After defeating Iowa State 3-2 on a delayed Friday morning start, a beautiful Sunday afternoon tilt against Texas Tech on Senior Day provided the perfect backdrop to end Texas’ Big 12 home stretch. For the first 88 minutes, winning seemed like a real possibility for the Longhorns as they led the Red Raiders 1-0. That was until a Texas Tech goal sent the Longhorns into overtime before the Red Raiders sealed the deal with another goal.
In the end, Texas’ senior day ended with a 2-1 victory for Texas Tech.
“Those types of games are gut-wrenching,” Texas head coach Angela Kelly said. “I thought we did some good things and we created enough opportunities, so it’s just going to be a tough one
to swallow.”
Texas’ weekend started innocently enough, despite the thunderstorms that delayed Thursday’s match against Iowa State until Friday morning. During the game, sophomore midfielder Julia Grosso, sophomore forward Mackenzie McFarland and junior midfielder Haley Berg all scored in order to get a win and focus on the real draw of the weekend: Texas Tech.
A victory against Texas Tech would give Texas sole command of second place in the Big 12 and an opportunity to grab the Big 12 title, while defeat would take away the potential of a trophy with Texas’ name on it.
“We always go hard with Tech,” senior defender Atu Mshana said. “There’s always some great competition between us.”
The game started out physical right out of the gate, with both teams vying to break the ice and get the first points on the board. Over the course of the game, Mshana, Berg and Sydney Nobles left with injuries, but all returned shortly after.
“That’s just hardworking girls,” sophomore forward Cameron Brooks said. “It’s what we stand for as a collective, that we’re not going down without a fight.”
Brooks has been key for the Longhorns since joining the front line and was extremely productive Sunday. Her cross in the 61st minute was redirected into the Tech net by Texas Tech’s Amanda Porter for an own goal.
As the match drew to a close, the Red Raiders looked to steal an opportunity that could stretch the game a little further. In the 88’, Charlotte Teeter was able to find the net out of the chaos of a corner kick. And in the overtime period, Macy Schultz was able to grab pass from the top of the 18 into the left side of the box and fire a clean shot past senior goalkeeper Savannah Madden, giving Texas another heartbreaking overtime loss.
“At the end, we just need to continue to focus,” Brooks said. “I know sometimes when we get into those deep minutes, we lose focus thinking we have the win, but we can’t let anyone else beat us like that.”
For graduating seniors, a 10-minute period during Sunday’s match put a damper on their last weekend at home as current Longhorn athletes. Despite the disappointment, Kelly said they were able to make their mark on the Forty Acres over these past four years both on and off the field.
“This senior class leaves here with a host of accolades both on the academic and athletic side,” Kelly said. “They’re just wonderful young ladies who are about to graduate here with a top degree. I’m sorry that today’s result didn’t turn out different today.”
