Raiders eliminated from playoffs

The Rice Raiders made history by making the playoffs for the first time in school history but were eliminated 4-0 by Needville in the first round.

Raiders head coach David Leist was emotional post-game as he was so proud of his team for everything they accompl ished but sad to see things come to an end.

“It sucks, but I am just so proud of these kids, they did everything we asked and helped put Rice soccer on the map this year,” Leist said wiping tears out of his eyes. “I’ll say it, I love these kids, every last single one of them.”

The Raiders lost the game 4-0 and all four goals were scored in the first half of the game. In the second half goalkeeper Augustus Peacock stood on his head and stopped every shot that came his way to give his team a chance.

“Gus is just aggressive, everyone in our district is so nervous about Gus every time they play us,” Leist said. “Defensively we did not help him as much as we normally do but Gus is awesome, and he did a great job.”

Leist also said that offensively they will be putting in a ton of work this off-season to get better in that area of the game. The Raiders missed several quality scoring chances and Leist said they will be an emphasis on offense as they look ahead to next season.

Leist highlighted Peacock post-game but made sure his seniors got the spotlight they deserved.

“They were two crucial seniors this year, a center back and a midfielder, even my two seniors that did not play a lot were very crucial to our roster this year,” Leist said choking up. “These kids are like my kids, it’s tough and they are leaving some big shoes to fill.”

With the season coming to a close Leist reiterated just how proud he was of his players and also gave Raiders fans a look towards the future.

“I am excited, I see us moving past the firstround next year. I hate to count my chickens before they hatch but I had 35 kids come out for soccer this year and I am only losing four of them,” Leist said. “I just want to build this program and have kids understand, Rice is here to play soccer, and we are going to continue moving forward.”

The season is now officially over for the Raiders but rest assured Raider fans they will be back next season with a vengeance.