Men's soccer one win shy of playoffs
Rice finished the season 3-4-4 overall and 3-4-3 in the Texas Collegiate Soccer League, leaving Rice one game shy of a spot in the regional tournament.
The Owls started the game badly as forward Mike Eggenbeing was ejected, forcing Rice to play with 10 men for most of the game.
Down a man, Rice kept the pressure on and went ahead with only seconds left in the first half as Jeremy Gibson found Randy Westbrook open for the goal.
Gibson beat his defender down the sideline and passed off to Westbrook. He shot the ball into the upper left corner of the goal giving Rice the 1-0 advantage going into the second half.
The Bearkats adjusted at the half and came out aggressively, trying to exploit their man advantage.
"We really worked hard to come back after losing Eggen," defender Mike McClintock said. "It's just really difficult to play down a man for as long as we had to."
The game ended the season for a very young Rice team and marked the final contest for Westbrook, Neelesh Kenia and team president Eric Latchford.
Although Rice looks optimistically to next year, the departing upperclassman will be missed by both the offense and the defense.
"It really hurts losing Randy, Neelesh and Eric," McClintock said. "They are three of our best players and by far were our best leaders."
The season was disappointing for the players who pointed to several games, including losses to Lamar University and Stephen F. Austin University, as indicative of the inconsistency that plagued the squad all year.
"It was just a season of ups and downs," freshman Matt Chrisman said. "Sometimes, like against A&M, we played together as a team. Then there were games like Stephen F. Austin ..."
Rice may enter a national tournament in Austin later this month to help prepare for next year and play against teams from outside of Texas.
This item appeared in the Sports section of the November 3, 1995 issue.
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