The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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Kansas
Soccer comes back to defeat No. 19/25 Kansas, 2-1
10.04.2009 | Soccer
Oct. 4, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas -- The University of Texas soccer team came back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat No. 19/25 Kansas, 2-1, Sunday afternoon out at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Texas is now 5-5-2 on the season and 2-0-2 in Big 12 action, while Kansas is 8-4-1 and 0-3-0 in league play.
The Longhorns, who are on a four-match unbeaten streak, earned their first win against a ranked opponent of the season and are now 12-6-2 when playing ranked foes at home, since 2002.
Down 1-0 in the 66th minute, freshman Becka Rivera scored her second goal of the year when she sent a cross into the box from the right side of the field. KU keeper Julie Hanley went to save the cross but had the shot slip just over her hands into the left corner of the net.
Texas pulled ahead 11 minutes later when Kansas' Kim Boyer got called for a foul in the Jayhawk box setting up a penalty kick. The Horns selected Kylie Doniak to take the kick and were successful when she faked out Hanley and sent the ball to the lower left corner of the net. It was Doniak's team-leading fourth goal of the year.
Kansas got on the board first in the 58th minute with a goal from Caitlin Noble. Whitney Berry got the play started when she fired a shot from the right side of the field, forcing keeper Alexa Gaul to make a diving save away from the goal. Noble then got control of the rebound and knocked the ball in for the 1-0 advantage.
The Jayhawks outshot Texas 14-10 including an 8-3 advantage on shots on goal. Gaul made a career-high seven saves in the match, five of which came during the first period.
The win is the Horns first come-from-behind victory this season and their first win over a ranked opponent since the First Round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament when they defeated No. 24 Washington State, (Nov. 24, 2008).
The Longhorns take a break from conference play next Friday as they host Loyola-Chicago at 7 p.m. Central. Texas returns to Big 12 action on Sunday when they travel to Oklahoma State for a 1 p.m. Central match.
POST MATCH NOTES
-Texas is now 5-5-2 (2-0-2 Big 12) on the season and is riding a four-match unbeaten streak.
-Sophomore Kylie Doniak scored her team-leading fourth goal of the year, extending her career high to four.
-Freshman keeper Alexa Gaul made a career-high seven saves, five of which came in the second half.
-Freshman Becka Rivera netted her second goal of the year to become the fourth Longhorn to find the back of the net more than once this season.
-Texas defeated its first ranked opponent in No. 19/25 Kansas and moves to 12-6-2 when playing ranked foes at home since 2002.
-The come-from-behind win was the Longhorns first of the season. Texas is now 1-5-0 when the opponent scores first.
POST MATCH QUOTES
Head Coach Chris Petrucelli
On the success of the weekend: I thought it was a great weekend. Today we really gutted it out. We fought really hard to win the game. We fought really hard on Friday night too. We were a minute away from winning that one as well. And wins are hard to come by in this league, so we're happy when we get them.
On Kylie Doniak's penalty kick: Hannah [Higgins] did a really good job of getting herself into the penalty area to a position where they had to foul her or she was going to get free. Hannah created it and Kylie took it very well.
On Doniak's versatility on the field: We've been playing her up a bunch. She's typically played in midfield. She's done a good job play-making for us and setting a pace for us. She's obviously scoring goals now too. She's very talented and we're starting to see it coming out now.
On the future of the team: You know we're fighting to get better every day and as long as we compete hard like we did this weekend, we'll have a chance to win at every game.
On next week's game against Loyola-Chicago: Well we're at a point right now where we have to win every game that we play. Certainly every game that we win is a big game for us. We're going to play that game just like it was any conference game - we're going to play it hard.
Freshman goalkeeper Alexa Gaul
On defending Kansas' offense: Their forwards were the biggest players on the field, which was intimidating, but our defense did a really good job stopping them. As a result I don't think they had nearly as many shots as they could have.
On Kansas' goal: It was just a quick ricochet. I'm not even sure if it went off of them or us, but they followed it up well, and it paid off for them.
On the weekend overall: Tying with one minute left in the last game against Missouri was a disappointment, but we got four points in the weekend overall, and that's something to be proud of. We're in a really good spot, and we are happy with it.
