2005 Texas Soccer Game Recaps

Recap by Texas
Recap by The Daily Texan
Recap by Auburn

Auburn - W 2-0 - 28 Aug 2005

Texas kept the same starting lineup for this game, which was televised live on ESPNU, with the exception that Jill Gilbeau got her first start in place of Kelsey Carpenter, who was suspended for a red card against SMU. Texas started out very well, with good passing and ball control, and made plenty of scoring opportunities. Just under 3 minutes into the game, Amy Burlingham found lots of space in the right corner to make a cross, which was deflected out for a corner kick. On the resulting setpiece, Erin Davis sent the ball in to Carrie Schmit who sent it to Kasey Moore who sent it into the net for a quick 1-0 lead for the Longhorns. The Texas forwards did well getting past the Auburn defenders, Burlingham took advantage several times to send in dangerous crosses. After 26 minutes, Kasey Moore sent in a long pass to Davis, who beat her defender, but the Auburn keeper made the save. Seven minutes later, Carrie Schmit had a good shot, which the Auburn goalie tipped over the bar. With a couple of minutes left in the half, Kennedy hit the crossbar. Auburn did manage a good chance as the first half ended, a corner kick was not handled by the Texas keeper but the resulting shot was off target. At halftime, Texas changed keepers, putting in Dianna Pfenninger. Ten minutes into the second half, Texas doubled their lead with a Carrie Schmit header from an Erin Davis corner kick. Auburn came up with some chances in the last fifteen minutes... A poor goal kick by Texas, with 13 minutes left, gave the ball to an Auburn player, but the shot was off target. Six minutes later, a free kick just outside the Texas penalty area provided another good chance for the Tigers, but the shot was off target. Three minutes later, Auburn hit the crossbar, but no goal, and the game ended with a 2-0 win for Texas.

The Longhorns looked a lot better in this game than in the season opener against SMU, and the game was more entertaining to watch. Part of the reason was that there were not so many fouls disrupting the flow of the game, but the Horns did certainly play better.

A fresh start for Texas - Article by the Daily Texan

Michigan - L 2-3 OT - 2 Sep 2005

Texas loses in overtime, 2-3.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Michigan

Michigan State - T 0-0 - 4 Sep 2005

The Spartans and Longhorns finish with a scoreless tie.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Michigan State

Recap by Texas
Recap by BYU

BYU - L 0-1 - 12 Sep 2005

After making an unsuccessful attempt to reach the highest point in Utah, I headed on to Provo to watch the Longhorns play BYU. The Cougars handled Texas pretty thoroughly, handing Texas a 0-1 loss. The Utah authorities tried to keep me from finding the game, all the freeway exit numbers had just changed. The stadium setting is very pretty, with several mountain peaks just behind the campus. The Cougars got an early chance 5 minutes in, when some Texas failed to collect the ball in their end, a result of some defensive confusion, and BYU claimed it and fired a shot, which missed high. BYU continued to create shot opportunities as the half continued. The Cougars showed a lot of hustle and speed, and much of the first half consisted of their forwards bursting through the Texas defense to create scoring chances. At 25 minutes in, one of these penetrations led to a corner kick for BYU, and a well-placed header put Texas down 0-1. BYU generated plenty of chances, and the halftime score could easily have been worse. Early in the second half, Texas picked up a good chance from a BYU handball just outside their box. Kasey Moore took the free kick, but instead of blasting a shot at the goal, she passed the ball off, and the opportunity went for naught. Texas matched up better in the second half, but BYU still made several good chances. At 32 minutes in, BYU was offered an open goal when the Texas keeper got caught on the ground after failing to grab the ball, but the shot was off target. Finally, with just over 7 minutes left, Texas managed one good scoring change. Amy Burlingham chased after a punt downfield, and forced the BYU defender to surrender a throw-in to Texas. This turned into a shot that hit the post, then a second shot off that rebound, which was unfortunately off frame. As the game ended 0-1, the BYU fans poured onto the field. BYU had a good home crowd, packing the not-so-large stands, especially appreciating Brooke Thulin's flip throw-ins.

