2004 Game Recaps
Star recruit Stephanie Logterman will probably miss the season while playing with the Under-19 national team in the world championship in Thailand. Two other incoming freshmen, Caitlyn Kennedy and Kelsey Carpenter, look to make an immediate impact. The Longhorns will be without Kati McBain, whose indominatable effort against Texas A&M last year, for the first ever Longhorn win or result against them, carried her off to the heavens, never again to play for Texas. (In truth, she just graduated.) The double-edged Sword of Kelly returns (McDonald and Wilson) along with last year's impact freshmen, Carrie Schmit and Nikki Thaden, and Texas certainly has the talent to compete against anyone.
The biggest test will come early this year, in the 10 September rematch against Texas A&M. The Aggies will certainly want to avenge the loss last season, the first ever result they gave up to the Longhorns. They looked to have the game won, less than one minute left, another in the everlasting series of wins over the Longhorns, damn!!!, but Texas fought the entire game as hard as they could, and fortune rewarded them with a deflection that went into the A&M goal, sending the game into overtime. Near the end of overtime, a defensive handball (which the Aggies think should have been called inadvertent) put Nikki Thaden at the penalty spot. She converted, and the curse had been ended. With the loss, Texas A&M finished fifth in the conference, their worst finish ever. The Aggies have probably spent every minute since then hungering for revenge. They get an early chance. Last year, this game was the last in the season. This year, it is one of the first. This year, the game is in College Station, and will probably have an attendance of about twice the capacity of the A&M stadium.
It will be interesting to see how the freshmen, from both sides, play in this game. Texas A&M had the best recruiting class in the country, including many star players from outside Texas, some from outside the USA, from England, I think. Texas also had an excellent recruiting class, all from Texas. Will these freshmen, especially the ones from far away, have any idea of the kind of intensity that this game will have?
The second grudge match for Texas will be visiting SMU at the end of the season. Texas has never beaten SMU, and the Mustangs, twice, have sent many of this year's Texas roster home from the NCAA tournament. Texas has never won an NCAA tournament game.
W 4-1
Freshmen Caitlyn Kennedy and Kelsey Carpenter waste no time getting started as Longhorns, combining to score 3 minutes into the game. Amy Burlingham, Kelly Wilson and Kristen Teter get in on the scoring action. Being able to finish goals will be key for Texas this year, that was the main weakness last year.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Daily Texan
L 0-1
The Longhorns start out the season with a lackluster performance against the Clemson Tigers. On both sides of the ball, Texas was often disorganized. The Clemson forwards seemed to roam freely through the Texas defense, finally resulting in a Clemson goal when a cross found a wide-open player, whose bending shot along the ground beat Dana Hall for the only goal of the game. When Texas was able to control the ball and get it forward, they couldn't come up with many good scoring chances. Despite Texas having the edge in shots and corners, Clemson had the definite edge in dangerous scoring chances. Several times in the second half, open Clemson players had the ball near the Texas goal, but were not able to challenge Hall, so the Longhorns are lucky that the score wasn't worse. All four freshmen saw playing time, with Leslie Imber getting some of the Longhorns' best scoring chances.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Clemson
W 4-1
Texas had a much sharper performance tonight, compared to the Clemson game last Friday, and it resulted in a 4-1 pasting of Michigan. The Longhorns controlled the ball for most of the game, and generated lots of quality scoring chances. A Caitlyn Kennedy corner kick to Nikki Thaden resulted in the first goal, about 4 minutes into the game. Around ten minutes later, one of the few defensive lapses by Texas left a Wolverine open for a shot just outside the box, which beat the keeper to tie the game at 1-1. It was pretty much all Texas besides that. Kelsey Carpenter got her first goal for Texas, with Kelly Wilson and Priscilla Fite adding finely struck sequels to complete the scoring.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by
Michigan
Recap by Daily Texan
W 5-0
The FIU Golden Panthers are probably glad to be in Texas now, instead of at home in the path of Hurricane Frances. They were outclassed by Texas tonight, however. The Longhorns pretty much controlled all the play, and, although they probably could have finished more of their many chances, the Horns did enough to come away with an easy win. Karen Haight got her first career goal, and Kelly Wilson added two to come within a hair of the Texas career points lead, currently held by Kelly McDonald.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by
