Mean Green Advance To Semifinals

Wednesday, October 31

Norfolk, VA

3:30 CT

University of North Texas

14-2-2

No. 8 Rice

7-9-1

RICE

North Texas

10/31/2018 6:26:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

NORFOLK, Virginia — The defending champion North Texas soccer team advanced to the semifinal round of the Conference USA Championship with a dominating second-half performance in a 2-0 win over Rice on Wednesday.

After a scoreless first-half in Norfolk, Virginia, the top-seeded Mean Green turned on the jets in the second-half, controlling possession and forcing goal-scoring opportunities.

Junior Madeline Guderian chose an opportune time to score her first career goal, she got North Texas (14-2-2, 8-1-1) on the board first in the 61st minute with a goal off of a free kick. Then 13 minutes later, Guderian connected with senior Carissa Sanders on a corner-kick to give UNT a secure 2-0 lead headed into the final stretch of the match.

"If was definitely a tale of two halves with Rice having the better of us in the first half," said head coach John Hedlund. "We changed a few things at halftime from a tactical standpoint and really started to put the pressure on them in the second half. Eventually I knew the goals would come and the defense played outstanding throughout the entire game. We will rest up now and get ready for another tough opponent for Friday night."

Guderian's goal in the 61st minute was a bit of a confusing one at first. Guderian took aim at the far post on a free kick from about 35 yards away but a confused Owls defense let the ball go untouched before it appeared a Rice defender swatted at the ball with her hand near the goal line.

For a brief moment it appeared North Texas was going to shoot a penalty kick but after a review they determined the ball had already crossed the goal line when the Owls defender had touched it, thus rewarding Guderian with the goal.

Then just 13 minutes later, North Texas scored again, this time off of a corner that Guderian drove towards the six-yard box where Sanders was waiting to head it in. The Mean Green center back flew above the Rice defense to knock in her second goal of the season and her third of her career. All three of her goals have come off corner kicks. For Guderian, Wednesday's assist was her third off of a corner.

Guderian's big statistical night comes on the heels of what has been a breakout stretch for her. During the conference portion of the schedule, Guderian emerged as not just a confident outside defensive back for the Mean Green but also an offensive weapon on set pieces.

The Coppell native recorded her first career assist on Oct. 7 versus UAB with a pair of assist and then on Oct. 14 at Marshall, she was inserted in the starting lineup and recorded another assist. Since earning the start at Marshall she has been a constant in the starting 11 for UNT.

"We had a great team effort today," Guderian said. "We knew it was a big game for us and there was a lot at stake. We all came out hard in the second half. I just made sure my man didn't beat me and my service gave us a chance on set pieces. We knew our first half was a bit flat so we dug in and found our spark in the second and it paid off."

Wednesday's win over the eighth-seeded Owls (7-9-1, 5-4-1) came just a few days after the regular season champion Mean Green were blasted in the season finale by Old Dominion, 4-0, on the same field that they played on Wednesday.

North Texas on Wednesday handled the Owls' early pressure and corner kicks.

Rice took six first-half corners to North Texas' two.

While the Owls controlled most of the offensive action in the first-half, UNT goalie Kelsey Brann (14-2-2) and the Mean Green defense didn't allow many serious scoring opportunities but when Rice did get a shot off, Brann was there to make the save. The redshirt freshman made a couple diving saves in the first-half to keep the sheet clean.

Wednesday's shutout was North Texas' 11th this season and the second time they've shutout Rice this year. The Mean Green beat the Owls on Oct. 5, 1-0, in Denton.

North Texas will face the fourth-seed Louisiana Tech in the semifinal round on Friday at 6:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+. In the quarterfinals, the Lady Techsters trailed Old Dominion 2-0 in the second-half and came all the way back to beat ODU in overtime on Wednesday.

Quick Shots

North Texas is unbeaten this season when they score one or more goal
North Texas is now 280-23-7 all-time when they score two or more goals and since joining C-USA in 2013 are 66-3-1 in those matches and are on a 21-match unbeaten streak in matches where they score two or more goals
Freshman walk-on Hannah Gladys earned first-half playing time for the first time this season on Wednesday
North Texas' four-year seniors have now won a total of 62 matches and are two wins away from tying the program-record for winningest senior class with the class of 2016
The Mean Green earned their 14th win of the season, tying last year's win total
UNT improves to 6-3-2 all-time versus Rice and on a four-match winning streak in the C-USA Championship
Since 2013, North Texas is now 57-11-6 all-time versus C-USA opponents in regular season and postseason matches