UH falls to Rice, 4-1
By Andrew Monfried
Special to The Advertiser
| • | WAC Women's Soccer Tournament
At Dallas Thursday's quarterfinals • Rice 3, Fresno State 0 Yesterday's semifinals • Rice 4, Hawai'i 1 Today's championship • Rice vs. SMU |
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The most promising Rainbow Wahine season (13-5-2 overall, 7-2 WAC) in the 10-year history of the program ended meekly in freezing cold and soggy conditions. Without winning the conference tournament, it seems there will be no way for them to make the NCAA Women's College Cup this year.
Even more disappointing to Tenzing was the ejection of junior forward Robin deHay for punching Rice defender Erin Droeger in the face after the two battled for the ball near the end of the game.
"I am certainly disappointed with that," Tenzing said. "There is no room in soccer for that. When emotions run high in a game, that can happen, but we don't condone it. In fact, we condemn it."
DeHay, who had picked up a yellow card in the first half, apologized to Droeger after the game, but it was just the end to an undisciplined second half where the Rainbow Wahine allowed three goals and referee Vince Cortez cautioned them five times.
"We chose to play possibly our worst soccer on the most important day for the program," Tenzing said. "It was a very frustrating evening. Rice just gave us an old-fashioned shellacking."
Rice (11-7-1, 7-2) kept Hawai'i pinned in its own end throughout most of the first half, but a number of acrobatic saves from sophomore goalkeeper Mahie Atay kept it in the game.
The Owls broke through in the 24th minute when Atay came off her line and Rice's Marisa Galvan headed the ball over her. The Rainbow Wahine defense could not clear the ball out of the goalmouth, and Rice's Sarah Yoder slotted home a shot.
Hawai'i's best chance came with a minute remaining in the first half when senior forward Arlene Devitt skimmed a free kick through the wet grass to the near post. Rice goalkeeper Laura Shockley could not control the ball, but Hawai'i could not knock it into the net either.
Rice made it 2-0 just two minutes after halftime with Yoder threading the ball through Hawai'i's defense for Ashley Anderson to score.
Things got even further out of hand in the 57th minute when an argument so loud that it could be heard throughout the stadium ensued between two Hawai'i players during an injury time out. The end result was junior defender Krystalynn Ontai screaming at the bench that one of the forwards, "was blaming us for the goals!"
Yoder added two more goals in the second half to complete her hat-trick as a close game at intermission turned into a rout. DeHay scored a consolation goal in the 88th minute, just before her ejection.
The result was even more surprising since Hawai'i had lost just once in conference play this season and beaten Rice, 2-0, in September in Houston.
Hawai'i will have to take solace with its regular-season co-championship and look toward 2004 with only Devitt, a three-time all-WAC player, deHay and midfielder Mia Moe completing their eligibility.
"We'll keep trying," Tenzing said. "This was just a miserable failure, but we will come back with a better team next year."
