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Rice Soccer: Outgoing seniors leave big roles to fill

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The outgoing senior class steered Rice soccer through a year of transition, setting the Owls up for a future of sustained success under Brian Lee.

The Rice soccer senior class did so much more for the program than fill out the roster. Those women served as the clue for a group of players in the midst of a coaching transition. No matter how talented a team in any sport, change at the top can be challenging to navigate. The Owls didn’t seem to miss a beat. Head coach Brian Lee credits the seniors for making that possible.

“Lianne [Mananquil], Erin [Mikeska], Maya [Hoyer] and Louise [Stephens] are four of the strongest leaders I’ve ever coached in 25 years of doing this,” Lee said, acknowledging how challenging they will be to replace next season.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

Mananquil, Stephens and Mikeska each finished in the top four in points for the Owls this season. Hoyer was part of an effective tagteam with Bella Killgore at goal keeper. Using two keepers might not be Lee’s default going forward, but he couldn’t remove Hoyer or Killgore from the field entirely. “I felt like we had two goal keepers who would have started for at least 10 or 12 of the 14 SEC teams,” he declared.

Fortunately, the Owls will have Killgore to lean on at keeper next season. Up front, the next senior class will be waiting to take up the mantle. Haley Kostyshyn and Mijke Roelfsema are both coming off tremendous seasons. Lee also highlighted the growth of Trinity King who’s role grew as the 2019 season progressed.

Those are strong pieces. Lee hopes they can rise to the occasion. In his eyes, the outgoing senior class “made our transition for our entire staff so much easier…  They were a dream. If every class at Rice is like those kids I’m going to have a great rest of my coaching career.”

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Brian Lee remains confident move to Rice soccer will bear fruit

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Rice soccer has a new head coach with big plans. How Brian Lee’s own expectations hope to drive the Owls’ program to new heights.

One year ago Brian Lee made a career-altering decision. After leading LSU to six NCAA Tournaments and four division titles he decided to accept the Rice soccer head coaching job. Trading the SEC for Conference USA wasn’t solely a leap of faith. Lee describes it as a calculated decision.

“A theory I’ve always had about college women’s soccer is the very best jobs are at the prestigious academic institutions,” he reasoned. “Because of the demographics of our recruiting base and the lack of a professional league of note makes the elite academic schools the ones the kids want to go play at.”

Lee pointed to programs like Georgetown and Stanford. Both are academic powerhouses that have become mainstays at the highest levels of the sport. From admissions requirements to scheduling capabilities, there’s no reason Rice can’t mirror how those programs have been built. At least, that’s the theory.

Lee believed in that premise so much he moved on from a decade-long stint in Baton Rouge to build a new legacy at South Main.  The Owls went 10-6-3 in Lee’s first season, losing in the conference tournament to North Texas on their own field after tying the Mean Green in Houston the week prior.

The solid start was achieved, primarily, with players he inherited. The team won’t fully have his imprint for another two seasons. Women’s college soccer typically takes commitments two to three years out from their arrival on campus.

Rice made one new addition to the roster in Lee’s first season, signing Boston College transfer Mijke Roelfsema. She was instrumental to the Owls’ success this season, buying into the program Lee was striving to create.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

More and more of Lee’s handpicked recruits will be added in the seasons to come. Already equipped with what he believes is a talented roster, his own expectations continue to rise. “The program, really over the course of history, has been at the very least, solid,” he said. Lee then went on to issue his own expectation.

“The top end of what we can develop the program into over the next three, four, five years is very high. I think we’re headed to having a Top 20 program.” He knows that’s a tall order, but he also knows how to get there.

In one season, Lee turned a seven-win team into a 10-win team. He’s continuing to recruit and develop talent. As he expected when he took the job, things are headed in the right direction.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 32 – Gabe Baker and the Bachelor’s Listen to Your Heart

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Former Rice football defensive back Gabe Baker joins the show as it diverts from sports to talk The Bachelor’s Listen to Your Heart and music.

It’s been an exciting few weeks for The Roost Podcast. The Extended Offseason interview series continues on with special guest Gabe Baker. We covered a lot of ground with the former Rice football safety, covering more culture than sports for an excellent change of pace.

If you want X’s and O’s and (somewhat) succinct college football analysis, give a listen to last week’s show. Dave Campbell Texas Football’s insider Shehan Jeyarajah joined the podcast to discuss the state of the sport and potential alternatives to a normal football season. Almost every FBS team in Texas got a mention, including several smaller schools.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to our chat with Gabe Baker on Episode 32.


