After 540 minutes of not conceding a goal at home, a streak dating back to last season, Texas soccer returned to Mike A. Myers Stadium on Thursday in hopes of continuing the streak against San Diego State. In the fourth minute of the contest, the Aztecs broke the streak. However, Texas claimed the overall victory over SDSU 3-1.
It came to an end when SDSU senior forward Emma Gaines-Ramos received the ball in the box and slotted it past senior goalkeeper Mia Justus. Despite the streak being broken, what ensued after defined the night for the Longhorns.
Within minutes the Longhorns found their equalizer. In the sixth minute, after catching up to the ball, graduate defender Madison Haugen sent a looming cross over the Aztec defense, finding freshman forward Amalia Villarreal. One touch to control the ball was all she needed as right after she blasted the ball into the goal. The goal was Villarreal’s second of the season.
“I was really pleased with the response and I thought we created a ton of chances,” head coach Angela Kelly said.
The Longhorns returned to the field and did not take long to get things running again. Shot after shot, the Longhorns were inching closer to breaking down the Aztec defense. It was not until senior forward Holly Ward played a ball through to senior midfielder Lexi Missimo. Attempting a cross, Missimo’s pass was blocked leading to a corner in the 43rd minute.
Standing at 5 ’10, the tallest on the field for the Longhorns, Montgomery ran up to be a part of the corner play. From the corner spot, Missimo launched a cross into the back post finding Montgomery who headed it into the back of the net. The Longhorns went into half-time with a 2-1 lead.
“(I’m) excited for the group. We have a ton of talented players and I think we are putting that on display,” Kelly said about the younger players. “(The leadership) is wonderful. It is great and we are very pleased.”
The Longhorns opened the second half finding their rhythm with Missimo finding the ball in front of goal, striking the ball inches wide of the frame in the 48th minute. However, the Longhorns again ran into more issues minutes later.
In the 54th minute, graduate student defender Lauren Lapomarda dove in for a tackle, but stayed on the ground after. With staff rushing onto the field, Lapomarda eventually walked off the field, injured. Senior midfielder Ashlyn Miller took command of Lapomarda’s defensive spot for the rest of the game.
In the 85th minute of the game, Missimo gathered a loose ball in the corner of the 6-yard box and ferociously shot the ball into the roof of the net, sealing the win for the Longhorns. The goal is Missimo’s 49th goal for Texas, and the win is Kelly’s 300th win as a collegiate coach.
“When you track those, it’s not about me, and I don’t do any one of those wins without the squad,” Kelly said. “It’s a great accomplishment. I’m most happy for the program and the team.”
Regardless of the obstacles, the Longhorns defeated the Aztecs 3-1 and progressed to 5-0-1 for the season. Kelly’s team will resume play on Sunday at Mike A. Myers Stadium versus Long Beach State at 6 p.m.