The backdrop for the BYU field is several nearby peaks, which look like fun.

Portland - L 1-2 - 16 Sep 2005

Portland looked like one of the best teams in the country, while handing Texas a 1-2 loss. Kelsey Carpenter picked up the Texas goal, while Dana Hall and Dianna Pfenninger both made good saves to keep the game as close as it was. The Pilots were just too much to handle for the Longhorns, however. Portland knocked Texas out of the NCAA tournament last year, with Kasey Moore's sister Kristen scoring the game winner.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Portland

Recap by Texas
Recap by Rice

Rice - W 2-1 - 18 Sep 2005

Texas came away with a 2-1 game with a somewhat inconsistent performance. At times, the Longhorns played very well, controlling the ball and creating plenty of scoring opportunities. At other times, they lost their intensity and played a little listless. Stephanie Logterman started the game up front, pretty much as the central forward. Later on, she played in the midfield, still more towards the front than usual. Rice scored first, 8 minutes in, with a header off of a corner kick. Twelve minutes later, Texas equalized. A Rice player flipping over the back of Amy Burlingham gave Texas a free kick just outside the Rice penalty area, and Kasey Moore sent the kick low and directly into the net. Just a few seconds after play restarted, Texas had another great chance which a Rice defender cleared from just in front of the goal. Rice had a chance to go back ahead 22 minutes into the half, beating Texas goalie Dana Hall to a spinning ball, but Hall made a fine save on the tricky ball. Texas had several other good chances late in the second half, but did not convert any and the half ended 1-1. Texas started the second half with more scoring chances, and 15 minutes into the half, Karen Haight converted one when her shot from a corner kick play deflected past the keeper and into the back of the net. Just afterwards, Kelsey Carpenter came an inch away from another goal, with a long range shot that hit the underside of the crossbar but somehow didn't bounce in. Six minutes later, Kelsey created another chance by getting dragged down just outside the Rice penalty area, but the Kasey Moore free kick was high. After this point, with half of the second period still remaining, Texas started to play flat. Rice claimed much more of the run of play, and created some scoring chances, but failed to convert, and Texas held on for the win.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State - L 0-2 - 23 Sep 2005

The Big 12 season starts with an 0-2 road loss at Oklahoma State. Texas had lots of shots, 23, but only 5 were on goal. The OSU live stats didn't seem to work. They also mentioned something called MVP which requires registration (not sure about money.) MVP Info MVP Schedule

Oklahoma - L 0-2 - 25 Sep 2005

The Sooners hand Texas a 0-2 loss. Oklahoma did have working live stats for this game.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Oklahoma

Recap by Texas
Recap by Baylor

Baylor - W 3-0 - 30 Sep 2005

Texas thoroughly outplayed Baylor on the way to a 3-0 win. Texas repeatedly broke down the Baylor defense and generated lots of good chances, especially early in the first half. Kelsey Carpenter had several good chances early, but first blood came with 33 minutes left, when Jill Gilbeau, coming forward from the back, had the ball with lots of space in the right corner, and her cross found Ashley Foster, who headed it in for a goal. Four minutes later, after some more Texas chances that came for naught, a long shot from Caitlin Kennedy bounced off the crossbar, and Amy Burlingham picked up the rebound and scored the second goal for Texas. The Longhorns kept putting pressure on Baylor, and Carpenter continued to be involved in a lot of the chances. Baylor, on the other hand, didn't generate much. Texas out-hustled the Bears to loose balls, and generally had complete control. The Longhorns probably should have converted more chances in the first half than they did, but they did do enough. Baylor did manage one chance late in the first half, but Dianna Pfenninger made the save. In the second half, Texas continued to have the upper hand, although not quite as much as in the first half. Ten minutes into the half, a Caitlin Kennedy corner kick dribbled towards the corner of the Baylor net, then on in, to make the score 3-0 for Texas. Melissa Adrouney and Dana Hall, both keepers for Texas, played in the field for part of the game, while Pfenninger picked up the shutout in goal.