Florida International
W 3-2
Texas looked really sharp in this game, particularly in the first half. It seemed like the Horns completely controlled the play in the first 45 minutes, but the only score was a goal from Kelly Wilson that put her on top of the UT career points ladder. In the second half, a well placed free kick for Loyola from just outside the box beat Dana Hall, tying the score at 1-1. A solid strike from Caitlin Kennedy put Texas back in front, and soon Kelly McDonald added a third. Since Wilson had a part in the assist, the double-edged Sword of Kelly is now tied atop the career points chart at 93 points apiece. Texas needed the third, as another superb strike by Loyola brought them within one, but they could not find the third, and Texas held on to the win.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Loyola
Recap by Daily Texan
L 1-3
The Longhorns played well in the first half, and took advantage of an early break when Amy Burlingham picked up a loose ball in front of the A&M goal around 5-10 minutes into the game, and put it in to set Texas up 1-0. Soon afterwards, Kelsey Carpenter hit the post (as the dumb Aggie fans near me praised Katie Jo Spisak!) but nothing else went in for Texas, and that score held until halftime. Early in the second half, Texas was still looking good when Burlingham was taken down in the A&M box for what looked, to me, like an obvious penalty. The ref didn't see it that way, and soon after this point, things started to fall apart for Texas. After a bit, A&M fired a corner kick directly into the back of the Texas net to tie the game at 1-1. At this point, Coach Petrucelli seemed to go ballistic, first arguing with the fourth official, then ending up in some kind of shoving between him and the A&M coaches. I couldn't see very well what was going on, but I was kind of surprised that Coach P was not ejected. The Horns seemed to lose some composure around then, and they seemed to panic a bit, resorting to many speculative balls into the box that usually went nowhere, and were not finished when they did end up with a Longhorn player. With more patience, perhaps a better attack could have been developed. Still, many loose balls were intensely contested, with lots of shirt-tugging, head-knocking and body-slamming that wasn't really called either way by the officials. The confusion worked into the defense as well, and twice Aggie players managed to get the ball, open near the Texas goal, first Ashlee Pistorius, then another player, and beat the keeper, to bring the score to 1-3. As a whole, several of the Texas forwards did an excellent job pursuing Aggie players on defense, and Carrie Schmit also stood out for some tough defense, but it was not enough, and the score ended at 1-3 for A&M.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by A&M
Recap by Daily Texan
Recap by The Battalion
Photos from College Station
W 6-0
Texas didn't have much trouble handling the Green Wave. Kelly Wilson scored a hat trick, plus an assist to make 100 career points, and the Longhorns got an easy win.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Tulane
L 1-3
Texas gave up a goal late in the first half to Portland, but Caitlin Kennedy answered early in the second half with a 25-yard shot to tie the game at 1-1. Ten minutes into the second half, Dana Hall saved a close-range shot by Christine Sinclair, but gave back the rebound which Sinclair finished to put Portland back up 2-1. After another ten minutes, Sinclair added another to make the score 3-1 for Portland. That score held, and the Longhorns suffer the loss.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Portland
Recap by Daily Texan
W 3-2 2OT
Tech scored two early goals, and led almost all of the first half. Before the break, Ashley Foster scored her first career goal to close the score to 1-2, and Caitlin Kennedy tied the game midway through the second half. The game went to single, and then double overtime. Finally, Carrie Schmit scored the winner, and the Longhorn win 3-2.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Texas Tech
L 1-2 OT
Eight minutes into the game, Kristen Teter scored to put Texas up 1-0. About another eight minutes later, Baylor had a corner kick, which was saved by the Texas goalkeeper, but the rebound came back into the field of play, and Baylor converted the rebound to tie the game at 1-1. Texas stepped up their play in the second half, controlled most of the possession, and easily out shot Baylor, but didn't really force the Baylor keeper to make any difficult saves. Texas was not able to claim a goal from their control of the play, and the game went to overtime. Eighteen seconds into overtime, Baylor put the ball in the net, to hand Texas a 1-2 loss.
