Ladyjacks Draw in Exhibition With Rice In Houston, 1-1

Sunday, August 13

Houston, Texas

5:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

Rice (Exhibition)

Ladyjacks Draw in Exhibition With Rice In Houston, 1-1

8/13/2017 7:40:00 PM | Women's Soccer

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

HOUSTON, Texas-- A tale of two halves was the theme in Stephen F. Austin's 1-1 draw with Rice University in Houston, Texas on Sunday. SFA got off to a hot start in the beginning of the first half, netting the game's first goal in the 22nd minute after a combination through the middle of the field led to a sensational low finish past the Owls keeper. Sunday's game also was a chance to shift around lineups and test different personnel packages, however, and the Owls would add an equalizing strike in the second half of the game to secure the tie.

SFA came out hungry on the attack in the exhibition, creating several dangerous scoring chances through their athleticism and defensive pressure, which caused several dangerous Owl turnovers.

"Today went really well", SFA head coach Wally Crittenden said. "This result came against a very good team, which was picked to do well in their conference. They possess a lot of really good players, and the way that they play really tested us. From our team standpoint, we were able to get everyone in the game, team attitude was great and we were able to make some tactical substitutions that answered questions that we had from a lineup standpoint, and we needed those to be resolved, and they were. We feel really good about the nucleus and the depth chart of our team following this game, and I think we have a good idea of who we are and who we want to be as a team heading into Friday, so that's good."

Playing against an opponent instead of their own teammates allowed the Ladyjacks to finally play their game and focus on the task at hand. The team responded by playing an excellent first half in which they created numerous scoring chances and dominated possession.

"The team loved being able to play a new opponent, and first and foremost our competitive spirit was excellent", Crittenden continued. "When you have good players, you have really good talent, they're fit, and they have really high competitive character, you're in a position to do something special. I thought we had a lot of that in every position, and we had a few players really separate themselves in a positive manner tonight. The first 45 minutes we were very comfortable, very fluid on the ball and made really good decisions, and I thought that was the best soccer we've played maybe in a few years even. We made a bunch of changes as we went through, which can throw off your rhythm a bit, but we came in here and got done what we needed to do. Everyone played and we came out injury free, so all in all, it was a good day."

With Sunday's result, the Ladyjacks will next return to action in their regular season opener at Mississippi State next Friday, August 18th in Starkville, Miss.