Texas soccer returned to Mike A. Myers Stadium on Sunday to face Central Michigan, handling business 2-0. The Longhorns added another tally to the win column despite losing senior forward Trinity Byars to injury early in the game.
“I thought it was a great team performance today, I thought a lot of people stepped up,” said head coach Angela Kelly. “Lexi Missimo (gave) us the goals when we needed them to settle us down, and we created a ton of chances.”
In the 16th minute of the game, attempting to get a touch on a loose ball, Byars came crashing down into the six-yard box where she met a Chippewa defender Gabriella Sapia. The collision left Byars on the ground, leading to an injury timeout.
Kelly immediately ran to the field to check up on Byars and the rest of the Longhorns, who all had mixed reactions. With a few consoling Byars and others talking amongst themselves, the team looked shaken up. The all-time leading goalscorer in program history already had five goals and three assists to start the season. Byars was soon helped off the field by the staff, and eventually, Kelly got her players together and talked to the 11 who were returning to the field.
“The best way to show Trinity we love her is by the response,” Kelly said. “By putting it all on the field.”
Once they returned to the field, the Longhorns were informed that a penalty was given for the foul on Byars. Senior midfielder Lexi Missimo grabbed the ball and buried the penalty to her left. Missimo’s penalty was too fast for Chippewa goalkeeper Allison LaPoint, who could not react fast enough. The score gave the Longhorns a one-goal advantage heading into the break.
11 minutes into the second half, Missimo added to her tally after freshman forward Rosa Maalouf gifted her a through ball which she finessed into the far side of the goal. The shot took a deflection as it found its way back into the net, but Missimo was awarded the goal. It is her 48th career goal for the Longhorns.
The Longhorns finished the game off by creating chance after chance but with nothing to show for it. Texas found itself in the final third countless times, shooting the ball five times after their second goal. Kelly’s team had a total of 25 shots with 14 on target.
The team’s best chance came when senior midfielder Jilly Shimkin got past the defense and crossed the ball into the box, finding freshman forward Amalia Villarreal. Villarreal exploded past her defender and headed it to the goalkeeper’s right, who was already set to dive the opposite way. LaPoint found a way to make the save, denying Villarreal a goal in her first collegiate start where she had three shots on target.
While the Longhorns have a quick turnaround with their next game at home versus San Diego State on Thursday, Kelly and her team have a lot to look forward to despite their misfortunes with Byars.
“There was a clean sheet (and) we created a lot of scoring opportunities. So we’re feeling excited about three points and a clean sheet,” Kelly said. “Just going to go love on Trin.”