Tech-Baylor Preview by Daily Texan
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Baylor
Tech-Baylor Recap by Daily Texan
Photos from Baylor
W 1-0
Texas controlled most of the possession during this game, and had some good chances in the first half, but were not able to convert anything until midway into the second half, when Amy Burlingham got open on the right side of the Oklahoma goal, and looped the ball over the goalie to give Texas a 1-0 lead. Inside the last ten minutes, the Horns really worked on running out the clock, playing keep-away in the corner of the field next to the Sooner goal, forcing Oklahoma to give up corners, fouls, etc. Texas did a good job of this for ten minutes or so, but in the last two minutes Oklahoma was able to take possession again, and the Sooners made some excellent scoring chances in the final moments, but Dana Hall managed to pick up a late loose ball in front of the Texas goal to hold the 1-0 win.
OU-OSU Preview by Daily Texan
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Oklahoma
W 3-1
The double-edged Sword of Kelly was too much for OSU to handle today. About ten minutes into the game, Kelly Wilson did a fine job of slipping past a double-team in the box, and fed Kelly McDonald for the first goal. In the second half, McD returned the favor by getting fouled in the box, and Wilson converted the penalty to make the score 2-0. Later in the half, Wilson found Kelsey Carpenter for the third goal for the Longhorns. Texas forced the Oklahoma State goalie to make a number of good saves, the score could easily have been higher. Very late in the game, OSU picked up a consolation goal to avoid being shutout. Texas looked strong, and the game was not really as close as the score suggested.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Oklahoma State
OU-OSU Recap by Daily Texan
Helpful Wilson tops in record book
L 3-4
Nebraska was tragically without Jenna Cooper, who was shot to death last spring. The Huskers did have several Canadian national team players on the roster, including Brittany Timko, who may be the best player in the nation so far this season. The double-edged Sword of Kelly (McDonald, Wilson) started the scoring just three minutes in, but four goals by Nebraska were too much for Texas.
Nebraska-Colorado Preview by Daily Texan
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Nebraska
T 1-1 2OT
Colorado had some early missed chances, and the game settled into a tough, pretty evenly matched battle. Kelly Wilson got tangled up near the Colorado goal fifteen minutes in, but the ref made no call, and Wilson had to leave the game, staying out until the overtime. At 28:36 left in the first half, Kelly McDonald got the ball with a huge amount of space, almost the whole CU half, and dribbled forward until she hit Kelsey Carpenter with a perfect pass, which she converted to give Texas a 1-0 lead. In the second half, with 31:08 left, Colorado broke through the Texas defense for a one-on-one against Alex Gagarin. Alex saved the first shot but gave up the rebound which Colorado converted to tie the game at 1-1. The tie remained until the end of regulation, and the game went to overtime.
With 14 seconds left in the first overtime, Kelly McDonald was fouled just outside the box, but the resulting free kick went over the bar, and the game went to a second overtime. About halfway into the second overtime, Colorado fouled the Longhorns to set up a free kick near midfield. The Colorado coach didn't like the call, and did his best Coach P impersonation yelling at the officials. The call stood, of course, and the free kick went off the head of a Longhorn player to a wide-open Kelly McDonald near the Colorado goal, but the shot was over the crossbar, and the game ended with a 1-1 tie.
For Colorado, Brittany Dornseif, sister of former Texas player Lindsey Dornseif, got her first career start and played the entire game.
The Pleasant View soccer complex (off-campus) is a beautiful setting to watch soccer (at least from the east side), with the Rocky Mountain foothills in the background, and this day with trees sporting fall colors. The facilities aren't much, however. Most of the fans sit on the grass, on a hill at the side of the field, and there isn't even a locker room for the teams. Despite the nice view, Colorado would prefer to have an on-campus field for the team.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Colorado
Soccer falters over weekend - Nebraska/Colorado recap by Daily Texan
Recap by Boulder Daily Camera
W 3-2 OT
Kelly McDonald and Ashley Foster each scored in the first half to give Texas a 2-0 lead at intermission, but BYU answered in the second half, tying the game with three minutes left. The Cougars could not capitalize, however, and Amy Burlingham put in the game winner for Texas soon into overtime.