Texas A&M - W 2-1 - 2 Oct 2005

The Aggies had the first scoring chance, just over 3 minutes in, but the weak shot straight at the Texas keeper was not dangerous. Texas had some good chances soon after that, when some corner kicks developed into opportunities, but Katie Jo Spisak, in goal for the Aggies, made the saves. In general, A&M did a better job of keeping possession in the first half. Despite this, Texas had the best scoring chances. When the Aggies got in a dangerous position close to the goal, their shots were mostly weak and straight at the goalie, not dangerous. Besides those, A&M often settled for long range shots, which also were not very threatening. The Longhorns' best chance in the first half came with 16 minutes left, as Amy Burlingham pushed through several Aggie defenders, made a nice through pass to Kelsey Carpenter, who then one-timed a shot just over the crossbar. Both of those two players factored into many of the Texas opportunities. Texas threatened several more times late in the first half, but did not score. In the second half, Texas came out with lots of energy. Just 30 seconds into the half, Jill Gilbeau pushed all the way downfield, but couldn't complete the pass to create the shot. Just a minute later, Texas did convert. Kelsey Carpenter was pushed down in the penalty area, and Kasey Moore converted the resulting penalty, putting the Longhorns up 1-0. Less than a minute later, the Aggies did put the ball into the Texas net, but the play was offside and did not count. Soon, Texas increased the margin. Five and a half minutes into the half, a long pass found Ashley Foster with lots of open space in the A&M end. Her cross was off-target, but Caitlin Kennedy managed to pick up the ball, beat her defender, and then beat Spisak at the near post, setting the score at 2-0. About halfway through the second half, the Longhorns seemed to run short on energy, and pulled back defensively. Much of the rest of the game was played in the UT half of the field. Texas didn't pressure the A&M players until they were deep in the Texas end, and so the Aggies held lots of possession. With 22 and a half minutes left, A&M turned a throw-in in the Texas end into a goal, closing the margin to 2-1. They came close to another just afterwards, when the Texas keeper misjudged a long ball, and it sailed past and towards the open goal. A Longhorn defender stepped in and cleared the ball, saving the score. As the half continued, the Aggies had most of the possession, as Texas stayed back in defense. They didn't make much of their chances, however, usually settling for more long range shots that were not dangerous. Lots of these went out of bounds for goal kicks, which steadily wore down the clock. With 7 minutes left, Texas created their first chance in a while, as Amy Burlingham penetrated the defense, but her shot was off target. As the clock ticked down, Spisak came very far out of her box, but Texas still didn't put on any pressure, even with the opportunity of chipping the ball over her. The clock finally ran out, with Texas holding on to the 2-1 victory. I wasn't all that impressed with the Aggies today, really. They didn't play with as much intensity as I have seen in years past, when they always seemed to bring their A game for the Longhorns.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Poooor Aggies
Recap by The Daily Texan
Recap by The Battalion

Kasey Moore converts a penalty to make the score 1-0.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Colorado

Colorado - L 0-2 - 7 Oct 2005

Texas falls to Colorado with a so-so performance in a 0-2 loss. Things started ok for the Longhorns, they were getting the better of the play early in the first half. Halfway through the half, however, Allison Kidd for the Buffs got the ball with lots of space, worked inside a bit and blasted an excellent shot past the Texas goalkeeper to put Colorado up 0-1. Ten minutes later, Fran Munnelly gathered a long pass, again with lots of open space, and after some deflections, worked the ball into the Texas goal. Colorado had only had 2 shots by that point, and both were good for goals. From that point on, Texas needed to step up the intensity, to get back in the game. They didn't, however, and the score held until the end.

