SMU’s Jennifer Raad battles UTEP’s Chelsea Winbush in a 1-0 victory for the Mustangs last Sunday at Westcott Field. (Lindsey Perkins)
The 3-6-1, 1-1 women’s soccer team will venture out on a four-game conference road series this weekend beginning at Rice University on Friday evening and the University of Houston on Sunday afternoon.
Struggling with forming a consistent winning streak, the Mustangs have bounced back and forth between wins and losses throughout the season.
“We need to make a winning streak,” said head coach Brent Erwin. “We’re starting to show consistency, now we just need wins.”
The Mustangs are currently 1-1 in Conference USA after dropping their conference opener to Colorado College and capturing their third shut out of the season in a 1-0 defeat over the University of Texas in El Paso.
The Rice Owls, 5-4-0 and 1-1 in conference play, host the Mustangs after splitting their two first conference games of the season in Houston. C-USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week, Shelly Wong will have a strong presence for the Owls, maintaining a .238 shot percentage after tying teammate Anne Candee with five goals this season.
As a whole, Rice averages 1.89 goals per game, just above the one goal averaged per game by SMU.
In the backfield, Alexa Coralli, Kellen Schugart, Jordan Holloway and goalkeeper Meghan Erkel lead the Owl’s defense, with Erkel posting a 79 percent save average.
In last year’s meeting, the Mustangs shut out the Owls in a 2-0 victory at SMU’s Westcott Field. Despite the loss, Rice still went onto the second round of the Conference USA Championship after defeating the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but fell 0-1 to the University of Central Florida in round two.
The last time the Owls defeated the Mustangs was in 2005 in a 2-1 double overtime victory in Dallas.
Friday’s game will get underway at 7 p.m. central time.
Adjusting to different styles of play is a key focus of Erwin’s, as he continues to stress to his team the importance of, “being brave enough to play our style of soccer no matter where we go.”
On Sunday, SMU will visit 4-5-0 and 0-2 Houston. The Cougars lost both games in the opening week of conference play in a 1-2 loss against Marshall and a 0-1 shutout by East Carolina. With the pair of losses, Houston is winless in conference play on their home field and continues on what has transpired to a four-game losing streak.
The Cougar’s offense is led by Jessica Zavalza, who leads the team with three goals on the season. Houston’s defense is staffed up by goalkeeper Shelby Scott with 26 saves on the season and an 81 percent save percentage, along with teammate Stephanie Derieg with one goal and three assists.
The Mustangs hold a tremendous record over the Cougar’s head, shutting out Houston in the last two seasons, and depriving them of a win to as far back as the 2000 season.
Lauren Shepherd will try and take over again for the Mustang defense, after her award winning efforts from last weekend. Currently leading the team with two goals after Caitlin Carter was injured, Shepherd is joined on the field by freshmen Logan May, Natalie Heintz and Devon Herrman, and veterans Jennifer Raad, Kim Peabody and Carly Phillips.
Goalkeepers Ashley Gunter and Courtney Webb split the playing time last weekend after Gunter surrendered a shot to give Colorado College their first conference win. Webb took over for the Mustangs in game two, increasing her total saves on the season to 16.
Kick off for Sunday’s game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
“We’re starting to learn how to win, we’re playing better, and the girls are showing they are good players,” said Erwin. “The league is very close so every game is going to be tight. We just need to play well.”
