The Cougars close out their 2009 campaign when they take on crosstown rival Rice at 7 p.m. tonight at Rice Track/Soccer Stadium.
The match will feature two programs that had high hopes for the season, but had to deal with disappointment and frustration on their way to the bottom of the Conference USA standings. Neither team has a chance of making the postseason, but the players and coaches from both squads still believe there is plenty riding on tonight’s match.
UH’ sits in’ 11th place in C-USA behind Rice, but could move past the Owls and East Carolina if both teams lose. If not, the Cougars will remain in their current spot, ahead of a Southern Miss team that is without a conference win to date.
The Cougars’ record stands at 2-6-2 in the conference and 4-11-2 overall.
UH prevailed over the Owls in their last meeting, a 1-0 decision in 2008, but the overall series record stands at 3-4-1 in the Owls’ favor. With a win, the Cougars could bring that defecit to par, giving them yet another reason to fight in a game that is at this point, for nothing more than pride.
In addition to having the match on their home pitch, the Owls will honor their seniors prior to the match and come in sporting a 3-1-1 record in their last five contests. The only loss during that stretch was to current C-USA leader and No. 11 in the country, Central Florida.
The Cougars, however, come in losers of their last three, including a pair of shutouts against UTEP and Colorado College last weekend. UH has posted back-to-back wins only once this season, 2-1 victories over Texas State and McNeese State on Sept. 11 and 13, respectively.