Texas Tech - W 6-0 - 9 Oct 2005

The Longhorns had complete control of the game on the way to a 6-0 win over Texas Tech. Tech put a little bit of pressure on in the first minute of the game, but not much after that. Mostly, the game was played in the Tech half of the field. Still, it took a while for the Longhorn offense to get rolling and put some shots past the Red Raider goalkeeper. The best Texas chance in the first half came with 10:30 left, when some nice work by Stephanie Logterman led to a point blank shot by Kelsey Carpenter. However, the Tech keeper, Megan Knauss, made the save. Knauss had a good game today, but didn't get much help from the rest of the Red Raiders. At halftime, Texas had a 23-0 edge in shots, but the game was still scoreless. Tech kept it scoreless for the first few minutes of the second half, and even created a chance on a breakaway for their first shot of the game, 9 minutes into the half. Just after that, the Longhorns finally converted as Ashley Foster found Amy Burlingham who finished to make the score 1-0. After that, the floodgates opened. Two and a half minutes later, Priscilla Fite finished a rebound off the post, courtesy of Julie Gailey, to make the score 2-0. One and a half minutes later, Caitlin Kennedy bounced a shot off the crossbar, which found its way in to the net, to make it 3-0. Tech had another chance soon after that, but Texas goalie Dianna Pfenninger came all the way out of the goal box to challenge the Tech attacker and shut down the play. With 18 minutes to go, Caitlin Kennedy picked up her second goal of the day, off of a long shot. Jill Gilbeau and Kelsey Carpenter each added a goal to make the final score 6-0 for Texas.

Texas Tech now has some ex-Longhorns on their coaching staff: Kelly Wilson-Schmedes is now a volunteer assistant coach, joining former UT assistant (now Tech head coach) Neil McGuire. Tech Story. They don't seem to have made much progress in getting out of the Big 12 cellar yet, however.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Texas Tech

Recap by Texas
Recap by Iowa State

The next weekend will be very important in determining the Longhorns' place in a very tight Big 12 race. Oklahoma and Nebraska currently (10 Oct) lead the pack, with 10 points. Texas, one point back with 9, is in seventh place. The Friday game is on the road at Iowa State, who is tied for third. The Cyclones just beat the Aggies in College Station, on a goal with 12 seconds left. After that, Texas sees Nebraska at home.

Iowa State - W 2-1 - 14 Oct 2005

Texas comfortably outshot the Cyclones in the first half. Caitlin Kennedy converted one of the shots, with 15 seconds left in the half, to put Texas up 1-0 at the half. Iowa State got their offense going early in the second half, obtaining several shots fairly quickly. The Longhorns picked up the next goal, however, courtesy of Ashley Foster. Iowa State quickly answered, bringing the score to 2-1. Dianna Pfenninger made an outstanding save with 11 minutes left to keep the Cyclones from evening the score, and the Texas lead held until the end of the match.

Iowa State did have sort-of working Live Stats for this game, although they stopped updating with 10 minutes left in the game.

Nebraska - W 1-0 OT - 16 Oct 2005

For the first few minutes of the game, Nebraska had the better of the possession, but that didn't last too long. Texas created a number of chances in the first half, although they had trouble putting them on frame. The Longhorns best chance came with 17:10 left in the half, as Amy Burlingham beat Husker defender Sasha Andrews to the corner, and served in a dangerous cross. Ashley Foster wasn't able to connect on this, but the pass continued through to Priscilla Fite, who took a point blank shot. Nebraska goalkeeper Jamie Klages, however, made an outstanding save. Four minutes later, Kelsey Carpenter hit the post from the right corner, but still no goal. Klages spent a lot of time playing far forward (and was very vocal in directing the Cornhuskers), and Texas came close to taking advantage a few minutes later, but Klages, well outside of the goal box, was able to clear the ball with her feet. With 6:40 remaining, Ashley Foster beat a couple of Nebraska defenders near the goal, but could not get off a strong shot. One minute later, defender Kasey Moore went down with an ankle injury, had to leave the game, and did not return. Kasey is an important piece of the Texas defense, hopefully she will be back in action soon. With 3:27 left, Foster made a good pass to Erin Davis, who sent a dangerous cross into the box, but Carpenter could not connect on this. The Longhorns had more good chances as the half came to a close, a corner kick in the last 30 seconds was deflected by a Nebraska defender just past the far post, earning another corner, but there was not enough time left to take that kick.

