The Cougars prepared for their crosstown showdown at Rice by wearing their Halloween costumes to practice yesterday.
Head coach Susan Bush and the UH soccer team dressed up for Thursday’s practice to show their Halloween spirit. The Cougars hope to frighten Rice on Friday for their last regular-season game. | Courtesy of UH Athletics
The match is technically an away game, but the Cougars will not be traveling far.
“Of course it’s an advantage because we don’t have to hop on a bus or a plane,” head coach Susan Bush said. “But it’s still their building. It’s still their Senior Night. It’s still home field advantage for them. It’s always a battle, whether it’s at their place or ours. I’m sure their team is fired up, and they know ours will be as well.”
The Owls have struggled since their fast 5-0-0 start in conference play, going 0-3-2 in their last five matches. They have only scored two goals in that span, but the Cougars are not expecting an easy match. The Owls are a fast team that likes to keep the ball at their feet.
“They’re similar to us,” Bush said. “I think we’ll match up pretty well against each other; they’ve got some speed, we’ve got some speed. We both have had success in conference this year. It’s going to be a close match.”
Despite dropping from first to third in the Conference USA standings after last weekend’s matches, Bush says that the Cougars will be sticking with the strategies and players that have gotten them here.
“We’ve been successful with our style of play, so we’re not changing anything,” Bush said.
The match is slated to start at 7 p.m. at Rice Track and Soccer Stadium.
The Cougars will head to Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 5-7 for the C-USA Championship Tournament.
