Fresh off an intense shootout with Gonzaga that ended in a victory for Texas, the Longhorns traveled to Colorado to face off against the University of Denver Pioneers. The Longhorns arrived in Denver No. 11 in the nation. Conversely, the Pioneers were unranked with a record of 1-0-1.
While the Longhorns were the favorite in this match, they failed to capitalize on their advantage in their first road game of the season, losing 0-3.
The beginning of the match looked eerily familiar to their previous game, where the Longhorns came out to a slow start. Denver dominated the ball for much of the first half, preventing the Texas offense from establishing themselves.
The Pioneers attempted three shots in the first 10 minutes of the game to Texas’ zero. While none of these three shots would find the goal, it was clear which side the aggressor was to start the half.
The Denver offense asserted themselves early, but the Texas defense held up well in the early goings of the first half. Junior goalkeeper Savannah Madden kept the game scoreless with a sliding save at the 18-minute mark of the half to deny Denver the early lead. She secured an additional save just three minutes later as Denver continued their offensive push.
The next seven minutes saw Denver miss three more shots. The Texas defense continued to hold strong, but the dam would soon burst as the Pioneer pressure continued to mount.
With 15 minutes left in the first half, Denver senior midfielder Hannah Adler put the first points of the game on the board as she put the Pioneers up 1-0. Denver closed the half with three more shot attempts.
Down 0-1 at halftime, the Longhorns failed to produce anything on offense. This lack of creation was highlighted by two-time All-American forward Cyera Hintzen’s zero shot attempts. But there was still time for head coach Angela Kelly and her team to adjust and reverse the momentum of the game in the second half as they did against Gonzaga.
The second half of play showed much of the same from both teams. Hintzen attempted her first and only shot of the game with 39 minutes left in the second half, but it was saved by Denver.
Three minutes later, Adler scored again for the Pioneers, giving Denver a 2-0 lead. The game continued in uneventful fashion for Texas. Sophomore forward Julia Grosso attempted to turn the game around with an aggressive shot at the 27-minute mark, but it missed high and to the left of the goal.
Grosso’s shot was the final push Texas had. The Pioneers scored a third goal with 19 minutes left in the half and the visiting Longhorns failed to register an additional shot for the rest of the game.
This was the first time Denver beat a ranked team at home since 2003.