Nebraska didn't do a good job creating dangerous scoring chances. When they had the ball with space in the Texas end, they usually settled for long, off-target shots. The second half started with Caitlin Kennedy taking the place of Moore in the back. Texas picked up a chance just over three minutes in, but the shot by Davis was wide right. Two minutes later, Nebraska created their best chance of the game, as a service to Brittany Timko led to a point blank shot, but Texas goalie Dianna Pfenninger made a marvelous save to keep the score at 0-0. With 36 minutes left in the half, Kelsey Carpenter was hauled to the ground, and appeared at first to be badly injured. Fortunately, she was back in action shortly. Kelsey's speed didn't seem to be affected much, and much of the remainder of the game consisted of her sprinting past the Nebraska defense, and getting wide open for chances against Klages. Unfortunately, Kelsey seemed to be reluctant to take the shots herself, and usually tried to pass the ball off instead, and those went for naught. Carpenter had one of these chances with 31 minutes left. She had another excellent chance with 22:18 left. After taking the ball close to the goal and shooting, Klages made a good save but the rebound came back to Carpenter. Klages looked to be sunk, but Kelsey declined the follow-up shot and passed it back instead, and Davis fired the ball over the crossbar. Two and a half minutes later, Kelsey got through for another wide open one-on-one, but Klages came off her line and blocked the shot. With seven minutes left, Carpenter had yet another chance like this, but again passed instead of shooting and the opportunity went for naught. Kelsey should have been more selfish, looking to score herself instead of making passes. She hasn't scored quite as much this year as last, and this may be affecting her confidence. She is still perfectly capable of scoring, and just needs to look to pull the trigger herself more often.

The second half came to an end, still without any score, and the game headed to overtime. Forty seconds into the ten minute overtime, Nebraska fired a shot at the top of the goal, but Pfenninger tipped it over the crossbar. With 3:25 left in the period, Kelsey Carpenter finally had some luck. With the ball in the right corner, she again tried what I thought was another cross, instead of a shot. (Kelsey later said that she was making a shot, if so, good for her!) Klages looked to have the ball swallowed up, but it slipped through her hands and into the net, for the winning goal. This must have been a tough error for Klages, she generally had a very good game but did blunder up that one.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Nebraska

Recap by The Daily Texan
Press Box Perspectives with Jessica Stamp

Missouri - W 4-1 - 21 Oct 2005

Texas wins 4-1 at Missouri, and claims at least a 6th seed in the Big 12 tournament. Missouri did have Live Stats for this game.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Missouri

Kansas - L 1-2 - 23 Oct 2005

Kansas controlled much of the play, and went up a goal early in the second half. Ashley Foster, who had several good chances, converted one to tie the score at 1-1. Kansas, however, added a second with just a few minutes left to hand Texas a 1-2 defeat. The real bad news for the Longhorns is that Kelsey Carpenter had to leave the game in the first half due to an injury. She is a critical piece of the Texas offense, and if she can not return soon, the post-season run will be even more difficult.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Kansas
Recap by the Kansan

Photo Gallery by Kansas
Photo Gallery by the Kansan

Recap by Lawrence Journal-World
Photos by Lawrence Journal-World

The Kansas game was shown, tape-delayed, on CSTV at 7 pm, Tue 25 Oct. CSTV Women's Soccer TV Schedule The CSTV announcers had some mistaken things to say about the race for the regular season championship, namely that Colorado and Texas A&M were the other contenders for first place. Nebraska can also finish first, they have an extra game, after everybody else, against Texas Tech. (The original game was delayed due to Hurricane Rita.) If the Aggies stumble, then the Huskers will take first place if they win their remaining two games. The Big 12 schedule, posted on the official conference website, seems to omit the Nebraska-Iowa State matchup, which may have confused the announcers.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Dayton

Dayton - W 2-1 - 28 Oct 2005

The Longhorns beat the Flyers 2-1, to end the regular season. The first half finished scoreless, but with 32 minutes left in the second, Priscilla Fite converted a free kick just outside the penalty area to put Texas up 1-0. Twelve minutes later, Texas extended the lead when, against the run of play, Erin Davis sent in a nice cross to Amy Burlingham, who put her head on it. The Dayton goalie got a hand on this, but not well enough to keep it out of the net. A minute and a half later, Ashley Foster came close to making it 3-0 with a rocket shot from distance that bounced off the inside of the upper corner of the goal. Dayton pulled the margin to 2-1 with 2 and a half minutes left, when a free kick by the goalie from midfield was collected by Dayton and turned into a goal.

