SMU burns Rice in C-USA quarterfinals, 3-1 (with VIDEO)

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Trot Into C-USA Semifinals With 3-1 Win Over Rice
Larson, Clarke, Redman All Score As Defense Stands Strong

Oct. 31, 2012

EL PASO, Texas (SMU) - Rachael Larson, Rikki Clarke and Shelby Redman all scored as the SMU Mustangs beat the second-seeded Rice Owls 3-1 to advance to the Conference USA Tournament semifinals on Wednesday.

Rice (11-7-3) was on the attack for a good portion of the opening stages of the game, but SMU's back line stood strong all half. The Mustangs (9-7-4) opened the scoring at the 42 minute mark when Larson got her head on a corner kick fromMallory Baum. Larson managed to tuck the ball just off the underside of the crossbar, giving SMU the lead and a morale boost that lingered throughout the game.

The Mustangs came out of halftime with vigor, attacking down both sides well. Kenzie Scovill earned a corner kick with an aggressive attack down the left side, and Olivia Elliott did the same a few minutes later down the right. SMU's aggressive nature was rewarded at the 65th minute. Courtney Smith threw the ball into Redman at the near post, who redirected the ball to the opposite corner of the box to Clarke. Clarke made a terrific first touch with her left foot that got her into some open space, then the sophomore finished the sequence with a lovely left-footed ball into the lower-left side of the net.

Clarke credited her strong second half to Head Coach Chris Petrucelli's comments at halftime.

"He took a lot of us aside, me individually, and he said that I needed to pick it up," Clarke, who was named Second Team All-C-USA on Tuesday, said. "I came out in the second half and tried to pick it up. I thought we did a really good job in the second half."

Rice was able to answer back in the 67th minute when Holly Hargreaves picked up a rebound in front of goal and drilled it home. Lauryn Bodden saved an initial shot by Lauren Hughes, but could not control the ball.

Just three minutes later, however, Redman responded after Elliott fed her at the far post, giving Redman plenty of room to fire one home to extend SMU's lead back to two goals.

With three different scorers on Wednesday evening, Coach Petrucelli was satisfied about his offense. However, he was most excited about how his defense played.

"All year long I've said I felt we had a number of people that could score, but the credit tonight goes to the defense," Petrucelli said. "Last time we played (Rice), we gave up three goals. We needed to shut down a team that exposed us in the past. The real credit goes to that back four that played extremely well."

The defensive mindset displayed by SMU differed from its usual offensively-focused attitude. Each Mustang defender marked their opposition well all game, rarely giving the Owls any room to operate.

"We played differently than we have all season," Petrucelli said. "We played more conservatively. Coming into it, I felt like we could score. The big key was keeping them off the board.

"We fought really hard. I don't know that it was pretty, but this time of the year it's more about being effective, and I thought we were really effective."

Rice was the No. 2 seed in the tournament, but the two teams held similar positions in the latest RPI rankings. The Owls are No. 62, and SMU is No. 69. SMU will take on the third-seeded UCF Knights in the semifinals. SMU defeated a then-No. 8 UCF squad in Orlando by a score of 2-1 on Oct. 7. The Mustangs are looking for their first appearance in the C-USA title game in school history.

"We're really confident," Clarke said. "We always have trouble with Rice, but we got past them and we're ready to play."

Twice before the Mustangs have been eliminated in the semifinals; in 2006 SMU lost 4-1 to Colorado College and in 2002 UCF upended the Mustangs 2-0. Kickoff for Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.


Head coach Chris Petrucelli


Midfielder Rikki Clarke

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

The release on the C-USA website is awesome. It's almost like they bought an automatic game text generator from the BBC. Other than getting the Baum to Larson goal backwards it is pure gold:

http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/103112aak.html

Rachael Larson (41:35), Rikki Clarke (60:05) and Shelby Redman (70:44) all scored to help No. 7 seed SMU upset No. 2 seed Rice, 3-1, in the Conference USA Women's Soccer Championship quarterfinals at UTEP's University Field.

