Visit to BBVA Compass Stadium highlights weekend
8/27/2015 5:03:00 PM | Soccer
After passing a pair of road tests in route to the first 2-0 start in program history, the obstacles become more challenging this weekend as Sam Houston soccer faces a pair of Conference USA squads, including league-favorite Rice on Sunday at Houston's BBVA Compass Stadium.
The match against Rice (1-1-0) is slated for 4 p.m. and is part of a doubleheader with the National Women's Soccer League's Houston Dash, who take on the Boston Breakers at 7 o'clock. General admission tickets are $10 and student tickets are $5 with a valid Bearkat OneCard for the doubleheader if purchased before Saturday at 2 p.m. on GoBearkats.com or at the Bowers Stadium ticket office.
“I appreciate the Houston Dash, Houston Dynamo and Chris Canetti (president of Houston Dynamo) giving us the opportunity to play in this stadium,” eighth-year head coach Tom Brown said. “We're extremely thankful (Sam Houston director of athletics) Bobby Williams helped put together an event of this caliber for our players and team.”
Not to be confused with Rice, the Bearkats meet the Florida Atlantic Owls on Friday at 4 o'clock in College Station from Texas A&M's Ellis Field. The Owls are off to their first 2-0 start since 2011 and are led by senior midfielder Claire Emslie, who boasts 23 career goals, tied for sixth in program history.
“I think Friday's match will be a really good challenge for us,” Brown said. “Florida Atlantic is a very talented team with some quality players who will really test us. We're excited to play because it's a team we don't normally get to play against.”
In fact, the meeting will be the first between FAU and Sam Houston. Meanwhile, the Bearkats will meet Rice for the third time in team history, with the Owls taking all three prior matchups, including a 2-0 win in the squads' last meeting in 2012.
Sam Houston is riding its own momentum, boasting a 10-2-1 record since defeating UIW 4-1 on Sept. 21 last season. On the opening weekend of 2015, the Bearkats defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 1-0 and UTSA 2-1 in overtime. The season-opening victory against the Ragin' Cajuns was Brown's 200th career win.
On Tuesday, the Kats ranked in two of three Southland Conference honors, as senior Mariah Titus was named league offensive player of the week and sophomore Caitlin Schwartz was named defensive player of the week. Titus contributed an assist and game-winning goal against UTSA while Schwartz helped permit just one goal in 187 minutes of playing time while netting the lone goal in the season opener.
In order to continue their success on Sunday, the Kats will have the tall order of challenging Rice's Lauren Hughes and Jenny Fichera, Conference USA's preseason offensive and defensive players of the year, respectively.
“Rice has an excellent team this year,” Brown said. “They're picked to win Conference USA and they had good results last weekend. I think it'll be a team that will really push us and make us play our best to get a good result.”
According to Brown, the chance to compete in a premier venue such as BBVA Compass Stadium against a squad like Rice goes a long way in mentally readying his squad to take the next step and attain the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance.
“We want to be a team that can compete in the NCAAs and win our conference,” Brown said. “You have to be able to deal with big events. I hope this creates that kind of opportunity to deal with the pressure of a new venue and against a team we are confident that will be in the NCAAs.”
