, there’s also a lot of luck.”

With their season now at an end, the Owls will be forced to say goodbye to seven seniors, all of whom were on the team that won the 2005 C-USA Tournament. Leaving the Owls will be senior defender and co-captain Beth Martin as well as her twin sister, senior forward Clory Martin. Beth Martin, who was named to the 2007 All-C-USA first team, logged the most minutes on defense this season for the Owls. Clory Martin finished the season with nine assists, second-most in C-USA.

Also leaving the Owls will be co-captain senior midfielder Samantha Conn, who was third on the team with 22 shots on goal. Fellow seniors midfielder Katlyn Ferguson, midfielder Traci Fraser and defender Lindsay Jaggers will also be leaving the team.

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