The Cougars finished out their season with a 2-1 loss to in-town rival Rice Friday night at Rice Track/Soccer Stadium.
UH dropped the match despite outshooting Rice by a 20-15 margin.
Head coach Susan Bush said she knew the team would have to hold nothing back for this game, but the Owls two first-half goals were too much for the Cougars to handle.
‘ ‘From the very beginning we knew we couldn’t afford not to work hard,’ Bush said. ‘We couldn’t afford to have mental breakdowns ‘- five minute breakdowns.’
‘In the first half they simply beat us, they outworked us and capitalized with two great goals.’
On the match’s first score, Rice senior forward Erin Scott showed her skills by shirking a defender and driving to the net.’ She powered her shot into the upper portion of the net leaving goalkeeper Lauren Frazier with no hope for a save.
UH rallied minutes later when Lauri Byrne made a run down the right side of the pitch, cutting in on the goal line and sliding the ball dangerously close to the goal, needing only a tap to be pushed in.
‘ Unfortunately, Melanie Adelman slid too late and missed capitalizing on the play.
Rice put the game out of reach with a goal in the 24th minute from Shelley Wong.
While UH went into halftime with a two-goal deficit, Bush noticed an improved attitude and approach from the Cougars after intermission.
‘In the second half, we created a lot of chances and we controlled the run of play,’ Bush said.
The Cougars capitalized on one of these chances, created by sophomore defender Stephanie Derieg, who directed a long pass to Byrne who pulled up short just outside the 18-yard box and cleanly beat the keeper.
UH had several more opportunities, but the score stayed the same until the final whistle, giving the Cougars their 12th loss of the season.’ Rice now leads the all-time series 5-3-1.
It was a strong showing by the Cougars, whose bench was half the size of their counterpart’s due to injuries.
‘ UH played an even game but came up short in the long run, due to its inability to put the ball in the back of the net – a common theme this season.
‘It was a year-long frustration that we struggled to score,’ Bush said.
‘We have a strong returning team for the spring and we’re very excited about the fall, but we have a lot to work on.’
