The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
California
Soccer defeats No. 18 California, 2-1, to stay unbeaten on the season
09.21.2008 | Soccer
Sept. 21, 2008
Box Score 
AUSTIN, Texas - University of Texas senior Kasey Moore netted her second game-winning goal of the season in the 89th minute to lead No. 7 Texas (7-0-1) past No. 18 California (5-3-0) Sunday afternoon at Mike A. Myers Stadium The Longhorns remain unbeaten on the season and keep their 21-game home unbeaten streak alive with the win.
California was called for a foul with one minute remaining in the match to set the Longhorns up with a free kick from 25 yards out on the right side. Senior Courtney Gaines played a perfect cross into the box where freshman Kylie Doniak was able to head it to the ground and find Moore open for the gamewinner.
The Bears scored the first goal of the match off a free kick in the 29th minute. Sophomore Megan Jesolva sent the kick into the penalty area pulling UT keeper Dianna Pfenninger away from the net. The ball deflected off a diving Pfenninger to Bear sophomore Alex Morgan who recorded her fifth goal of the season.
Texas pulled even in the 72nd minute when freshman Courtney Goodson headed in a Gaines corner kick for her team-leading fifth goal of the season. Gaines has now had a foot in each of UT's last three goals.
The match was the Horns third come-from-behind victory of the season (Kentucky, Aug. 28 and Arizona, Sept. 5) and marked their second win over a ranked opponent (No. 25 Louisville, Aug. 31).
The Longhorns open up Big 12 play Friday, Sept. 25 when they host No. 10 Texas A&M in the annual State Farm Lone Star Showdown. The match is set for a 7 p.m. Central start at Myers Stadium.
MATCH NOTES
--Texas improves to 7-0-1 on the season, its best start in program history.
--No. 18 California fell to 5-3-0 with all three losses coming on the road.
--UT came from behind to win for the third time this season. The Longhorns were down 1-0 against Kentucky (8/28/08) and Arizona (9/7/08).
--Freshman Courtney Goodson tallied her team-leading fifth goal of the year. Goodson leads UT with 12 points.
--Senior Kasey Moore recorded her third goal and second gamewinner.
--The Longhorns own a 21-game unbeaten streak at home dating back to 1-0 loss to No. 17 Oklahoma State on Sept. 29, 2006.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
Head Coach Chris Petrucelli
On ending the game in regulation and avoiding overtime: Well, we were starting to create a lot of stuff there in the last few minutes of the game. We got energized. We started to sense the fact that we had them on the ropes, and we did a good job of not fouling. Kasey got a good shot. She's had a lot of game winning goals in her career, and today was one of those days.
On the play of Courtney Goodson: You know, in the second half she was great. She struggled a little bit early in the game, but she composed herself more and got a little more motivated.
On his halftime speech: I don't think it's anything that I said, in fact the first 15 minutes of the second half we were still a little off on the field, but what happened was we took more people in off the bench. Kirsten Birkhold and Brooke Lee came on and they changed the energy of the team. Brooke broke up a play defensively and it changed the energy of the team. It gave some of the other guys time to rest, and then they came back on finished it from there.
On adjustments made in the second half: We tried to get Jill Gilbeau forward more, to receive the ball a little bit more, and we did a little `partners in crime' work with [Stephanie] Gibson and [Niki] Arlitt. They played about 15 minutes, and then we put in [Amanda] Lisberger and [Alisha] Ortiz to give a different speed. We have a number of different players that contribute, so we can change the pace of the game if we want to.
On the team's confidence going into next game against Texas A&M: Well, I think we know that we can win when it's tight. I think we've proven that all year long. I think we feel pretty good about ourselves right now. But, we know that's our game. They're a good team. They've always been a good team and it's going to be a difficult match.
Senior goalkeeper Dianna Pfenninger
On the win: It was huge. We started to get our momentum in the second half. We weren't going to let them beat us. Iit was huge that we were able to get two goals this game, especially there at the end. It shows how determined we were to take care of things and not go into overtime. We've got to hand it to our offense.
On California's offensive attack: They were good on the attack, but we have a solid defense, and a solid back line. I'm just really, really glad to be playing with them and have a lot of confidence in my teammates. Even under pressure, I know that we're going to do our best to keep the ball out of the net.
Senior defender Kasey Moore
On her game-winning goal: I just try to do what I can. I don't know why most of my goals end up being game winners, but I'm just happy to put one in the back of the net.
On avoiding fourth-straight overtime match: We are beginning to really dislike overtimes, although we're doing pretty well in them. It's just hard on our bodies to go another 20 minutes.
On what changed in the second half: Our mentality. We knew we could hang with them and they weren't playing as tight a pressure as we were. After Courtney [Goodson] got the first goal we realized we could do it. We just needed to get over our mental block. We weren't playing as well or intense as we could have, and that goal gave us the confidence we needed.
On California's forward, Alex Morgan: I think she's one of the best forwards we've played all year. They're going to do great things in their conference with the attack that they have. I think it was good for us to play a good frontline like that, especially with us playing Texas A&M next week.
On next week's match against Texas A&M: We're very, very excited. Normally, we play them towards the end of conference, but we're playing them right away. It'll start conference off right. It's exciting we get to play them at home. The seniors are especially excited; we've played them twice there, so it's great to play them at home. We're expecting a really great turnout.
