In a physical backyard brawl between two top dogs in the Big 12, No. 25 Texas and No. 12 TCU went blow for blow. After the dust settled, neither team came away with the victory, and Longhorns drew against the Horned Frogs 1-1. 

Thursday’s game started off rather slow with each team keeping possession and avoiding mistakes at all costs. That wouldn’t last long, though, as in the 18th minute things turned sour for the Longhorns. Star sophomore midfielder Lexi Missimo, integral to Texas’ attack, fell to the ground off an awkward exchange, grimacing and holding her ankle.

Missimo leads the Big 12 in assists so far this season and is Texas’ primary corner taker. The offense flows through Missimo, whose absence led to the Longhorns struggling on offense in the middle portion of the first half. TCU took the chance to up its aggression and press the attack. 

With Missimo missing and sophomore defensive back Emily Jane Cox receiving a blow to the head on a 50-50 ball in the 39th minute, the Longhorns were bruised and battered on the road against the reigning Big 12 champions. Sophomore midfielder Ashlyn Miller, playing in Missimo’s normal spot after her injury, gave Texas the spark it needed.

Miller placed a beautiful ball just outside of the box for sophomore midfielder Jilly Shimkin, a talented transfer out of Penn State. Shimkin took a great touch and prodded the TCU defense and drew the defense to her right, pressed towards the goal and fired a well-timed pass to sophomore forward Holly Ward for the Longhorns’ lone goal of the match.

Texas entered the half with a 1-0 lead, looking to sneak out of Fort Worth with a tone-setting victory to open Big 12 conference play. But it wasn’t meant to be. After several impressive saves by senior goalkeeper Savannah Madden, Cox and Messiah Bright, TCU’s star graduate forward, inadvertently collided in the box, drawing a penalty on Texas in the 70th minute. 

In what was TCU’s best look at the goal all day, sophomore forward Camryn Lancaster drilled the ball into the top left corner, tying the game for the Horned Frogs.

Head coach Angela Kelly will likely be pleased with her team’s overall performance, managing to draw with TCU even after losing one of its best players to injury.

“This conference is one of the best in the country. (There are some) really, really talented teams,” Kelly said Aug. 18. “Absolutely nothing’s a given. … (Winning the Big 12 is) our goal, so we’re certainly excited to prepare the team to go for that.”

The Longhorns will travel to Lubbock next, facing the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Sunday in what should be another intense matchup between two Big 12 contenders.