A season-high crowd of more than 1,600 stood elated Friday night, as sophomore striker Cyera Hintzen sealed yet another Longhorn victory with a goal outside the 18-yard box.
Texas emerged victorious from the high-scoring competitive bout against Texas Tech to open up Big 12 competition. At the final buzzer, the burnt orange squad sealed a 3-2 victory over the Red Raiders in a game that mirrored the Longhorns’ victory over Northeastern earlier in the year.
“I barely even remember the play,” Hintzen said. “I just knew that we wanted to put the game away, and that we wanted to end it. We only needed a few seconds.”
Texas came away with a win on Friday, but the Red Raiders’ physicality gave the Longhorns one of their toughest battles of the season. No Longhorn ran free throughout the field — the players often faced a slew of Texas Tech defenders.
“Coach (Angela Kelly) addressed that in the meeting (at halftime), and I think we adjusted to it well,” Hintzen said. “It got tough, but we fought back. I think that it was good for us. It woke us up a little bit, and we knew that we needed to go.”
Texas’ defense had been stout entering the contest with Texas Tech, allowing just four goals in its previous 10 games. But after allowing two goals against the Red Raiders, the Longhorns needed to reclaim their defensive prowess against Oklahoma on Sunday afternoon.
And reclaim it, they did. In 90 minutes against the Sooners, Texas allowed zero shots on goal, dominating on defense throughout. Texas controlled possession through the majority of both halves, but couldn’t find any offensive success against the Sooners.
The two teams entered overtime tied at 0-0. Texas appeared to have the edge, entering Sunday’s overtime 3–0 in such contests this season. Oklahoma had played in three overtimes this year before Sunday, ending two matches in a tie and leaving with a win only once.
Sunday’s matchup would mark the Sooners’ third tie of the season. Much to the dismay of Kelly’s “1-0” mentality, the Longhorns would settle for a 0-0 draw, its first of the season.
With the tie, the Longhorns remain unbeaten at 11–0–1. They’ll leave Oklahoma and head back to Austin in anticipation of a battle with TCU on Oct. 6.
The Longhorns’ win streak has now come to an end after 12 games. And Kelly’s program is now looking past the regular season and toward something greater — a shot at the national championship.
“I won four national championships in college and learned a few things in coaching along the way, thinking that way,” Kelly said, “Here, at the University of Texas, that’s the only thing we think about.”
