HOUSTON – Senior
Noor Abukishk set the HBU women's soccer team up with a 1-0 lead in the first half but a pair of Rice goals in the second proved to be the different with the Huskies losing 2-1 to the Owls at Sorrels Field on Friday night.
HBU (0-2) had the offensive advantage early with
Mia Salas putting a pair of shots on goal in the 20
th and 22
nd minutes but Rice (3-0) goalkeeper made both saves. It was only a couple of minutes later, at the 23:27 mark that a trio of seniors linked up to put the Huskies ahead 1-0.
Jessica Nevils possessed the ball outside the 18 yard box and found
Avery Cortez who snuck a perfect through ball between a defenders legs to Abukishk who netted her first goal of the year.
Both teams put one additional shot on goal the rest of the half with the Huskies taking the 1-0 lead into the break. HBU held a 7-5 advantage in shots in the half and put four attempts on goal to the Owls' one.
Rice applied the pressure from the start of the second half, peppering three shots towards the HBU goal within the first three minutes. Mariana Elizondo's attempt from outside the 18 yard box nearly made it in but
Karla Ramirez leapt and deflected the shot off the crossbar to maintain the HBU lead.
The Owls got on the board in the 72
nd minute with a Caleigh Boeckx shot being blocked and the rebound falling to Natalie Gorgi who found the goal to even the score. The final goal came less than four minutes later when a Delaney Schultz corner kick bounced around in the box and fell to the feet of Caleigh Page who knocked it into the net. The Huskies' final look at the goal came in the 87
th minute with a
Bryce Reynolds header off a free kick sending Killgoare flying to her right to make the stop.
For the match, Rice held a 17-10 shot advantage but just 6-5 in shots on goal. The Owls also earned nine corner kicks to HBU's two. In goal, Ramirez finished with four saves.
"The team fought incredibly hard tonight and it was disappointing to not come away with a results," said head coach
Chris Dodd. "I feel that it is important to play these tough opponents in order to challenge ourselves and find areas for growth. We showed improvement from our game last weekend and it was great to create more opportunities and get our first goal of the year."
The Huskies will travel across town to the University of Houston campus to face the Cougars at the Carl Lewis International Complex on Sunday, Aug. 29, at 7:00 p.m.