With the Iowa State win over Nebraska, and the Kansas win over Missouri, Texas will finish 6th. There is one conference game remaining on Sunday, Nebraska at Texas Tech. If, somehow, Texas Tech manages a point against Nebraska on Sunday, Texas will rise to 5th. However, this is very unlikely. The Cornhuskers are a much better team, and the game will matter for them, so they won't overlook Tech. Running up the score may help Nebraska win tiebreakers, as they will be one of 4 teams tied with 19 points, so they should have their game on.

With these results, 6th seed Texas will play the 3 seed at 7:30 pm on Wednesday in San Antonio. I'm not sure yet who they will play. The conference tiebreakers are, in order, head-to-head, goal differential, goals allowed, and finally goals scored. However, I'm not sure how to resolve multiple tied teams. Assuming that Nebraska beats Texas Tech on Sunday, Nebraska, Iowa State, Kansas, and Colorado will all be tied with 19 points. By my calculations, the seeds will be:
2 - Colorado
3 - Iowa State
4 - Nebraska
5 - Kansas
and so we will play Iowa State.

If, somehow, Nebraska fails to beat Tech, then Texas would move up to the 5 seed and play at 1:30 pm. I figure the seeds would then be 2 - Colorado, 3 - Iowa State, 4 - Kansas, and we would then play Kansas.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Iowa State

Big 12 Tournament

The final conference standings are:
1 - Texas A&M - 22 points
2 - Colorado - 19 points
3 - Iowa State - 19 points
4 - Nebraska - 19 points
5 - Kansas - 19 points
6 - Texas - 18 points
7 - Oklahoma - 16 points
8 - Missouri - 11 points

The Wednesday schedule at Blossom in San Antonio:
11:00 am - 1 Texas A&M vs. 8 Missouri
1:30 pm - 4 Nebraska vs. 5 Kansas
5:30 pm - 2 Colorado vs. 7 Oklahoma
7:30 pm - 3 Iowa State vs. 6 Texas

The second round game between the 1/8 and 4/5 seeds will be televised live on Fox Sports Net, and the final will be shown on tape delay. FSN Broadcast Schedule
In the past, there have not been any TV timeouts in the tournament games that have been televised. Hopefully, this will continue. The official bracket for the tournament is here.

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.

It seems like Live Stats will be available for all the games, managed by UT.

First Round - Iowa State - W 1-0 - 2 Nov 2005

Texas picked up a win over the Cyclones, with a generally very solid performance. The Longhorns definitely had the better of the play in the first half. With 5 minutes left in the half, a pass found Caitlin Kennedy open on the right side of the box, and she sent a shot on the ground past the Iowa State goalkeeper to set the score at 1-0. The second half was more even, and Iowa State did create some good chances. Perhaps the best came with a minute and a half left, when Texas keeper Dianna Pfenninger was caught on the ground, but the Cyclones did not pick up a goal to even the score. As time was coming to an end, Texas had a great chance, but the shot was wide left, and the game ended at 1-0.

