The curse is ended!!!!
2003 Game Recaps
The starters were Amy Burlingham (31), Laura Kram (4), Charisse Co (6) and Karen Haight (16) in defense, Carrie Schmit (7), Nicole Breger (23) and Kati McBain (3) in midfield, Kelly McDonald (13), Ashley Foster (2) and Nikki Thaden (10) up front, and Alex Gagarin (19) in goal. The new crop of recruits impresses: Burlingham is looking very good, she is able to blast past defenders with bursts of speed. Schmit, Co and Haight all looked good, and Nikki Thaden had a quiet 4 goals (including a nice free kick) plus a whack on the woodwork. Kelly McDonald scored the other 2 goals. Nicole Breger seems to be back in full form, after what seemed to be a somewhat injury-hampered season last year. Surprisingly, Kelly Wilson (27) played about half of the game, but she is obviously not back to top form after suffering a hamstring tear. Julie Gailey (9), Priscilla Fite (12), Christina Fanuzzi (24) and Lerrin Biggers (18) also saw playing time.
Texas squandered many chances early in the game, but a flurry of goals late drove up the score.
There was a good atmosphere at the game, with about 500 in attendance, including the Hooligans. (I don't understand why they were singing the 'Campeones' cheer, when we are not champions this year, while Christians Brothers are the Division II national champions.) Last year, for the exhibition games, they did not even turn the scoreboard on.
Player of the game: Nikki Thaden (10).
- Pantone159
Now that I've had a chance to see the Longhorns
play an exhibition match, a 6-0 defeat of Christian Brothers, it's time to go
ahead with my season preview.
No question, this team is much improved over last year. The freshman class looks
stellar and will make an immediate impact this season. Petrucelli started five
freshmen, and they all looked very good. They will be even better when they mesh
with the veterans and get used to the quicker pace of play in college.
Goalkeeper - UT returns its two starters from last year, junior Alex
Gagarin and senior Darci Carruthers. They are joined by youth national teamer
Dana Hall, who looks to be the keeper of the future for UT. I think it's likely
that she will redshirt this year.
Defense - This is the big question mark. Texas graduated two of its
starting defenders last year. The team needs leadership from junior Laura Kram,
who is joined in the center this year by Charisse Co. Co looked solid and
aggressive as the deep defender and allowed Kram to move up more.
The big surprise for me was Petrucelli converting star freshman Amy Burlingham
to right back in a four-back set. Amy was a high school track star and she can
blow right through the opposing midfield. Once her crossing improves she'll be
quite an attacking weapon. Fellow freshman Karen Haight started at left back,
splitting time with Julie Gailey. Texas has never had real wing backs before, so
it will be interesting to see how this pans out.
Midfield - Should be very solid this year. Senior captain Kati McBain is
the key. When she does well, UT does well. Hopefully Kati will finish her career
on a high note. She's got good help this year, with freshman Carrie Schmit next
to her. Carrie is very physical and great in the air. She can hold the center
and allow McBain to roam. And junior stopper Nicole Breger looks to be healthy
at last. Teams are going to have a tough time attacking UT up the middle with
Breger in front of Kram and Co. Priscilla Fite got some playing time coming in
for McBain and looked to be a very quick and feisty two-way mid.
Forwards - Texas will have one of the best front lines in the country
this year. Kelly Wilson gets all the attention, but it has been Kelly McDonald
who's been the most impressive, and she just keeps getting better. You'll be
hearing a lot about McDonald this year. Wilson is coming off a hamstring injury
and isn't back to her old self yet. Freshman Nikki Thaden started in Wilson's
place, and was MVP scoring four goals! Talk about making a statement in your
first game. Freshman Ashley Foster started but isn't quite match fit, coming off
an ACL last year. I've heard great things about Ashley and hopefully she'll be
in form soon.
It's going to be an exciting year for Longhorn fans. Early season games against
Duke, Clemson, North Carolina, and Portland will be a good testing ground for
what has to be the best Texas team yet. I hope we've got the experience and
depth now to win the Big 12 and make a good run in the tournament. And most
importantly, beat the hell out of A&M on Halloween night!
