After losing to Arkansas last week and getting knocked out of the Top 25, an unranked Texas soccer team lined up versus Missouri on Thursday. In their first meeting since October 2011, the Longhorns defeated the Tigers in a 3-1 comeback win.
After freshman forward Amalia Villarreal hit the post in the game’s opening minutes, Missouri turned the game on its head with a goal from junior midfielder Keegan Good. The goal came from Texas’ poor clearance that allowed the ball to fall at Good’s feet, who volleyed the ball into the net in the ninth minute.
In the 27th minute, the Longhorns thought they had a game-changing moment after a handball appeal led to the referee checking the replay. However, no handball was called and play would resume eventually leading to the Longhorns ending the half on the losing end.
“We had a pretty honest conversation at halftime, and (it was) a much better second half for us,” head coach Angela Kelly said.
The second half started with senior midfielder Lexi Missimo immediately finding the goal in the 46th minute. The chance came when Missouri’s sophomore goalkeeper Kate Phillips rushed out of her box to clear the ball but it only ended in senior forward Holly Ward’s path. Ward found Missimo, who shot the ball around 30 yards away from the goal. The goal is Missimo’s 55th for the program, leading the program all-time in goals scored.
Ward then claimed another assist after passing the ball to senior midfielder Jilly Shimkin, who got her shot off from the edge of the box. The chance to shoot came when Ward, directly after passing the ball to Shimkin, made a diagonal run in between Missouri defenders who followed her, leaving a pocket of space for Shimkin to score and give the Longhorns the lead in the 64th minute.
“(Missimo and Shimkin) stepped up,” Kelly said. “I’m really proud of them, and our words can’t even describe how much they’ve meant to this program.”
In the 84th minute of the game, Villarreal was subbed back into the game after coming off in the 73rd minute. Seven seconds later, she found the back of the net extending Texas’ one-goal lead with an assist from senior goalkeeper Mia Justus.
The Longhorns held its senior night celebration directly after the game as this was the final home game of the season. Fittingly, two of the three goals were scored by seniors and all three were assisted by seniors.
The win improves Texas’ conference record to 5–3–1 and into fourth in the Southeastern Conference soccer standings, with one game remaining. The Longhorns are tied with Auburn with 16 conference points, while South Carolina is one point behind with another two games to play.
“It’s a tough conference,” Kelly said. “We’ve been battle-tested this season. We’ve had adversity with our injuries. I’m just really proud of this team and what the senior class has done for the program.”
The Longhorns will return to the field in Athens Sunday at 3 p.m. to take on Georgia.
