After an extremely tight 90 minutes of regulation play, No. 16 Michigan State ultimately ended No. 21 Texas’ season with a goal just over two minutes into overtime in the second round of the NCAA Championship tournament.
This defeat came just shy of two weeks after Texas claimed their first Southeastern Conference championship win in its inaugural season in the conference. They went on to defeat Boston University 4-1 in the first round of the tournament, with senior Holly Ward scoring four goals to overcome a 1-0 deficit occurring early in the game.
However, the Longhorns came up short in trying to overcome a deficit of the same score tonight at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
They conceded a goal within the first 10 minutes of play, a set piece in which Michigan State graduate student forward Mackenzie Anthony converted off of a cross from sophomore forward Bella Najera.
After giving up three corner kicks throughout the half and battling to stay in the game, Texas finally balanced the score in the 33rd minute of play. Senior midfielder Jilly Shimkin beat a Michigan State defender on the dribble and slid a ball into the middle for freshman forward Amalia Villarreal to finish low in the left corner. This marked the ninth goal of Villarreal’s impressive freshman season, as well as Shimkin’s sixth assist of the season.
The second half took on a similar pattern, with Michigan State finding the back of the net first and Texas in a desperate effort to answer. Michigan State’s second goal came from Najera in the 73rd minute, following a series of back-and-forth fouls and increased intensity from each team. However, this time around, Texas’ response time was much quicker.
Senior midfielder Lexi Missimo completed a pass to Ward, who took on the final defender and slipped the ball past Michigan State graduate student goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks just inside the far goalpost in the 79th minute.
Despite Texas’ strong effort and an elevated level of play in the final 15 minutes of regulation, this goal would be the last during regular play.
The match went into overtime, with two additional halves of 10 minutes each to be played between the two teams. However, because of the NCAA’s sudden death rule, overtime concludes immediately after one of the two teams scores.
Unfortunately for the Longhorns, Michigan State would be the first team to convert in overtime — a pattern seen throughout the game. After a difficult save by senior goalkeeper Mia Justus and a series of deflections, Anthony found the back of the net to send Michigan State to the round of 16.
Despite a loss of this severity, Texas will be back next year to build upon this foundational season in a new conference.
Texas will be forced to replace key players such as Missimo and Justus. But, the legacies that the two and other seniors have left behind and the successes achieved will help transition this team into a new era next year.