Second Round - Colorado - L 2-3 OT - 4 Nov 2005

Texas gave up a goal early in overtime to fall to Colorado. With 28 minutes left in the first half, Dianna Pfenninger was slow in clearing a back-pass from the Texas defense, and a Colorado player closed in and blocked the kick. Pfenninger was then caught away from her line, and the Buffalo player slipped it into the open net to put Texas down 0-1. Pfenninger started out having a tough game, but she would have the opportunity to redeem herself. With 10 and a half minutes left, Pfenninger got caught off her line again, but the defense saved a Colorado shot off the goal line, keeping the score at 0-1, where the half ended. In the second half, Pfenninger had a second misplayed clearance, giving the ball away to Colorado while caught at the edge of the box. Fortunately, no damage was done here. With 25 minutes left, Colorado upped the score to 0-2. A Colorado player just barely (if even?) beat an offside trap, and finished the 1 on 1 opportunity. This one wasn't any goalkeeping error. From around this point on, Diana started making up for any mistakes she had made earlier. She had a number of great plays shutting down more 1 on 1 Colorado chances, as the Buffalos repeatedly beat the Texas offside trap. With 12 and a half minutes left, Kasey Moore sent a great header past the Colorado goalie to close the margin to 1-2. So far, a similar situation as last years second round game... Moore was starting to play as a forward by this point in the game. She had a great game overall. When the clock came to 2 minutes remaining, a Colorado foul gave Texas a free kick just behind the midfield line. Some time wasting by a Colorado player led to a yellow card, and the referee stopped the clock, giving Texas plenty of time to set up a play. Everyone except Dianna Pfenninger headed towards the Colorado goal, and Dianna sent in a long kick. The kick bounced over everybody, and continued into the upper right corner of the net, tying the score at 2-2, Pfenninger's first career goal. The game then went to overtime. The analogies to last years second round game against Kansas broke down at the start of overtime, unfortunately. Just over a minute into the first overtime, a Colorado player got free on the right side, and finished, to hand Texas a 2-3 loss.

The Longhorns now hope to get an at-large NCAA bid, which they probably will get.

Recap by Texas
Recap by Colorado

Recap by Texas
Recap by UTEP

NCAA Tournament

The full bracket for the tournament is here.

The NCAA seems to arrange the tournament with cost savings being the priority, and fairness of the draw definitely second. I mean fairness in that the teams with the best regular season should have the easiest road to the championship, after all, the regular season should matter! The committee seeds only 16 teams, pairing them by seed, and then bunches the remaining 48 teams in the most expedient way they can. This makes the first groups very uneven. For example, Portland, who maybe should be the #1 seed overall, has to travel to Nebraska and play Iowa State and then Nebraska. Portland has earned the easiest bracket in the tournament, at least close, and that region ain't it. Similarly, the lower 48 teams aren't seeded, so those teams often don't get the draws they deserve. Iowa State, for example, has earned an easier first round opponent than Portland.

Texas is, this year, a beneficiary of the system. Presumably, due to our great facilities, weather, location, etc., Austin will be a host for the first two rounds, despite that Texas is not in the top 16. Besides UTEP, the teams are Rice and California, the seeded team.

First Round - UTEP - L 2-3 OT - 11 Nov 2005

Texas lets one slip away from them, losing to UTEP in overtime. Things started out fine, Texas created plenty of scoring chances in the first half, and most of the second. As a bonus, Kelsey Carpenter came into the game, her first minutes since injuring her ankle against Kansas. Kelsey got right into it, getting behind the Miner defense, and finding Amy Burlingham with a cross, which Amy finished to put Texas up 1-0. Just five minutes into the second half, Texas made the margin 2-0 as Ashley Foster scored off a pass from Burlingham. Texas continued to create chances, Carrie Schmit had a couple of chances as the clock neared the fifteen minute mark, one of which bounced off the bottom of the crossbar. Despite not picking up an insurance goal, things looked good for the Longhorns...

Unfortunately everything fell apart rather abruptly. Texas completely failed to hold possession of the ball, UTEP had it almost all the time from here on out. With 9 minutes left, the Miners put a goal in, via a header off a cross. The Miners kept getting good shots at the goal, with a couple of shots just over the crossbar, and forcing Dianna Pfenninger to make a diving save. With 1:25 left, UTEP finally converted one of these, tying the score at 2-2. The game went on to overtime. Just over four and a half minutes into the overtime, UTEP had a ball bouncing past everybody, and on towards the goal. A Texas defender tried to save this off the line, but the ball went into the Longhorn net instead, and so UTEP will go on to face California on Sunday, at 2pm, and the Longhorn's season is over.

UTEP is the last remaining school from Texas that the Longhorns have played and never beat. (Before tonight, the teams had played once, in 1998.) SMU was removed from that list earlier this year, and the Aggies on Halloween night, 2003.

Photo Gallery by Texas