For the second straight season, the Longhorns opened up their conference schedule with a pair of dominating wins, beating TCU 2-0 and Iowa State 3-1 this weekend.
After a 45-minute rain delay Friday night, the Longhorns (8-3-1) got off to a fast start against the Horned Frogs. In the fourth minute, junior defender Whitney Jaynes got a shot off from 40 yards out that caught the TCU keeper off guard and found the upper corner of the net.
“I just shot it into the upper 90 hoping someone would get a head on it,” Jaynes said.
Texas got some breathing room in the 62nd minute when sophomore forward Sydney Shutter headed in a cross from sophomore forward Kelsey Shimmick to make it 2-0 in favor of the Longhorns.
The win was the Longhorns’ first against TCU in Big 12 play. TCU won both meetings last year, including a penalty kick win in the conference semifinals.
Texas continued to pressure the TCU offense, outshooting TCU 11-7 and getting four shots on goal. Freshman forward Marchelle Davis led the team with four shots in the game.
The Longhorns faced a tougher challenge Sunday against the Cyclones. Unlike its previous three games, Texas found itself defending more often than scoring in the first half. Despite getting three shots on goal, the Longhorns went into the second half scoreless.
Head coach Angela Kelly said she told the team at halftime that it was going to be a physical game.
“This was a game of physicality and winning your battles,” Kelly said. “If you’re a competitor, you love this type of game.”
Five minutes into the second half, sophomore midfielder Chantale Campbell put the Longhorns on the board, heading in a cross from sophomore midfielder Lindsey Meyer.
Davis said that goal gave the team some relief going forward in the game.
“After that, we were like, ‘We can get another one and another one,’” Davis said.
Almost 15 minutes later, Davis scored the second one for the Longhorns. After receiving a ground pass from Shimmick, Davis found herself with only the keeper to beat and scored her first goal of her Texas career.
“I knew it was an easy chance and I had to take it,” Davis said.
Iowa State got on the board with seven minutes left in the game with a goal from Jessica Reyes. The goal ended Texas’ streak of 360 minutes without allowing a goal. Junior midfielder Sharis Lachappelle put Texas back up by two a minute later with a corner kick that found the net
untouched.
Despite the slow start, the Longhorns finished the game with a season-high 11 shots on goal while holding Iowa State to only five.
With a 2-0 record in
conference play, Texas is tied with West Virginia at the top of the Big 12 standings after the first weekend of Big 12 play. The Longhorns travel to Morgantown to take on the Mountaineers Friday before playing at Kansas
on Sunday.
Kelly said that they’re going to treat the match against West Virginia like an NCAA tournament game.
“This is like an NCAA first or second round game to me,” Kelly said. “That’s what it’s like.”
