PUTTING MY CLEATS IN MY MOUTH: Cougars 0, Knights 4 (blog date Oct 25, 2013)

Houston Cougars 0, Central Florida Knights 4 
W-D-L: 1-3-10            14-2-2
October 24, 2013
7:00 pm @ University of Houston

The University of Central Florida Lady Knights were going to have none of that baloney. They hit the grass at the Carl Lewis International Complex with every intent to disprove all the RPI-sceptics behind this blog (see blog entry dated October 18, 2013). They were not about to allow a sub-200 team to threaten the top-12 ranking that they have worked so hard to earn, and they were certainly not going to let some crackpot blogger out there discredit everything they have accomplished to get this far up in the national table. Certainly not after winning the Conference USA tournament in 2012 and then retaining eight starters from that squad, five of them seniors, bolstered by the transfer of junior striker Tatiana Coleman from Auburn, where she earned a spot on the All-Southeast Conference First Team last year. Certainly not after going unbeaten over the previous 13 outings leading to this Houston trip, outscoring their new American Athletic Conference opponents 18 to 6 to sit squarely atop the league standings. The Lady Knights brought a relentless game, possessing the ball overwhelmingly, distributing it all over the field, and limiting the Cougars to six total shots, only two of which were on target, while blasting at keeper Sydney George with ten on goal.

Tatiana Coleman (3) wreaks havoc in Houston's defensive third. Tatiana transferred from Auburn where she made the All-Southeast Conference First Team last year.

Combining bursts of speed with quick smart moves, Tatiana gets by even the most solid defenders like Lexa Green (30), Sydnie Green (12) and Danielle Muñoz (red 3)...

...to either set up goals...

...or score them herself. Tatiana logs two assists and a goal on the final stats sheet.

Cougar keeper Sydney George (00) has a very busy day against the likes of Megan Fish (20)...

...and a high-powered UCF offense attacking from all directions.

Facing ten total shots on target by Central Florida, Sydney George (00) spends a lot of time on the grass.

Jennifer Martin (5) takes on Courtney Dudley (26) and Shayne Clewett (4) on UCF's left flank.

Jennifer, who finished last season second on the team in goals scored, is a critical component in the Lady Knights' offensive drives.

Jennifer Martin (5) gets deep into opposing territory...

...to deliver deadly crosses, even under intense pressure. She sets up Tatiana Coleman's icer in the 64th minute.

Defender Shayne Clewett (4) has her hands full with freshwoman Kayla Adamek (6), who nets her eighth goal on the season.

Lexa Green (30), Sydnie Green (12), Natalie Juncos (26) and the rest of the Cougar defense are under heavy pressure all night from one of the most potent offenses in the country.

Amanda Wilkin (15) escapes to gain space in Cougar territory.

The Coogs manage to threaten. Alexis Weaver (5) drives against Alex Piercy (21), Ashley Nicol (2) and Conference USA's 2012 Defensive Player of the Year Marissa Diggs (32).

Ashley and Marissa anchor a Lady Knight defense that posted a school and Conference USA record 15 shutouts last year, and have allowed only nine goals over the first 18 matches prior to this road trip.

So much for my optimism since the last match on this blog - thanks to UCF, I now put my cleats in my mouth.

(All photos by Kokoy Severino.)

UPCOMING MATCHES OF THE WEEK: 

Friday Oct 25 Grambling State University (#325) @ TSU (#327) 7:00 pm (SWAC)

Sunday Oct 27 University of South Florida (#174) @ U of H (#232) 1:00 pm (C-USA)

Monday Nov 4 Conference USA Tournament 1st Round: 
              University of Tulsa (#93) vs University of Alabama-Birmingham (#114) @ Rice 4:30 
Monday Nov 4 Conference USA Tournament 1st Round: 
              Rice (#154) vs Marshall University (#131) @ Rice 7:00 pm
Wednesday Nov 6 Conference USA Tournament Quarter-Finals: 
              Florida International University (#158) vs UNT (#92) @ Rice 4:30 
              University of North Carolina-Charlotte (#112) vs Marshall (#131) @ Rice 7:00 pm
Friday Nov 8 Conference USA Tournament Semi-Finals:
              Colorado College vs East Carolina University @ Rice 4:30 
              UNT vs Charlotte @ Rice 7:00 pm
Saturday Nov 9 Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Final:
              Our Lady of the Lake University vs University of Texas-Brownsville 
              @ Houston Amateur Sports Park 5:00 pm
Sunday Nov 10 Southwest Athletic Conference Tournament Final:
              Jackson State University vs Alabama State University @ Houston Amateur Sports Park 11:00 am
Sunday Nov 10 Conference USA Tournament Final:
             CC vs UNT @ Rice 1:00 pm
Friday-Sunday Nov 15-17 NCAA Division I Tournament 1st Round @ Campus TBA
Sunday Nov 24 NCAA Division I Tournament 3rd Round @ Campus TBA
Friday-Saturday Nov 29-30 NCAA Division I Tournament Quarter-Finals @ Campus TBA
Saturday Dec 7 NCAA Division III Tournament Final @ Blossom Stadium, San Antonio 1:30 pm 

