Photo GalleryHOUSTON – Junior forward
Alessia Dal Monte gave HBU a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute, but visiting Rice scored two second-half goals to defeat the Huskies, 2-1, Wednesday evening in a preseason contest.
"Overall, I thought we had a nice first half," said HBU head coach
Misty Jones. "We were connecting passes and defending well. In the second half, Rice definitely took momentum and we played on our heels a bit more. Overall, I was pleased. The girls played well and played hard and we schedule preseason games to see where we're at."
HBU was able to snub three Rice corner kicks before Dal Monte connected with freshman forward
Autumn Wildung for the first goal of the match. Wildung sent in a cross and Dal Monte beat Owls keeper Kara Dugall far side for a 1-0 Huskies lead. "The goal was good," stated Jones. "It was a good pass in, good pressure by Autumn and a nice finish by Lacie."
The duo nearly connected again seconds later, but Wildung's cross pass went just out of the reach of Dal Monte.
Rice doubled up the Huskies in shots, 10-5, at the break and had all six of the match's corner kicks, but HBU remained in the lead, 1-0. Freshman goalkeeper
Alanis Guevara stopped five shots and stopped several cross passes in a busy first half. Dugall made one save for the Owls.
Seconds after Rice's 11th corner kick of the match, the Owls connected. After the initial cross was cleared by the Huskies' defense, Jasmine Isokpunwu sent another cross in and Nia Stallings beat Guevara short side to tie the match at one-all in the 69th minute.
Eight minutes later, the Owls took a 2-1 lead, as Lauren Hughes fired a shot at the top of the box that found the back of the net, unassisted.
Rice outshot HBU, 9-3, in the second half and 19-8 in the match. The Owls held a commanding 13-1 lead in corner kicks. Guevara made eight saves in her Huskies' debut, while Zoe Pochobradsky stopped two shots for Rice.
HBU's final preseason match will be Friday night at 7:30 pm at Texas. The match will be shown live on the Longhorn Network.