Episode 32 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Thanks to all of you who have followed the show on Twitter and left a review on iTunes. It’s quick, but it makes a difference. We also want to be better about plugging our guests. Follow Gabe Baker on Twitter and make sure to check out his new single, Butterflies.
  • Gabe Baker joins the show — Baker has been a busy man since his football days ended. Our talk with him centered on what he’s done since, including:
    • His journey from Rice to reality television
    • What it was like living at the mansion and being a part of The Bachelor’s Listen to Your Heart
    • How a delayed flight home from the Hawaii Bowl played a role in his musical career
    • The debut of his first single
    • His go-to karaoke songs (shout out to Sinatra and Disney)

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Football Recruiting: WR Christian McStravick commits to Owls

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The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class has added another playmaker. Boston College transfer wide receiver Christian McStravick has committed to the Owls.

The majority of the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class was wrapped during the early signing period last December. The Owls added a few key pieces in February, rounding out an impressive group of incoming freshmen. But it was always the intent to add at least one more cherry on top in the form of an instant-impact transfer.

To that end, Rice has diligently combed through the Transfer Portal, seeking players who could come in and contribute immediately. Bolstering the depth on the offensive side of the ball was a priority in that search. Rice has found someone who fits the bill who will bring that necessary combination of experience and talent.

Former Boston College wide receiver Christian McStravick has committed to the Owls. His addition bolsters the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class. He’s the fourth transfer in the class, joining quarterback Mike Collins (TCU), kicker Collin Riccitelli (Stanford) and offensive lineman Jovaun Woolford (Colgate).

Originally from Houston, McStravick attended Strake Jesuit high school before committing to Boston College. McStravick was a finalist for the Houston Touchdown Club’s Offensive Player of the Year and a Top 100 recruit in the Greater Houston Area.

More: 2021 Rice Football Recruiting Tracker

He did not see significant action with the Eagles, appearing in seven games without recording any receptions. He missed last season recovering from an ACL injury. He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining when he arrives at South Main.

McStravick (6-foot-4, 200-pounds) brings size to the Rice offense which needed depth in that area after the departure of Aaron Cephus. Prior to McStravick’s addition, Bradley Rozner was the only receiver listed at six-foot or taller on the Owls’ roster. Now the Owls’ have two big-bodied targets, both of which have multiple seasons of college football under their belts.

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Rice Swimming: The last Owls standing this spring

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Rice swimming was the last of the Owls’ teams to compete this spring, ending their season with a top five finish at a truncated CSCAA National College Invitational.

On a Tuesday evening in March Rice swimming flew from Houston to Cleveland to compete in the CSCAA National College Invitational. Coronavirus concerns had put some on edge, but the team hadn’t fully come to terms with the breadth and the pace of the problem at that time.

Still, the meet began as scheduled on Thursday, March 12. Although swimmers were in and out of the water as usual, the air in the Busbey Natatorium was flat. Rice swimming head coach Set Huston characterized the atmosphere as “distracted”, something he doesn’t ever really associated with his team.

To the contrary, Huston called the continued maturity of his team the defining achievement of the Owls’ season. He cited the teams’ resiliency through adversity and their ability to compete “anytime, anywhere, any place”. That growing resolve was put on display during the invitational.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

The swimmers were in the middle of their preliminary events when conferences around the country began canceling their basketball championships. The NBA had been shut down the night prior. Still, they swam on. Some teams pulled out between prelims and finals. As long as city of Cleveland and the hosting school Cleveland State deemed it permissible to compete, the Owls would press on.

As the final swims were beginning that night, teams were notified this would be the last day of the invitational. It too, like all other major sporting events around the world, had been tabled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Even with the world coming to a halt around them, Rice swimming competed to the very end. The Owls’ finished fifth place out of 33 teams, taking home silver medals in the 50-yard freestyle swam by Kate Nezelek and the team sprint relay. Rice has now placed in the top five in every appearance at the invitation, starting with the inaugural 2014 meet which the Owls won.

There were several impressive results along the way. Huston is particularly proud of his team’s sweep at the Dual-A-Palooza. A two-day event in which Rice topped Denver, Tulane and eventual C-USA Champion FIU. By and large, it was a successful season, and one that lasted longer than most every other collegiate season around the country.

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