Trinity Byars just needed “the seal to be broken,” Texas head coach Angela Kelly said last week after the freshman forward scored her first goal as a Longhorn.

And broken, it has.

Byars scored her third goal in three games as Texas beat SIUE 3-0 on a hot Sunday afternoon at Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field.

After SIUE took a free kick in the 13th minute of the first half, Texas quickly stole the ball. Freshman midfielder Tatiana Fung dribbled down the field before passing the ball out to the right side. Byars was open, but rather than driving straight toward the goal, Byars took one touch to take the outside edge against her defender.

With nothing but green in front of her, Byars lined her shot up and fired the ball through the bottom left corner of the goal, just out of reach for SIUE goalie Jensen Schoch. 

The young Texas team appears to be turning the corner after a rough start to the 2021 season, as the Longhorns are off to a three-game winning streak that has been marked by milestone moments from their freshmen players.

Freshmen Lexi Missimo and Holly Ward each added a goal to the tally, both in the first half as well. This was Ward’s first goal as a Texas Longhorn.

Missimo continued her exceptional start to the season as she became the fastest Longhorn player to reach 10 goals scored. 

Despite the 3-0 victory, Texas had multiple potential goal-scoring opportunities called back due to eight offsides calls, as opposed to two for SIUE. Kelly will likely be hammering her team on the correctable fouls before the Longhorns move into conference play, where these lost chances will be more punishing on the final score.

Texas imposed control on the game from the opening whistle, as they maintained possession of the ball for 61% of the first half en route to three goals scored, which ended up being the final result. 

The Longhorns will be looking for more offensive pressure in the second half, as they seemed to revert to a more passive playstyle once they secured the lead.

With its victory against SIUE, the team is now on a three-game winning streak as it ends non conference play. With games against Kansas State, Oklahoma and TCU on the docket, all teams at or above .500 thus far, Texas will look to build on its recent successes as it begins its march toward the Big 12 championship game on October 31.