College Sports TV Network (CSTV) will show this game (delayed)
numerous times. Last I checked, the airtimes (central time) are:
Thu Oct 21 7 pm
Thu Oct 21 10:30 pm
Fri Oct 22 11 am
Sat Oct 23 2 am
Sat Oct 23 5:30 pm
Sun Oct 24 2:30 am
Thu Oct 28 11 am
Fri Oct 29 1:30 am
These may change. Check the official
CSTV Schedule to be sure.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by BYU
Soccer wins in overtime - recap by Daily Texan
W 6-0
Although Missouri had a lot of possession early, Kelly McDonald, Ashley Foster and Kelsey Carpenter each picked up two goals as the Longhorns lit up Missouri for a 6 goals to none victory.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Missouri
Texas soccer blanks - Missouri recap by Daily Texan
Freshman foursome brings character - Article by Daily Texan
W 1-0 OT
Texas created a lot of good scoring chances, especially in the first half. Kelly Wilson seemed to have the most, including two shots off the post plus lots of others that the Cyclone goalkeeper swallowed up. Late in the game, ISU made some dangerous chances and looked like they might be able to steal a win. But, the game went into overtime. During the first overtime, Wilson sent a shot towards the corner of the net, seemingly within range of the ISU keeper, but she didn't try to make a play on it, and the ball went in the net to give the Longhorns an overtime victory. Texas way out-shot Iowa State, but it sure took a long time to convert one of them!
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Iowa State
W 1-0 2OT
This was a fun game to watch, with Texas getting most of the scoring chances, but the tough Jayhawk defense did not want to break. (Kansas had only given up 5 goals all year coming into this game.) Finally, with just a few minutes left in the overtime, Kelly Wilson broke through the Kansas defense and beat the goalie to win the game for the Longhorns.
Big 12 Tournament seedings: If Nebraska gets a result (win or tie) against Colorado next Friday, Texas will finish 4th in the Big 12 and will face Colorado in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday, November 3 at 1:30 pm. If Colorado wins, then Texas and Colorado will be tied on points for 3rd place. Since we tied CU, I don't know how the tie will be resolved. We might get 3rd place and play at 7:30 pm against Iowa State (if they beat Kansas next Friday) or Missouri (otherwise), or get 4th place and play Nebraska at 1:30 pm. If the tiebreaker is in fact goal differential, then CU, now with +11, will surely beat our +8 after they beat Nebraska, so we would finish 4th no matter what. If we do finish 4th, and win the first round game, then the second round game is supposed to be televised by Fox Sports Southwest. Got all that?
Recap by TexasSports
Photos by TexasSports
Recap by Kansas
ISU-Kansas recap by Daily Texan
Recap by Lawrence Journal-World
T 2-2 2OT
The game started in a light rain, which came and went during the game, creating some damp conditions. A lunar eclipse would also start during the game... Would that be some kind of an omen? Texas had a good chance early in the game, off a well-executed corner kick that the SMU goalie had to punch away, but did not clean up the mess. A few minutes later, 9 minutes in, SMU looped the ball over part of the Texas defense, and the Mustang who received the pass beat the defense to the corner, made the cross into the goal box, which was converted to give SMU a 1-0 lead. Texas did not take long to answer: two minutes later, another well-executed corner from Caitlin Kennedy found the head of Carrie Schmit for the tying goal. Schmit played a really good game, with plenty of tough defensive stops in addition to the goal. Texas had several other good chances in the first half, getting most of the good scoring chances, but did not add a second goal. By the time the second half started, the lunar eclipse was just beginning, with a sliver of the moon a burnt orange color instead of bright white. Less than 2 minutes into the half, a ball seemed to be heading past the Texas end-line, and a couple of defenders tried to guard it, waiting for it to roll past for the goal kick. Instead, the ball died in the wet grass, and SMU was able to force a corner kick. The kick was headed by a Mustang player off the bottom of the crossbar, to give SMU a 2-1 lead. With about 20 minutes left, an SMU foul around 25 yards out set up Nicole Breger for the free kick, which she blasted straight into the net, to tie the game at 2-2. The tie held through regulation, and the overtimes started, with the moon now about half eclipsed. Texas had most of the good chances in the overtimes, but the single best chance was for SMU with only about 20 seconds left, as Texas committed a foul just outside the corner of the penalty area. As the Mustangs were setting up for the free kick, the ref blew the whistle, as if to stop the clock to allow time for the set piece. SMU pointlessly kicked it anyway, and the clock continued to run. As Alex Gagarin tossed the (invalid) ball out of the net, saying something to the referee, she picked up a yellow card with all of 0.9 seconds left. The clock finally stopped at this point, and the real free kick was on target, but Alex grabbed it as the horn sounded. By this point, the moon was now completely burnt orange colored. Sadly, it wasn't pointing to a win for the Longhorns, who still have yet to defeat SMU.
