Texas has proven that it has the ability to score in games against Navy, Virginia and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.
But in their last three games, they have only scored one goal in total.
The Longhorns, who are 1-2-2 in Big 12 play, need to perform at their highest potential at their away games this weekend against Missouri and Iowa State.
The team, which has only scored twice in Big 12 play, needs to be a threat on offense to keep up with the Tigers, a team with the ability to net goals in a hurry.
Missouri is led by senior forward Alysha Bonnick, who is tied for fifth for the most goals in the Big 12, and the team boasts 10 goals in conference play.
Missouri, last year’s Big 12 champions, split their games last weekend by beating Colorado and losing to Nebraska.
Although they are excellent on offense, their defense is suspect. The Tigers have already given up nine goals in Big 12 play, and to win, Texas will need to capitalize on this deficiency.
“The team focus this season has centered around moving forward,” said Texas sophomore midfielder Kristin Cummins. “For me, I want the ball, I want it in front of the goal and I want it in the back of the net. It’s a simple mentality.”
Though it is simple enough to say, this point of focus has yet to emerge for the Longhorns this season. They have only two goals so far against conference opponents, the fewest goals scored of any team in Big 12 play.
Iowa State, Texas’ opponent on Sunday, is coming off a four-game losing streak against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Colorado.
Iowa State is 11th in the Big 12 with a record of 1-4.
“We want to score four and five goals a game so we can prove that we can score that much,” Cummins said.
However, Texas’ hopes of a high-scoring game will be difficult to manage because Iowa State’s goalie Maddie Jobe has been a very strong player and has the fifth most saves in the Big 12.
“[Scoring multiple goals a game is] hard to do when you play against teams in the Big 12 because their mentality is very defensive, so we are going to have to figure out how to transfer this to our next game,” Cummins said after the team’s win against UW-Milwaukee.
The Longhorns have the upper hand in both all-time series’ records, 11-4-2 versus Missouri and 14-2-1 versus Iowa State.
Stats and records aside, Texas head coach Chris Petrucelli wants to win away from the 40 Acres.
“Iowa State and Missouri are very similar to Baylor in the way that they play, so this was probably good preparation for us,” Petrucelli said last weekend after Texas’ 1-0 win over Baylor. “But we have to go get some wins on the road.”