(Kokoy's Matches of the Week are those which I attended.) 

Kokoy Severino has been coaching junior high school soccer in the public school system of the Greater Houston area for 20 years. He holds a National Youth Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, two coaching certifications from the United States Soccer Federation, and a Master in Educational Leadership degree from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His research focuses on the relationship between interscholastic competitive soccer and the academic success of at-risk students. He returns regularly to his native country of the Philippines and conducts soccer training sessions for economically disadvantaged youths.

"This blog is to document the intensity, the depth, the passion, the strategic and tactical nuances, the stars, the spectacular play that I witness in the women's teams at the college level. And in doing so, it is my hope that others might be inspired to discover for themselves the beautiful game brought by the women." (Kokoy, from blog entry dated Nov 4, 2012)

WHAT'S IN A NUMBER? Owls 3, Tigers 4 (OT) (blog date October 18, 2013)

Rice Owls 3, Colorado College Tigers 4 
W-D-L: 5-2-6            11-0-3
October 17, 2013
7:00 pm @ Rice University

The U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association uses the same ranking system for all of its sports, including women's soccer. It breaks down to an equation they call the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) based on three factors - 25% on winning percentage against Division I schools, 50% on opponent strength of schedule, and 25% on strength of opponents' opponent schedule. This ranking does not become critical until the end of the season, when a committee looks at it to select the numerous national tournament spots not filled by the various conference champions. The NCAA administration itself admits that this ranking system is not perfect, which is why the national tournament selection committee does not rely solely on the RPI, but also hears input from advisory boards of representatives from each conference.

This year, this blog began to include national ranks in its Game of the Week listing. As the season progresses, it becomes more and more clear that the RPI does not necessarily apply as a good predictor of match outcome. Based solely on current RPI, one would think that a team ranked 24th in the country would easily dispose of an opponent 110 places below them. The RPI could not have predicted that the two co-defending Conference USA league champions, separated by 110 rank places, would go into overtime, and only because #134 scored an own goal for #24, without which this game would have ended after 90 minutes. It is sagacious of the selection committee to consider many other factors in their decisions, and it may be best that coaches pay no heed to it either, for the RPI not only cannot be counted on, but may even be highly misleading. (If we compare these two positions in the FIFA world rankings, would we be so presumptuous as to expect that #24 Mexico should easily defeat #134 Congo?)

The writer of this blog on the other hand anticipated a very heated match between two programs that were dead even last year, their last two meetings won by CC each with a single goal. In contrast, this year's face off was a high-scoring affair, with four lead changes and a golden goal by junior striker Jessie Ayers, her second of the night and eighth on the season, surpassing her team-leading total from her sophomore year when she shared All-Conference First Team honors with Quinny Truong who put the Owls ahead first in the seventh minute of the game.

Jessie Ayers (7) surveys her options as she catches up to the ball, chased by Alexandra Trenary (22). Jessie, who lead the Tigers last year in scoring, nets two, including the game-winning golden goal.

The Colorado College offense gets plenty of service from Kaeli Vandersluis (9), despite the pressure from Alexandra Trenary (22).

Kaeli (9) provides the assist for Jessie Ayers's (7) first goal of the game.

Kaeli (9) launches a cross from the right flank under pressure from Alexandra (22)...

...but the Owls defensive line stands ready for this one - including Jenny Fichera (24), Jasmine Isokpunwu (8), Ashton Geisendorff (16), and Hayley Williams (15).

Jasmine Isokpunwu's (8) presence in the midfield is both an offensive and defensive boon for Rice. Jasmine is often effective even when she finds herself in traffic, surrounded by Jessie Ayers (7), Alexis Long (6) and Sarah Schweiss (black 8). Jasmine logs her second goal of the season to give the Owls back the lead.

