Men's soccer still in post-season race despite a winless weekend

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by Chuck Whitten

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The Owls lost to Southwest Texas State University 2-0 but tied Baylor University 0-0 on Sunday, preserving a tie in the rankings with Baylor for a spot in the post-season regional tournament.

The 0-1-1 weekend left the Owls 3-3-1 overall in the Texas Collegiate Soccer League.

Saturday's game against Southwest Texas saw an Owl offense that dominated time of possession but was unable to successfully put the ball in the goal.

Rice's defense contained the Bobcats in the first-half but broke down in the second half to allow the deciding goals. The first goal came about 20 minutes into the second half on a long cross-field pass.

Three open Southwest forwards converged on the ball, forcing junior keeper Todd Konkel to remain in the goal and not challenge the oncoming forwards.

"There were about three or four open guys," Konkel said.. "I couldn't really tell who was going to get the pass."

The second goal came with about 30 minutes left in regulation on a similar breakdown. A deflected ball found an open Bobcat forward who shot the ball from about 20 yards out.

Rice attempted to increase pressure on the defense and had a few chances, including a one-on-one breakaway with the goalie that missed by only a few inches.

The team traveled to Waco on Sunday to play a game against a Baylor squad that was tied with the Owls in the TCSL standings. The Owls played a solid game, shutting out the Bears' offense but once again struggled to produce any offense.

"Baylor had really quick defenders," Ruben Rodriguez said. "Our strikers had a really difficult time getting good shots off."

Although it finished the weekend with no victories, the team felt confident that they were going to secure a post-season spot.

"If we can have everyone healthy in two weeks," said Konkel. "We'll beat Texas A&M (University)."

Defender Jeremy Gibson said, "It does look promising against A&M because last weekend, even though we didn't win, was by far our best game as a team."

Rice plays Sunday at Louisiana State University and returns home next weekend to play A&M at home.

"We are hoping for a huge crowd against A&M," said Konkel. "We typically struggle at home against them. We should be optimistic because we are definitely playing with more cohesion."

Game time is 2 p.m.Saturday.

This item appeared in the Sports section of the October 13, 1995 issue.

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