SMU preview by Daily Texan
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by SMU
Recap by Daily Texan
Recap by Dallas Morning News
The conference tournament seeding is:
1 -
Kansas
2 - Texas A&M
3 -
Colorado
4 - Texas
5 -
Nebraska
6 -
Missouri
7 -
Oklahoma State
8 -
Iowa State
Texas, as the 4 seed, will play Nebraska at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, at the Blossom Soccer Complex in San Antonio. If they win, the second round game will be televised live at 5 pm on Fox Sports Southwest. The tournament final, at 1 pm on Sunday, will also be shown, but on delay.
Directions to Blossom: From Austin, take I-35 south to Loop 1604 (Anderson Loop), just north of San Antonio. Head west on 1604 for around 10 miles to US-281. Head south on 281. After about 3 miles, exit right, at Nakoma/Sandau/Rhapsody, the first exit after Bitters. Turn left at the exit and follow Nakoma Drive. It will wind around the edge of the airport, then veer left and become Jones-Maltsberger. In another 0.5 mile, turn right onto Bitters Road. The football stadium appears first, on your left, with the soccer stadium up next. You can also exit Bitters instead of Nakoma. In that case, go left and follow Bitters which becomes Starcrest. Turn right at Jones-Maltsberger, then turn left onto Bitters. Be aware that high school football games (usually Friday nights) can make the traffic completely horrible near the stadium. The Nakoma exit, I think, will save you from some of the worst of it.
Exit 189 for Highway 46, right from the interstate, in New Braunfels, leads to a Rudy's BBQ, two miles down on the right.
Texas peaking at just the right time - Preview by Daily Texan
Big 12 Tournament first round - Nebraska
W 2-0
Texas faced a depleted Nebraska team, who had their three Canadian U-19 National Team players (Big 12 Player of the Year Brittany Timko, Tanya Dennis, and Sari Raber) called away for the FIFA World Championship in Thailand. It sure didn't show at the start of the game. Nebraska completely controlled possession for the first thirty minutes or so, while the Longhorns looked rusty, slow and unenthusiastic. Nebraska had a number of early scoring chances, one of their best ten minutes in when a wide open player got the ball right in front of Texas keeper Alex Gagarin, but Alex made the save and kept the game scoreless. With 11:20 to play in the first half, against the run of play, Kelly Wilson scored to put the Longhorns up 1-0. Three and a half minutes later, Wilson poked the ball past the Nebraska goalie, which was saved off the line by the Husker defense, but Wilson got the rebound and finished to set the score at 2-0 for Texas, where it remained until halftime. This must have been demoralizing for Nebraska, having dominated the game for the most part, but being down two goals at half. Nebraska had a good chance five minutes into the second half, with a scramble around the Texas goal that left Gagarin on the ground, but they did not convert. In the second half, on the whole, Texas got their act together, and looked much sharper, creating a lot of good scoring chances. The Longhorns were not able to add to the total, but did not need to, and Texas held on to the 2-0 win.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Nebraska
Texas unbeaten streak extends to 7 - Recap by Daily Texan
Big 12 Tournament second round - Kansas
W 3-2 2OT
Kansas seeks retribution for OT loss - Preview by Daily Texan
Texas and Kansas played an excellent, entertaining game today. Both sides had good chances, but Kansas converted first, with a Caroline Smith header off of a free kick that left Alex Gagarin no chance, with 13:59 left in the first half. Kansas threatened to double the score half a minute later, after Gagarin got pulled away from the goal, but Nicole Breger saved the ball off the goal line, holding the score at 0-1. Just after the start of the second half, Kansas did add a second to make the score 0-2. That left the Longhorns in a tough spot, as Kansas is one of the best defensive teams in the nation, having only given up around 8 goals all year. The Hooligans were doing their best to rattle the Jayhawk defense, harassing KU defender Holly Gault at every opportunity, but Kansas was holding tight. With 25 minutes left in the second half, Kelly Wilson crossed the ball to Kelsey Carpenter, who was in great position to finish, but the Kansas goalie somehow managed to grab the ball before it went over the goal line. At the 19:48 mark, Texas played a long ball into the KU box, got the keeper out of position, and Ashley Foster finished the play to close the score to 1-2. The clock ticked away towards zero, but with 6:37 left, Kelly Wilson was taken down in the penalty area. Wilson took the penalty kick, and finished, to tie the score at 2-2. Kansas had one last good chance to finish the game with 30 seconds left, after a poor Texas clearance, but Gagarin cleaned up the mess, and the game went to overtime.
