Coming off a draw in its conference opener a week ago against the Houston Cougars, the SMU Mustangs (4-5-1, 0-1-1 in C-USA) was looking to add its first C-USA win against Rice Sunday. However, the Mustangs instead suffered a dramatic defeat in Houston, losing 3-2 to the Owls.
Over 50 minutes had gone by since a goal was scored by senior forward Kenzie Scovill which leveled the game at 2-2. Scovill took the pass from freshman midfielder Lissi Lonsberry, and was able to find the back of the net for the sixth time this season.
The game was up for grabs until Rice capitalized late using its duo of forwards, Lauren Hughes and Holly Hargreaves, to put the Owls on top in the 87th minute.
Hargreaves was credited with the game-winning score, but Hughes was named player of the match after scoring two goals and assisting on her team’s final point.
The Mustangs tried to counter, but the team was unable to score in the final few minutes losing its first C-USA game.
SMU looked to be in good shape as the match began, as sophomore forward Shelby Redman used a throw-in by junior defender Courtney Smith to score the first goal for either team in the 14th minute.
Redman’s goal was her fifth of the season and looked to be the start that SMU needed to secure the victory. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the Owls had other plans and pulls out the late 3-2 victory.
The Mustangs will continue to fight for the team’s first C-USA victory when it returns home for a Friday night match against UTEP at 7 p.m. The weekend set of home matches will conclude with another conference quarrel with Colorado College at 2 p.m.