The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Portland
No. 21 Soccer drops tough 2-1 decision to No. 3 Portland
09.16.2005 | Soccer
AUSTIN, Texas -- Despite tying the game at 1-1 with less than 20 minutes left in regulation, No. 21 Texas (2-3-1) could not overcome a two-goal effort from Christine Sinclair as No. 3 Portland (7-0-0) pulled out a 2-1 win in front of season-high 1,268 fans at Myers Stadium on Friday, Sept. 16.
While the one-goal decision dropped the Longhorns overall record to 2-3-1 overall and improved the Pilots season mark to a perfect 7-0-0, it also snapped Texas' school-record home winning streak at 14 games.
Texas and Portland battled to a scoreless first half despite 17 shots produced by the Pilots attack. UT goalkeeper Dana Hall (Kingwood, Texas) tallied six saves in the period, which was two saves shy of her individual-game career high. While Sinclair managed a period-best five shots on goal for the Pilots, the Longhorns may have had the best scoring chance early on as Carrie Schmit (La Mesa, Calif.) redirected a cross inside the six just above the crossbar.
The Pilots continued to press their attack in the second period. Then, in the 73rd minute Sinclair broke in on the right side off a feed from fellow All-American Lindsey Huie and buried a shot inside the far post just past the reach of freshman goalkeeper Dianna Pfenninger (Sugar Land, Texas). Although in front 1-0, the lead did not last long, as less than one minute later off the restart, Julie Gailey (San Ramon, Calif.) lofted a ball inside the Portland penalty area that Ashley Foster (Athens, Ga.) flicked on to a streaking Kelsey Carpenter (Allen, Texas) on the near side. With one touch, Carpenter beat her defender and slid a shot by Portland's Cori Alexander to knot the game at 1-1. The match would remain that way until 82:37 when Sinclair again shook loose on the right flank off a pass from Kelsy Hollenbeck and lofted a shot just over the head of Pfenninger to regain the lead for the Pilots at 2-1. While the Horns would attempt to counter, Portland managed to keep possession deep in UT territory over the waning minutes to escape with the one-goal victory. Picking up the win in goal for Portland was Alexander, who recorded two saves over 90 minutes of action, while Pfenninger shouldered the loss despite posting four saves in the second period.
Headlining the Longhorns attack on the evening was Carpenter, who not only tallied her team-best third goal of the year while placing both of her club-high two shots on goal. Portland, meanwhile, had its attack led by four players with three or more shots in the match, including Sinclair, who fired seven of her match-high 11 shots on goal while upping her goals scored total for the year to 13.
Up next, the Horns square off with the Rice Owls at Myers Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Central on Sunday, Sept. 18.