Lauren Hughes (7) escapes Sarah Schweiss's (8) slide. Lauren scores on an unassisted drive 26 seconds into the second half to tie it back up.

Katie Uyenishi (27) has a busy night marking Lauren Hughes (7) and Jessica Howard (10). Katie's goal sends the game into overtime.

Jessica Howard (10) outraces Katie Uyenishi (27) to the ball, as Kecia Morway (3) arrives with help.

Jessica Howard (10) finds herself with space before Kecia Morway (3) can close in to serve up a cross for a charging Lauren Hughes (7), double-teamed by Sarah Haizlip (20) and Katie Uyenishi (27).

Senior Kecia Morway (3) is the anchor of the CC backline. A full-on starter at Notre Dame before she transferred in her junior year, Kecia is the toughest defender on the field and one reason why the Tigers finished the 2012 campaign with a conference-leading 0.73 goal against average per match.

Freshwoman Chanisse Hendrix (53) provides the Tigers with an offensive spark off the bench. The only one of the four freshwomen on the squad to see playing time tonight, quick, strong and smart Chanisse is the face of the future for Colorado College.

Rice keeper Amy Czyz (00) pounces on the ball before Sarah Schweiss (8) gets a boot on it.

With seven total goals scored in the match, scenes like this are plentiful in front of the frame...

...with bodies sometimes hurtling into the net.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kate Scheele intercepts an incoming cross up high.

(All photos by Kokoy Severino.)

 
With this junior generation about to turn seniors next season, it will be Quinny and Gabi's last and probably best chance to log a win in the series, while Jessie and Kaeli will look to make it a four-year sweep. This budding rivalry between Rice and Colorado College is going to explode in 2014 - regardless of the RPI.

UPCOMING MATCHES OF THE WEEK: 

Thursday Oct 24 University of Central Florida (#12) @ U of H (#232) 7:00 pm (AAC)

Friday Oct 25 Grambling State University (#325) @ TSU (#327) 7:00 pm (SWAC)

Sunday Oct 27 University of South Florida (#174) @ U of H (#232) 1:00 pm (C-USA)

Monday Nov 4 Conference USA Tournament 1st Round: 
              University of Tulsa (#93) vs University of Alabama-Birmingham (#114) @ Rice 4:30 
Monday Nov 4 Conference USA Tournament 1st Round: 
              Rice (#154) vs Marshall University (#131) @ Rice 7:00 pm
Wednesday Nov 6 Conference USA Tournament Quarter-Finals: 
              Florida International University (#158) vs UNT (#92) @ Rice 4:30 
Wednesday Nov 6 Conference USA Tournament Quarter-Finals: 
              University of North Carolina-Charlotte (#112) vs Marshall or Rice @ Rice 7:00 pm
Friday Nov 8 Conference USA Tournament Semi-Finals @ Rice 4:30 and 7:00 pm
Saturday Nov 9 Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Final 
              @ Houston Amateur Sports Park 5:00 pm
Sunday Nov 10 Southwest Athletic Conference Tournament Final 
              @ Houston Amateur Sports Park 11:00 am
Sunday Nov 10 Conference USA Tournament Final @ Rice 1:00 pm
Friday-Sunday Nov 15-17 NCAA Division I Tournament 1st Round @ Campus TBA
Sunday Nov 24 NCAA Division I Tournament 3rd Round @ Campus TBA
Friday-Saturday Nov 29-30 NCAA Division I Tournament Quarter-Finals @ Campus TBA
Saturday Dec 7 NCAA Division III Tournament Final @ Blossom Stadium, San Antonio 1:30 pm 

(Kokoy's Matches of the Week are those which I plan to attend. Schedule subject to change.) 

Kokoy Severino has been coaching junior high school soccer in the public school system of the Greater Houston area for 19 years. He holds a National Youth Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, two coaching certifications from the United States Soccer Federation, and a Master in Educational Leadership degree from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His research focuses on the relationship between interscholastic competitive soccer and the academic success of at-risk students. He returns regularly to his native country of the Philippines and conducts soccer training sessions for economically disadvantaged youths.