Texas has played well in overtime this year, and played well through all of regular time, but today, Kansas had the control of play in OT. With 6:30 left in the first overtime, Kansas had a great chance to finish it off, with an open player in the penalty area, but the shot was high, and the game went to a second overtime. Finally, with 2:04 left in the second overtime, Texas put together what was almost the only good play in all of the overtime: a pass from Kelly Wilson to Kelly McDonald, who muscled past the Kansas defense, and finished the game winner. And there was much rejoicing! (At least for the Longhorn fans.)
The game was shown on Fox Sports Southwest. The broadcast takes a close look at a physical battle for position between Kelsey Carpenter and Holly Gault with 9:22 left in the second half. As the announcers praise the toughness of the struggle, they get a laugh when they notice Carpenter's tactics on this play!
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Kansas
Recap (with photos) by Lawrence Journal-World
Video by Lawrence
Journal-World / 6 Sports
Photo by Lawrence Journal-World
Big 12 Tournament final - Texas A&M
L 0-3
Preview by San Antonio Express News
The Aggies had several good early chances in the first ten minutes of this game. Texas had a number of problems early in the half in clearing the ball well on goal kicks, several times the Aggies got a good chance right after a Texas clearance. Later in the half, Texas did put together some good chances, but did not score. Later, with 18:54 to go in the first period, Ashlee Pistorius broke through the Texas defense, forcing goalie Alex Gagarin to foul her, and earn a yellow card and a penalty kick. The kick was high, so the score stayed at zero. Just over six minutes later, Texas had a good chance off a corner kick, as Kristen Teter headed a dangerous shot, but Aggie keeper Katie Jo Spisak made the save. Just a few seconds after that, the Aggies put in a goal to put Texas down 0-1. Thirty seconds later, Texas had another good header chance by Kelsey Carpenter, but Spisak made the save again. The half ended at 0-1. In the second half, at 29:45 left, the Aggies made the decisive play. Texas was taking a corner kick, looking to even the score, and Spisak punched the ball out without making a clean save. Right as I was hoping that the Longhorns would take advantage of the loose ball, Ashlee Pistorius picked up the rebound, with no Texas defense in front of her, and thundered down most of the field on the counterattack. In the end, the ball was deflected off a Texas defender for an own goal, and the Aggies had us down 0-2. Texas kept trying to come back, but the Aggies managed to disrupt any Texas ball possession, and the Longhorns started to run out of gas. With 5:42 left, the Aggies added a third goal to seal the loss for Texas.
Kelly Wilson was the tournament offensive MVP, and Kristin Teter and Caitlyn Kennedy made the all-tournament team. Charisse Co earned a spot, in my opinion, but did not get the nod. She was easily the defensive player of the game for Texas, and had an outstanding tournament. Texas now has to wait for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, which I think they have earned.
