No. 17 Texas soccer knocks off No. 5 West Virginia, 1-0

By Steve Lansdale

AUSTIN, Texas — What already was the best start to a season in the history of the Texas soccer program added a signature victory over a marquee opponent when the No. 17 Longhorns knocked off No. 5 West Virginia, 1-0, at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

The victory was the 10^th in as many games for the Longhorns, who [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]improved to 2-0 in games against Big 12 teams and are the only Div. I team in the country without a tie or a loss this season. The Mountaineers, last season’s national runner-up, slipped to 8-3 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 games.

Texas head coach Angela Kelly said the Longhorns’ victory was an indication of the strength of the conference.

“It was a battle,” Kelly said. “Every team in our conference is great. We’re going to get that kind of battle every Friday and Sunday. West Virginia is a very storied program. They’re one heck of a team and incredibly well-coached. I thought we battled. Both teams had their chances, and it was a great finish.”

Sophomore forward Cyera Hintzen buried a pass from Katie Glenn in the 88^th minute for the game’s only goal, while goalkeeper Nicole Curry turned away five WVU shots to record her seventh shutout of the season, and marked the second time this season the Longhorns have posted three consecutive shutouts.

Hintzen said her team-leading fifth goal — four of which have been game-winners — was a bit of a surprise, in part because of the dramatic timing in the game’s waning minutes, and also because she was able to locate a gap in the Mountaineers’ defense from which to shoot.

“I was actually kind of stunned that I got the ball in the box with so much time because usually people are collapsing really quickly,” she said. “We also had a lot of really great opportunities, and I just knew that this one had to go in the back of the net. I was pretty confident that it was going to be on frame, and it was just a really great feeling with such little time left.”

The loss was just the second against a Big 12 team ever for West Virginia, which had not lost a Big 12 game since 2014, having gone 22-0-2 since their last setback against a conference opponent. For the Longhorns, it was the first win over a team ranked among the nation’s top five since knocking off then-No. 5 Oklahoma State by the same 1-0 score in 2010. UT had not beaten WVU since 2004.

Kelly said that the fight her team showed, especially in the second half, was exceptionally gratifying.

“We just talked to the players during halftime and told them that it was going to be a battle of wills,” Kelly said. “Both teams were going to go after it, but it was going to be about how bad they wanted it. West Virginia has already beaten the No. 1 team in the country (Penn State), they were the No. 5 team in the country and they were going to go after it in the second half. It was 0-0, 45 minutes left, and it was just a battle of wills. I’m just really pleased with how the team responded. I’ve said it a million times, but they’re a young squad and to find that type of resiliency against a really mature team, a team that made the Final Four last year, I’m just really pleased.”

The Longhorns will be back in action at 7 p.m. Friday when they host Texas Tech in a game that will be shown on the Longhorn Network.[/s2If] [s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] [article-offer] [/s2If]