The Mustangs (9-7-4) never trailed in the contest and dance into the semifinals to face either Memphis or No. 20 UCF at 7 p.m. MT Friday. The Owls (11-7-3) played well throughout the tilt, getting a goal from C-USA Freshman of the Year Holly Hargreaves (67:11) to slice the SMU in half before the Mustangs added an insurance goal.

Rice outshot SMU, 16-10, but the Mustangs had a 6-4 edge in shots on goal. The two squads earned a total of 18 corners in the contest, with 10 of them going to the Owls. Both Rice's Amy Czyz and SMU's Lauryn Bodden registered three saves in the game.

Mallory Baum, Courtney Smith, Redman and Olivia Elliot all registered assists for the Mustangs while Lauren Hughes set up the score for Hargreaves.

There was a distinct defensive tone to the tilt early on, with SMU deploying a well-conceived offside trap to halt a promising sequence for the Owls. Rice strung together a couple of passes in the fifth minute to set up freshman forward Lauren Hughes, but her shot eased past the goal.

Marking remained tight for the next several minutes before the Mustangs began to be a bit more assertive in their attack. From just past midfield on the near sideline, Jessica Bartol delivered a diagonal ball to the far post. It found the foot of Kenzie Scovill who took a pace dribble before unleashing a low, powerful shot. Czyz reacted well with a dive to her left to stop it, and then reeled in the loose ball before the Mustangs could pounce at 13:36.

The Owls then began to pick up their pace of play, resulting in back-to-back corner kicks. SMU defended the air with vigor on the initial service, clearing it away. Rice sophomore midfielder Quinney Truong found Hayley Williams, who had set up shot in the box. She timed her jump well and redirected a header that rocketed over the crossbar at 16:48.

As the half wore on, possession remained primarily with the Owls. To SMU's credit, though, it didn't let Rice find the back of the net during the sequence. Truong laced a shot wide at 26:59, as did Gabriela Iribarne on a half-volley from about eight yards out at 31:22. Williams had the cleanest look in that stretch, but her header didn't find its home at 38:17.

The Mustangs would be rewarded for their diligence on the defensive end. Larson played a quality ball to the far post, finding a home on Baum's head. She used ample force to propel it past Czyz and into the net. Rice regrouped after the tally but couldn't get on the board before the break.

SMU attacked immediately off the kickoff to start the second half, resulting in a throw-in deep in Owl country. The ball was put into the mixer, and Scovill deftly flicked a header on target. Czyz showed off soft hands to calmly collect the point-blank try. She then used a good outlet to get the Owls back on the offensive. The effort resulted in a pair of corner kicks but could only come away with a shot off the mark from Iribarne at 49:23.

SMU looked to extend its advantage off a set piece in the 50th minute, but Czyz handled the bouncing shot from distance by Courtney Smith. Rice then went back on the attack but the try by Iribarne was just high at 53:05.

The close called loomed larger when the Mustangs did indeed push their lead out to 2-0. Smith used a long throw-in to get it to Redman, who one-touched a pass to Clarke. Clarke utilized a half volley and bested Czyz.

Rice began to send players up the pitch in greater numbers after the strike, and it paid dividends almost immediately. Hughes ripped a shot that was stopped by Bodden but she couldn't come up with the rebound. Hargreaves took advantage, hammering it home into the lower right corner.

The Owls earned a corner kick a minute later, aspiring to find the equalizer. Truong served it into the area but the Mustangs won the ball. They controlled the clearance, and initiated a counter attack.

The ball was played up the right wing to Elliot, who crossed it to the far post. Redman was all alone, and she coerced it with ease into the back of the net.

[Treadway21]

Well done girls.

That is a very descriptive account. Wish all articles were as we'll written. Kind of like old school Grantland Rice style reporting.

[MiracleOnMockingbird]

That is a very descriptive account. Wish all articles were as we'll written. Kind of like old school Grantland Rice style reporting.

Agreed! Also (regarding Dan's avatar) it's nice to see the color pink where it belongs: on girls.