A valiant rally from freshman forward Ava McDonald was not enough to save Texas soccer, as the team dropped its fourth straight game this season against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday, losing 4-3.
The Longhorns found themselves down 2-0 at halftime, staring down the barrel of their second straight blowout loss. Texas needed some momentum to get back into the game, which is exactly what McDonald did.
She exploded in the second half, scoring two goals in the first seven minutes. The first goal was helped by a great assist from freshman midfielder Sadie Hoch, but the second goal was all McDonald, dribbling at the Crimson Tide and finding the bottom corner.
But she wasn’t done yet.
A minute later, McDonald won a penalty when sophomore defender Ulla Sharp fouled her in the box. Out of nowhere, Texas had a chance to turn the game upside down and take the lead. However, star sophomore midfielder Amalia Villarreal inexplicably missed the penalty and the follow-up, leaving the game tied up.
That was the turning point in the contest. Alabama used the momentum gained by its redshirt freshman goalie, Madi Munguia, to close out the game via its flying attack, scoring two goals in the next eight minutes to ice the game. Villarreal redeemed herself late in the game, scoring a penalty, but it was too little too late.
Texas entered the matchup at the bottom of the SEC rankings, having conceded 20 goals on the season. In an attempt to mix things up, head coach Ange Kelly gave the starting nod to redshirt freshman goalie Kendell Williams, instead of freshman Mateya Dessieux. But the change didn’t yield much fruit.
The Longhorns were still all over the place defensively, allowing Alabama to attempt 17 shots, with nine of them finding the target.
On the attacking side of the ball, it remained a one-man show. McDonald was Texas’s only offensive outlet in the first half, taking all five of the Longhorns’ shots, including the three that found the target.
Texas finished the game with 12 total shots and 10 shots on goal. McDonald was responsible for nine of those, seven of them being on goal. That’s something Kelly has to fix as the season continues, because as great as it is to see her star striker thriving, she can’t do it all on her own.
One player who needs to get more involved is Villarreal. She only recorded three total shots Sunday, two of them being from the penalty spot. If the Longhorns want to find some late-season success, it goes through the feet of Villarreal.
Texas returns to action this Friday when it faces off against the No. 30 Vanderbilt Commodores at home.
