Soccer earns weekend sweep with 2-1 win over Illinois State

Sunday, September 8

Austin, Texas

Noon

University of Texas

3-2-1

Illinois State

2-4-0

Illinois State

Texas

Soccer earns weekend sweep with 2-1 win over Illinois State

09.08.2013 | Soccer

Box Score

Abby Smith records a penalty-kick save and Texas gets goals from Sharis Lachappelle and Brooke Gilbert to top the Redbirds on Sunday in Austin.

AUSTIN, Texas – Sophomore keeper Abby Smith made a clutch save on a penalty kick in the 87th minute, and juniors Sharis Lachappelle and Brooke Gilbert each connected for first-half scores to power Texas Soccer to a 2-1 win over Illinois State on Sunday afternoon at Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field.

With the Longhorns leading by a goal, the Redbirds were knocking on the door after a Texas foul inside the 18-yard box with 86:00 on the game clock. Illinois State's Rachel Tejada, who scored in the second minute to give the Redbirds the early lead, lined up for a penalty kick with Smith in goal. When Tejada sent the shot to her left, Smith dove and got her hands on the ball to knock it out of harm's way and secure the victory for Texas (3-2-1).

It was one of two key saves made by Smith in the second half to maintain UT's lead, the other coming on a one-on-one with Dagny Olson that Smith corralled inside the six-yard box in the 74th minute.

Smith's defensive efforts were complemented on Sunday by offensive support in the form of goals from Lachappelle (13th minute) and Gilbert (44th minute).

After Tejada's quick score for ISU, the Longhorns got on the board when Lachappelle found the back of the net on a header for her first goal in 2013. After senior midfielder Gabby Zarnegar passed the ball wide to sophomore forward Kelsey Shimmick on the right side, Shimmick sent a cross into the box that Lachappelle connected with near the far post to even the score at one.

Gilbert tacked on another goal, her team-leading third of the season, for Texas just before the half. Freshman defender Isabelle Kerr took one of UT's 10 corner kicks in the game, sailing the ball toward the far post. Gilbert headed the ball back toward the front post past Illinois State keeper Aryn Newsom for her third goal of the season and second game-winner.

That would be all the Longhorns would need despite creating several key scoring opportunities in the second half.

Lachappelle led Texas offensively, tallying a UT season-high six shots for the second time this season with four of them on goal in 73 minutes of play. UT took a season-high 20 shots to Illinois State's eight and has now outshot its opponents 94-44 through its first six games of 2013.

Texas Soccer will close out its road non-conference schedule when it heads to Colorado Springs, Colo., next weekend for a pair of games against Air Force on Friday, Sept. 13 and Colorado College on Sunday, Sept. 15.

POSTGAME NOTES

With today's win, Texas tallied its first weekend sweep at home since Sept. 2 and 4, 2011, when the Longhorns topped UTSA and Dartmouth in back-to-back matches … today's victory was the first come-from-behind win recorded by UT since beating Dayton, 3-2, in overtime to open last season on Aug. 17, 2012 … Isabelle Kerr notched her team-leading second assist of the season on Gilbert's goal in the 44th minute … Zarnegar and Shimmick each picked up their first assist of the season on Lachappelle's sixth career goal in the 13th minute.