"This blog is to document the intensity, the depth, the passion, the strategic and tactical nuances, the stars, the spectacular play that I witness in the women's teams at the college level. And in doing so, it is my hope that others might be inspired to discover for themselves the beautiful game brought by the women." (Kokoy, from blog entry dated Nov 4, 2012)

UNDERDOGS SWARMED ON THE ROAD: Roadrunners 2, Owls 0 (Blog date September 30, 2013)

Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners 2, Rice Owls 0
W-D-L: 2-1-8                                       3-2-4
September 29, 2013
1:00 pm @ University of Texas, San Antonio

If you are a regular reader of this blog, I'm sure you have detected a definite bias towards schools in the Greater Houston area. It's not just because I live here - well, okay, it is. But also because I have always had a tendency to gravitate towards the underdog. My adopted home field has a real underdog complex. You've read this over and over - fourth largest municipality in the country, seven Division I schools in the area, four of them located well inside city limits, the other three within a 90-mile radius, and not a single representative in the 2012 national tournament. What's wrong with this picture? Houston has never had a Super Bowl team, no World Series, NHL is not even present, and the 21st century Rockets struggle just to get out of the first round of playoffs. The Comets have yet to make it back to the WNBA championship in the post-Cynthia Cooper era. The Dynamo is the only perennial championship contender this city has, but even they are consistently the underdog, the past two years in a row falling in the finals to MLS glamorboys LA Galaxy. Rice won a national baseball title eons ago, but even at the peak of Phi Slama Jama, U of H couldn't bring home a championship.

Comparable cities around the country were well-represented in the 2012 NCAA national soccer tournament bracket. New York sent four - Long Island, Stony Brook, Hofstra and Princeton (located 50 miles from the City). Los Angeles had two of its schools qualify (Stanford and UCLA), facing each other in the quarter-finals. The San Francisco Bay area was represented by Oakland and Cal. Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, Denver, Milwaukee, Dallas, Seattle, San Diego, Philadelphia, Boston... Conspicuously missing from this list is Houston. Of the five Texas schools that made it to the big dance, none were from the state's most populous city.

Sometimes, I don't like being right. The last time I saw the UTSA Roadrunners, they were run over by the Lamar Cardinals on their own turf. And I observed that this UTSA squad needed just a few matches under their belt to effectively gel. I would have preferred that it took one more week (see my blog entry dated September 4, 2013). When the Rice Owls arrived at the Alamo city for the second match in a back-to-back away weekend, they encountered a home team beginning to hit the dangerous stride I had predicted. The schedule didn't help the Owls much either; a hard-fought win against a higher-seeded Texas at El Paso clear across the state just two nights before still wore on the faces of Quinney, Gabi, Lauren and Holly. Kaytee, Laylla, Kauwela and Taylor, on the other hand, looked fresh, stringing together crisper passes to possess the ball forward, and applied swarming pressure on the slower Owls attackers to achieve a landmark first win in four meetings against Rice.

Kauwela Neal (second from left) smacks in her first goal of the year, as Kelsey Rightmer hits the deck and Quinney Truong (left) tries to close in. The second match of a long road trip, the Owls are just a half-step behind. Kelsey, keeper Amy Czyz (00) and the rest of the Owls defensive backs have a very busy day under tremendous pressure from Brianna Livecchi (2) and a Roadrunner offense that is gelling.

In the battle for center-midfield, Kaytee O'Brien (9) has the upper hand...

...threatening with the ball deep in Rice territory...

...and down the right flank to deliver some lethal crosses.

Jasmine Isokpunwu (8) is double-teamed by Laylla da Cruz from behind and Kaytee O'Brien (9) in front. The Roadrunners are able to swarm the road-worn Owls defensively. 

Quick, physical and smart, Jasmine Isokpunwu (8) has developed into a major aerial scoring threat for the Owls from her stopper position. She forces goalie Bubba Makela (orange) to take a precarious punch at an incoming cross in Rice's second-half scramble to score.

Reinforcements Jessica Howard (10) and Bella Hernandez (9) log some effective minutes for the Rice offense. But Bubba prevails to complete her third shutout of the season.

Strikers Holly Hargreaves (12), Lauren Hughes (7) and Danielle Spriggs (19) threaten often in the second half, but Shelby Wright (22), Tyane Ramos (4) and the Roadrunner defense stay a half-step ahead of the Owls.

Alexis Alaniz (5) contains Gabriela Iribarne (6) along the sideline.

Double-teamed, swarmed and chased by Courtney Bertholf (23), Quinney Truong (21) is left with few options.

(All photos by Kokoy Severino.)

