With under four minutes to play, all signs pointed to an overtime contest in Austin until Oregon midfielder Zoe Hasenauer decided to break the deadlock, receiving the ball at the top of the box. 

Swiftly creating space against the Texas defender, Hasenauer sent a knuckle ball toward goal that broke right at the last second as the ball sailed right past fifth year goalkeeper Savannah Madden’s fingertips into the back of the net. 

Texas women’s soccer dropped their third game of the season, falling to Oregon in dramatic fashion 1-0 at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

After coming out of a contest Sunday against Rice where Texas had a season high of 35 shots, the team only managed 11 Thursday evening. The Horns just couldn’t convert when it mattered most. 

The Longhorns’ best opportunity to score in the first half came when freshman forward Trinity Byars ran with the ball to the corner flag, drawing defenders and creating space for teammates. Instead of trying to push on toward goal, Byars looked back, playing a pass to senior midfielder Julia Grosso who was making a great run to the edge of the box.

Grosso took one touch and fired a shot at goal that just nearly sailed over the crossbar as the Longhorns finished the first half of play with a mere two shots. 

In the first half, Oregon did a great job of sitting back and absorbing the pressure of the Longhorns. Multiple times, Texas had possession near goal but couldn’t fire a shot at the target because of the swarm of defenders standing in the way.

Things changed in the second half though, near the 70th minute when freshman forward Lexi Missimo played an overlapping run past a defender. Receiving the ball close to goal with the clearest chance of the night, Missimo tried to bury the ball past the keeper by playing it low, but the goalkeeper went to ground saving the scoring chance. 

Moments later, the Longhorns came back with two great scoring opportunities where they could have taken the lead. Byars played a weighted ball to forward Sydney Nobles. Nobles’ accuracy was just off, sending a ball into the top goalpost for her only chance of the night.  

Madden made a huge save in the second half around the 62nd minute mark. With a forward racing toward goal past the Longhorn defense down the left side of the field, it was a one-on-one opportunity for Oregon.

Instead of committing too early to the ball, Madden stood her ground and stayed patient, making herself big and deflecting the ball away from goal as a Longhorn defender came and cleared it out of play to keep the contest 0-0. 

Texas now holds a 1-3-2 record and have dropped two games in a row, for the first time since their opening two games of the 2020 season. Look for the Longhorns to bounce back this Sunday at home against UTRGV.