The game will be televised, on tape delay, by Fox Sports Southwest, and possibly Fox Sports Central.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Texas A&M
Texas, with a fortunate 12 seed, with have home field in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, and will face North Texas in the first round. If they win, the Horns will face SMU or West Virginia in the second round. Lauren Field is responsible for all of the Longhorn NCAA goals ever scored, all coming against SMU. The SMU/West Virginia game is first, at 4:30 pm, with the Texas/North Texas game afterwards at 7:00 pm. The winners play on Sunday at noon. There are live 'stats' (just scores, really) for all NCAA games at: http://www.ncaasports.com/soccer/womens/scoreboard/div1
NCAA draw and
bracket
Preview by TexasSports
Preview by North Texas
Soccer to start tournament at home - Article by Daily Texan
Ticket Information
Four teams vie to leave NCAA first round - Article by Daily Texan
NCAA Tournament first round - North Texas
W 3-0
Texas picked up a corner kick in the first seconds of the game, but then allowed North Texas to hold the possession for most of the first ten or fifteen minutes. After that spell, the Longhorns picked up the intensity, winning the 50-50 balls and taking control. With 33:05 left in the first half, Kelsey Carpenter crossed to Kelly McDonald, but the shot went off the post. Just over a minute later, McDonald got the ball in the box, turned and shot, but the ball dribbled wide of the net. About four minutes later, Kelly Wilson found a wide open Kelsey Carpenter, but her shot was high. With 19:38 left in the half, Kelly McDonald picked up the ball in the penalty area, and hesitated a bit before shooting. The shot was deflected, but not enough, and went in to put Texas up 1-0. About two minutes later, Wilson had another good chance, but the North Texas keeper made the save. With 13:45 left in the half, Ashley Foster had the ball well outside the penalty area, and she rifled a dangerous shot which bounced off the crossbar. With 3:27 left, Nikki Thaden found Kelly Wilson who finished to make the score 2-0 where it held until halftime. In the second half, Texas didn't seem to have quite as much intensity as in the first, but it was enough. With 32:35 left in the second, the North Texas goalie ended up on the ground giving Carpenter a great chance, but the shot was deflected by the defense. North Texas got some of their best chances soon after that, with one shot hitting the post and another good chance missing high. With 23:05 left in the second, Kelsey Carpenter beat everybody downfield, and found a wide-open Ashley Foster in front of the net, but her header was wide. With about ten minutes to go, a Texas corner kick was deflected by the UNT defense, but the ball fell to Karen Haight who rolled the ball past everybody for the third Texas goal. A minute later, Texas had another great chance as a North Texas defender fell down, giving Nikki Thaden a good chance, but the keeper deflected the shot. Thaden picked up the rebound and tried again, but a defender blocked this chance. Carrie Schmit got a third chance on the ball, but her shot went high. About seven and a half minutes before the end of the game, Dana Hall and Melissa Adrouny, normally the other Texas goalies, came into the game as field players, but they did not pick up any more goals. Player of the match, in my book, goes to Kelsey Carpenter, who played with tremendous energy, both offensively and defensively.
Texas now faces West Virginia on Sunday at noon. West Virginia handled SMU pretty thoroughly in the early game, winning 2-1 with a 28-4 advantage in shots.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by North Texas
Recap by Austin American Statesman
NCAA Tournament second round - West Virginia
W 2-1
The weather gods offered pretty poor conditions for this game, about 50 degrees and raining. West Virginia started the game well, and with 41:47 to go in the first half, converted a rebound off a corner kick for the first score. After about ten minutes or so, Texas picked up the pace and put a lot of pressure on West Virginia, trying to get an equalizer. Texas had a few great chances early in the half, especially one nice play that sent a ball through the box past the keeper, but the finish was off target. Around halfway through the half, Kelly Wilson threw away her knee brace that she had worn since the Colorado game: She wasn't holding back anything now. With around 5 minutes to go in the half, Texas did find the equalizer, with some nifty passing from Nicole Breger to Ashley Foster to Kelsey Carpenter, who finished beautifully to tie the score at 1-1. Nine minutes into the second half, some nearby lightning brought a delay in the game. When play restarted, Texas looked like they had rusted up during the delay, with West Virginia getting all the play, and keeping goalkeeper Alex Gagarin busy handling lots of shots, most of which were fortunately not too dangerous. (But with the wet ball, anything could happen...) Texas did get their act together, and with 15:14 left in the second half Kelly Wilson sped through everybody and finished to give Texas a 2-1 lead. Texas worked to hold the lead, while West Virginia tried to equalize, while the fans were on the verge of a heart attack. As the clock ticked down to around 3 minutes, the West Virginia keeper came out to midfield, and the Longhorns got past her, and tried a long shot at the open goal to ice the game, but that went just wide. Texas mostly did a good job running down the clock, but West Virginia did get one last chance: Right as the clock struck zero, a West Virginia shot got past Gagarin and hit the post, but didn't go in. Texas moves on to the third round, to face Portland at Portland.