Stay tuned, and hook 'em.
- GoatBoy
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by Daily Texan
Texas wins 5-3, with goals by Kelly McDonald, Priscilla Fite, and Kelly Wilson (3). Kelly Wilson is now tied with Carol Finch for the career points record for Texas (71). What happened to the defense here?
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by East Carolina
Texas loses 2-3. Nikki Thaden had a goal and an assist, and Kelly McDonald scored the second goal, but it was not enough to overcome an outstanding effort by Duke.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by
Duke
Nikki Thaden scores off of a Kelly Wilson assist, and Texas, with Dana Hall making her first start, shutout Clemson to win 1-0. Nikki is off to an amazing start in her career at Texas! Meanwhile Kelly Wilson is now the all-time Texas leader in points, at 72, beating Carol Finch at 71.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by Clemson
Priscilla Fite and Ashley Foster get their first starts, and Dana Hall starts for the second time. Foster wastes no time getting going, hitting the post at 2:45. Texas hammers on the Furman defense all game long. At 19:29, Carrie Schmit gets her first career goal for Texas. (Assist to McBain.) At 58:14, Kelly McDonald scores (McBain) to tie Carol Finch atop the all-time career goal scoring list. At 82:26, Priscilla Fite scores on a corner kick from Nicole Breger. Just before the game ends, Christina Fanuzzi scores off a second corner kick assist for Breger. Texas wins 4-0.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by Furman
Texas loses 0-1 on a second overtime goal by North Carolina. I thought that Texas played well tonight, and had some good scoring chances, but seemed to wear down near the end. North Carolina started to get too many too good chances, and only a combination of poor finishing by UNC and some splendid saves by Dana Hall kept the score at 0-0 after the end of regulation. In the second overtime, UNC finally converted one of their chances to win it.
Texas MVP: Dana Hall
Honorable mentions: Charisse Co, Kelly McDonald
- Pantone159
UNC over Texas 1-0 in double OT.
Texas played hard and had a strong game, hanging in with the Heels. UNC took
over the game late, with some missed shots and some great saves from freshman
(and Challenge alumn) Dana Hall keeping the Longhorns in the game. UT attacked
well in stretches, but late in the game wasn't getting enough good service out
of midfield to get the game winner.
MVP was no doubt Dana Hall, who's gone from likely redshirt to definite starter.
The defense played well, with Charisse Co, Laura Kram, and Nicole Breger staying
tough in the middle. Kelly McDonald had her usual strong game up front.
- GoatBoy
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by North Carolina
Texas wins 4-3 in overtime. Texas let LSU get ahead 3-1 in the first half, and had to make an excellent effort to come back to take it to overtime, where Kelly McDonald scored to win the game.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by LSU
On a rainy and overcast afternoon, Texas did an excellent job of controlling the run of play. Unfortunately, they did not score, but Portland beat the Texas defense in the third minute, and once again in the first half, to put the score at 0-2. In the second half, Texas continued to play well but still could not score, with one Amy Burlingham shot hitting the post, and lost 0-2. The defending champion Pilots were without Christine Sinclair, on World Cup duties with the Canadian national team, and legendary and inspirational coach Clive Charles, who recently succumbed to cancer. Clive's final game was the championship which was won on the Texas home field in overtime.
- Pantone159
The Horns lose a tough one to Portland despite controlling most
of the game and outshooting UP 20-8. Portland got an early goal set up by a
perfect crossfield pass. After that Portland was able to sit back and look for
the counter, exposing UT's defense one more time in the first half.
UT came out firing in the second half but couldn't get one in. Portland's
defense was solid and made the early goals stand up.
I can't fault the effort from Texas, who again lose despite clearly being the
better team, a frustrating tendency for the squad.
