Marshall University Athletics
Women's Soccer Continues Road Schedule in Houston
10/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 4, 2012
| Rice Video | | Houston Video
Friday's match will pair the Thundering Herd against the Owls of Rice, beginning at 8 p.m. ET at the Rice Soccer Stadium. Marshall will then play the Houston Cougars on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Robertson Stadium.
Marshall (6-6-0, 2-2-0 C-USA) enters the weekend looking to distinguish itself among the contenders in C-USA. With its victories over UTEP and UAB this season, the Herd currently stands one game back from second place in league standings.
Rice (6-5-2, 3-1-0) is joined by UCF and East Carolina in a three-way tie for second place in C-USA. Led by freshman Holly Hargreaves' five match-winning goals this season, the Owls posted four consecutive victories before falling to UCF 1-0 in their most recent match. Hargreaves has recorded 17 points (7G/3A), for which she ranks third among C-USA competitors.
Marshall is 2-3-1 in the all-time series with Rice and has held the Owls scoreless over the last three seasons. MU's triumph in 2011 kept postseason hopes alive when Angela DeSumma scored the only goal of the game in the 39th minute. That 1-0 win over Rice was matched by the Herd's 2009 team. Rice and Marshall battled to a scoreless draw in 2010.
Houston (4-5-2, 0-1-2 C-USA) comes into the weekend in search of its first conference win. The Cougars opened C-USA action with a pair of ties (SMU, Tulsa) before falling to UCF last weekend.
Marshall is 3-3 all-time versus Houston and has lost in each of the previous two meetings. In 2011, current Herd senior Sarah Vinson scored an equalizing goal in the first half, but the Cougars had the answer in the second half when Sami Sackos slotted home her second goal of the contest.
Sackos returns for Houston this year with two assists through the first 11 games. Junior MF Jasmine Martinez - who assisted the match-winner last season - leads Houston with five goals this season.