Fans like me tend to be impatient with our teams. We have to always be mindful that in the sport of soccer, patience is a strategic virtue. Championships are not won in a year, but over the course of several years' hard work. Indeed, the road to the highest league on the planet, the World Cup finals, is a minimum two year process, sometimes more, even for the most advanced teams in the world. For the minnows like my country the Philippines, who are still in the nascent stages of national team development, it will likely take a couple of generations to arrive at that caliber - that is if we stay the course of hard work, and continuous dedication to development, which Coach Ernie Nierras has embarked us upon. In the U.S. college system, championships are usually won in four-year cycles, starting with a freshwoman recruiting class. When we set aside our impatience as a fan, and focus on our perspective as a patient and dedicated coach, we can see the development track more clearly.

With only three seniors on the roster, this junior class, including Quinny Truong, Gabi Iribarne, with fellow starters Kelsey Rightmer, Ashton Geisendorff and keeper Amy Czyz, and sophomores like Jasmine Isokpunwu, Holly Hargreaves and Lauren Hughes, have already made their mark at conference level with a league championship in 2012. These Owls are poised to dominate C-USA in 2014, Quinny and Gabi's senior year. With the C-USA tournament hosted by Rice next month, the Owls may make it even further than one would expect in the current season. On the other hand, I have already spoken about UTSA's crop of stellar junior transfers, such as Kaytee O'Brien, Taylor Wingerden, Happy Orere-Amadu, Teresa Offerman joined by a sophomore class featuring the likes of Kauwela Neal and Alexis Alaniz. By all indications, they are gelling. Thus, what we witnessed today in the Roadrunners' brand new not-even-on-the-map-yet soccer-specific stadium is a preview of next year's collision between the two teams this blog predicts will vie for the Conference USA cup and league.

It will be sweet indeed when a Houston school finally sheds this underdog stigma.

UPCOMING MATCHES OF THE WEEK: 

Thursday Oct 3 University of Cincinnati (#140) @ U of H (#232) 7:00 pm (American Athletic Conference)

Friday Oct 18 Colorado College (#24) @ Rice (#134) 7:00 pm (C-USA)

Thursday Oct 24 University of Central Florida (#12) @ U of H (#232) 7:00 pm (AAC)

Friday Oct 25 Grambling State University (#325) @ TSU (#327) 7:00 pm (SWAC)

Sunday Oct 27 East Carolina University (#174) @ Rice (#134) 1:00 pm (C-USA)

Thursday Oct 31 LSU (#55) @ Tx A&M (#56) 7:00 pm in College Station (Southeastern Conference)

Friday Nov 1 Sam Houston State University (#284) @ HBU (#242) 5:00 pm (SLC)

Monday Nov 4 Conference USA Tournament 1st Round @ Rice 4:30 and 7:00 pm
Wednesday Nov 6 Conference USA Tournament Quarter-Finals @ Rice 4:30 and 7:00 pm
Thursday Nov 7 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament @ Houston Amateur Sports Park
Friday Nov 8 Conference USA Tournament Semi-Finals @ Rice 4:30 and 7:00 pm
Saturday Nov 9 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament @ Houston Amateur Sports Park 
Saturday Nov 9 Red River Athletic Conference Tournament @ Houston Amateur Sports Park 
Sunday Nov 10 Conference USA Tournament Final @ Rice 1:00 pm
Friday-Sunday Nov 15-17 NCAA Division I Tournament 1st Round @ Campus TBA
Sunday Nov 24 NCAA Division I Tournament 3rd Round @ Campus TBA
Friday-Saturday Nov 29-30 NCAA Division I Tournament Quarter-Finals @ Campus TBA
Saturday Dec 7 NCAA Division III Tournament Final @ Blossom Stadium, San Antonio 1:30 pm 

(Kokoy's Matches of the Week are those which I plan to attend. Schedule subject to change.) 

Kokoy Severino has been coaching junior high school soccer in the public school system of the Greater Houston area for 19 years. He holds a National Youth Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, two coaching certifications from the United States Soccer Federation, and a Master in Educational Leadership degree from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His research focuses on the relationship between interscholastic competitive soccer and the academic success of at-risk students. He returns regularly to his native country of the Philippines and conducts soccer training sessions for economically disadvantaged youths.

"This blog is to document the intensity, the depth, the passion, the strategic and tactical nuances, the stars, the spectacular play that I witness in the women's teams at the college level. And in doing so, it is my hope that others might be inspired to discover for themselves the beautiful game brought by the women." (Kokoy, from blog entry dated Nov 4, 2012)