- GoatBoy
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by Portland
On a bright and sunny Seattle day, Texas looked disoriented in the first half, and gave to two goals to Tina Frimpong within 30 seconds, to enter halftime down 0-2. In the second half, Texas put forth a much better effort. One one play, Amy Burlingham passed the ball to McDonald in the penalty box, who was taken down, and Nikki Thaden converted the PK to close the score to 1-2. Texas kept fighting to get a second goal and close the gap, but Washington finished them off with a late goal to clinch the win, and a loss for Texas 1-3.
- Pantone159
Washington defeats Texas 3-1.
Unlike the Friday game against Portland, Texas had a very lackluster performance
today. The defense was not well organized, the midfield produced little, and the
attack consisted mostly of ineffective long balls and chips. Washington played
well throughout, and Tina Frimpong was tremendous, scoring two goals.
In the second half Petrucelli put most of the bench on the field and Texas
showed a bit of a spark. Kelly McDonald got tripped in the box and Thaden
converted the PK, but it was not enough. Washington scored again late in the
game.
Petrucelli continues to fiddle with the lineups, and he can't be happy with the
defensive performance or the overall team chemistry this weekend. Texas needs to
fix the defense heading into the conference schedule now, and find the right
combination of players that will play up to the teams potential.
"Washington is a good team that is well coached and well organized," Texas head
coach Chris Petrucelli said. "They played very well this afternoon and (Tina)
Frimpong was the difference in the match. She is a force up front with her
combination of strength, speed and skill, and we just did not have an answer for
her today. We now need to focus on rebounding this coming weekend, especially
with the start of conference play on Sunday."
- GoatBoy
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap
by Washington
Photos from the Pacific Northwest
Texas changes up the lineup a bit. Laura Kram and Nicole Breger are not playing (presumably because of injury), the starting back 4 are now Haight, Foster, Teter and Gailey, Schmit, Fite and McBain are in the middle, Wilson, McDonald and Burlingham are up front, and Dana Hall is in goal. Kelly McDonald was pulled down for a PK to earn the second Texas goal, she has drawn a lot of penalties this season. Texas wins 2-0.
- Pantone159
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap
by Washington State
Texas loses 1-2 despite easily out shooting the Sooners. Damn.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by Oklahoma
Texas wins 1-0 with an unassisted McDonald goal with less than 10 minutes left, after Kansas hit the crossbar twice. Kelly McDonald seems to be the team MVP for the season, so far.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by
Kansas
Recap by Lawrence Journal-World
Jolene Schweitzer scores a hat trick to hand Texas a 1-3 loss. Texas out shot OSU 22 to 8, but only got one goal by Kelly Wilson.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by Oklahoma State
Four goals for Kelly McDonald ensure the 4-0 win for Texas. The lineup is changed around for this game, Gagarin started in goal, and Laura Kram and Nikki Thaden returned to the starting lineup. Amy Burlingham had some good chances, and hit the post once, but did not score.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by Baylor
Texas demolishes Texas Tech 7-0. Amy Burlingham and Laura Kram picked up their first career goals, Kelly McDonald drew another penalty kick, and lots of players got into the action (including Emily Candee's first minutes) while running over a Tech team that was not much more than a speed bump for Texas. Tech was without the Frilot twins, who left the team after missing practices and school while promoting "The Real Cancun", which they starred in.