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by
West Virginia
Photos by TexasSports
Season getting sweeter for Texas soccer - Recap by Daily Texan
Longhorns advance in NCAA tourney - Article by Austin American Statesman
NCAA Tournament third round - Portland
L 0-2
A big crowd of fans filled the Portland stadium for this third round game. Portland created several dangerous chances, including a number of corner kicks, early. Christie Sinclair flopped just outside the Texas penalty area 4 minutes in, but the free kick missed. Four minutes later, Portland had another good chance with a Sinclair header off a corner kick, but this also did no damage. Halfway through the first period, Texas started to get their share of the play, which had been almost all Portland until then. A Kelly McDonald shot 24 minutes in was blocked, and three minutes later, a nice set of passes found Amy Burlingham for a chance at a goal, but the shot was high. At 33 minutes in, a Portland shot by Lindsey Huie was first bobbled by Texas goalkeeper Alex Gagarin, but Alex recovered to hold the score at zero. Three minutes later, Amy Burlingham had another good chance on a breakaway, but that shot was high as well. Portland put on a lot of pressure at the end of the half... A Huie shot 38 minutes in was deflected over the goal. Soon afterwards, Portland picked up a goal on a corner kick play. The kick was sent in towards the middle of the field, to a waiting Portland player who blasted a shot into the goal, for a 1-0 Portland lead.
Five minutes into the second half, passes from Kelly Wilson and Kelly McDonald found Nicole Breger for a shot that the Portland goalie saved. Four minutes later, Portland made a good chance with a nice backwards pass by Christine Sinclair that put the ball in a dangerous position, but Charisse Co cleared it away. Sixteen minutes into the second half, Texas had perhaps their best chance, as Kelly Wilson nutmegged the Portland defense to get towards the end line, but she was not able to get the ball through the defense to Kelly McDonald, positioned in front of the goal. Portland added an insurance goal 27 minutes into the second half, on one of their many corner kicks. The initial serve was deflected away, but a Pilot player picked up the rebound and converted to put Texas down 0-2, where the score remained until the end.
The Longhorns played well in this game, but the Portland defense kept them from getting many chances. The Pilots stifled Kelly Wilson with double and triple teams all night, and the dangerous Portland players, especially Lindsey Huie and Christine Sinclair, created too many opportunities for them. Portland played a great game, and they were just too much for Texas. With the loss, the furthest that Texas has ever been into the postseason, the Longhorn season is at an end.
The Portland fans should get credit for their support. The crowd was large, and there was a good section of dedicated fans, who used several of the same songs as the Texas Soccer Hooligans. (They used the 'Nuts and Bolts' song, 'Ole!', and set up a 'Go Pilots!' cheer across the field that reminded me of 'Texas Fight!'.) There were a few of them with some bongo drums and a big purple flag who ran around the stadium at halftime, and they gave Texas midfielder Caitlin Kennedy an earful, which she had earned by obviously shoving a Pilot player to the field. (The ref was only a few feet away, but was fortunately facing exactly the wrong way, so Kennedy got away with it.)
Recap by TexasSports
Recap by Portland
Portland ends Longhorns' season - Story by Daily Texan
The season started with some mixed results, but the Longhorns started to play well going into the playoffs, and went as deep as they ever had. Texas made it to the Big 12 tournament final, tying their best result ever in that department, and won the first two NCAA tournament games in the program's history, to make it to the Sweet Sixteen. The double-edged Sword of Kelly (Kelly McDonald and Kelly Wilson) end their Texas career sharing most all of the all-time offensive records.
The Portland loss is the end of the line for the Texas seniors, Laura Kram, Kelly McDonald, Kristin Teter, Alex Gagarin, Lauren Field, Nicole Breger and Kelly Wilson. I'll certainly miss watching them play. Now for some awards...
Offensive Player of the Year - Kelly Wilson
Kelly did a nice job recovering from an injury hampered season last year, to lead the team in goals, assists, points and game winning goals.
Defensive Player of the Year - Charisse Co
Charisse was solid in the back all season long, and worked tirelessly to disrupt opposing team's offense. She deserved more credit than she got, for example from the Big 12 all-star and all-tournament teams.
Newcomer of the Year - Kelsey Carpenter
Kelsey had an outstanding freshman season. She showed the aggressive streak that fits strikers so well, and showed hustle and determination on defense as well, running back to break up a play, pulling down the pants of opposing players, or whatever it took to stop the opposing team.