http://www.therealcancun.com/players/nicole.html
http://www.therealcancun.com/players/roxanne.html
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap
by Texas Tech
Recap
by Daily Texan
No Texas player managed to score a goal, but Missouri allowed two own goals to give Texas a 2-1 win.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap
by Missouri
Nikki Thaden scores the only goal, in a 1-0 Texas victory, while Alex Gagarin gets 4 saves in the shutout. Texas has now clinched a spot in the Big 12 conference tournament.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap
by Iowa State
A tough night for the Longhorns... Texas dominated play in the first half, and had several good scoring chances, including one shot that hit the crossbar. Nothing went in the net, however. The domination continued, and even increased, at the beginning of the second half, but still without results. About halfway into the second half, Colorado's Katie Griffin, against the run of play, broke through the Texas defense and beat Alex Gagarin one-on-one to put Colorado up 1-0. The Horns lost their momentum somewhat at that point, but came back in the last 15 minutes to apply very heavy pressure to the Buffalos, including another shot that hit the crossbar, but the Longhorns could not convert, and Colorado held on for a not particularly deserved 1-0 win. Kelly McDonald did not have her usual stellar performance, but the difference was a matter of Texas not capitalizing on their control of the play. Texas is now eliminated from contention for the regular season Big 12 title, and Colorado picked up their first ever result against Texas.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by Colorado
Texas gets an overtime goal from Kelly McDonald to beat the Huskers 3-2, in a hard-fought, physical game, much of which was played in a cold drizzle. Texas got on the board first, with an Alex Gagarin(!) pass to McDonald who made some nice moves to beat defenders, and then put the ball in the net. Nebraska then evened the score, with a poorly defended set piece that dribbled into the Texas goal. Nikki Thaden scored off of a free kick in the second half to retake the lead, but then as weather threatened to stop the game, Nebraska got the equalizer, and regular time ended with a 2-2 tie. Late into the second overtime, McDonald put away the winner, and Texas finally got to be the team running onto the field in celebration. Next up: Ending the Aggie curse, on Halloween night. Nebraska actually looked like a much stronger team than Colorado did two days ago, but they go home losers. With the Nebraska loss, Colorado clinches the regular season Big 12 championship.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by Nebraska
It looked like the Aggie curse was going to survive another day, as the Aggies held a 1-0 lead with time running out in regulation. But, a Kati McBain shot found its way through the Aggie defense and into the goal with about 35 seconds left, setting up overtime. It seemed like the wind kind of came out of the Aggie sails at that point, as Texas held most of the run of play in the overtimes. With about 2 minutes left in the second overtime, an Aggie handball in the box put Nikki Thaden on the penalty spot, which she converted for the FIRST EVER AGGIE-BEATING GOAL!!!!
Texas wins, 2-1 in 2 OT.
The curse is ended!!!!
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by
Aggies
Recap by Daily Texan
Recap by Battalion
Poooor Aggies....
Big 12 Tournament - First round - Oklahoma State
With the epic win over the Aggies, Texas got to play #7 seeded Oklahoma State, a team they lost to in the regular season, but that they should be able to beat. Unfortunately, the Longhorns didn't show up with the kind of intensity that they needed to carry the day. Oklahoma State did an excellent job controlling the ball and the pace of the game, while Texas had mental errors and lots of missed easy passes. Texas might not have had a shot in the first half, but Julie Gailey made the save of the game, denying OSU and keeping the score 0-0 at halftime. In the second half, OSU converted one of their chances, and took the lead 1-0. Texas did put on some offensive pressure at times, hitting the crossbar once, but it wasn't enough, and Oklahoma State held on to the 1-0 win. Colorado and A&M also lost today.
Now we have to wait for an NCAA at large bid. Will we get one? We should, with wins over Clemson, Kansas, Nebraska and the Aggies, but were close enough that we might be unlucky. Should the Aggies get a bid? How many bids will the Big 12 get? Texas, A&M, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska are all hoping to get in, but the conference might not get that many bids. Who gets dropped first? Kansas and Nebraska are still playing, the rest have similar claims to a spot, and have to sit at home and wait for the committee.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by Oklahoma State
NCAA Tournament - First round - Mississippi
Texas put together some nifty header passing right at the start of the game for a good scoring chance, but a save by the Ole Miss goalie kept the score at zero. The game kind of settled into a stalemate after that, until Mississippi scored a goal off a long free kick, a chip past the out-of-position Texas keeper. The Longhorns put on some solid pressure in the second half, but more good plays from the Mississippi goalkeeper held the shutout. Some last second flip throw-ins from Lerrin Biggers, near the Ole Miss goal, produced some good chances, but there was no luck for the Longhorns on this day. Mississippi got their first-ever NCAA win, while Texas still has yet to claim one.
Recap by TexasSports.com
Recap by Mississippi
Photos from University of Florida Campus
The Austin Chronicle had some recaps of the 2003 season here
Austin
Chronicle UT Women's Soccer Archives (2003)