The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Friday, October 20
Waco, Texas
7 p.m.
University of Texas
at
Baylor
No. 10 Soccer Preview: at Baylor [Oct. 20, 2017]
10.19.2017 | Soccer
The Longhorns head to Waco for an important Big 12 Conference showdown
Soccer Match 16: No. 10 Texas (12-1-2, 4-1-2 Big 12) at Baylor (10-3-2, 4-2-1 Big 12)
Schedule:
Fri., Oct. 20 #10 TEXAS at Baylor 7 p.m. CT – Baylor All-Access
Location: Waco, Texas (Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field)
Tickets: LINK
Live Stats: LINK
Television: Friday's match at Baylor will be broadcast via webstream through Baylor All-Access and is accessible for a paid subscription fee at this LINK.
Free Kicks:
- Texas enters Friday's match at Baylor with an 11-8-4 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams. UT is just 5-3-2 in Waco, tying there in its last visit on Sept. 23, 2016, 1-1 (2OT). Each of the last 11 meetings in the series has ended either in a tie or been settled by one goal with Texas leading over that span, 5-3-3.
- Goals will be at a premium on Friday night as Baylor and Texas enter play as the top two defensive teams in goals allowed in the Big 12. The Bears have permitted six scores this season, while the Longhorns have allowed just nine.
- The Longhorns have already played overtime on six occasions (4-0-2) this season, tying for the third-most OT sessions in a single year in program history (trailing only 2004 - eight and 2007 - seven). Texas' four overtime victories are the second-most (trailing only five wins in 2004) in a single season in program annals.
- Texas sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Curry is currently leading the Big 12 Conference in shutouts with nine over her first 15 career matches played and rates third in the league in goals-against-average at 0.57, 0.17 behind the leader. Curry has also leapt up the Texas single-season top 10 for clean sheets, tying former Longhorns Abby Smith (2014) and Dianna Pfenninger (2008) for first.
- Texas is an incredibly young team with just two seniors (that pair has combined to play in two matches in 2017) and a total of 18 freshmen or sophomores on the roster. Those freshmen and sophomores have combined for 16 of Texas' 23 total goals, 15 of 23 total assists and all 12 wins & nine shutouts in goal (sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Curry).
- After struggling in close matches during the 2016 season (just 2-8 overall in one-goal contests and 0-3-1 in OT), Texas has gotten off to a roaring start in such match-ups in 2017. So far through 15 contests, the Longhorns are a sparkling 10-1 in one-goal decisions with victories over Rice, Little Rock, North Texas, Sacramento State, Northeastern, UTRGV, Iowa State, No. 5 West Virginia, Texas Tech and Kansas State.
- Fans and opponents better watch out for Texas' dynamic duo of sophomore forward Cyera Hintzen and freshman midfielder Haley Berg. The duo has combined to score 12 of Texas' 23 goals, registered seven of 23 total assists and managed 31 of the Longhorns' 69 total points (45%) this season.
- The Longhorns defense has been stout throughout the 2017 campaign, but Texas recently managed a ridiculous streak, keeping the opposition from registering a single shot on goal over a stretch of 194:37 that included portions of matches against Texas Tech, Oklahoma and TCU.
- Texas has won 30% (7-of-23) of the Big 12 weekly awards handed out over the first eight weeks of the 2017 soccer season. UT won four consecutive Offensive Player of the Week awards (Sept. 12-Oct. 3) for the first time in program history, while the seven total honors are already the most in a single season in program history. Sophomore forward Cyera Hintzen owns three Offensive Player of the Week accolades and freshman midfielder Haley Berg has won two Freshman of the Week honors, while junior midfielder Katie Glenn (Offensive) and sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Curry (Defensive POW) possess one each.
- The Longhorns dropped one spot to No. 10 in this week's United Soccer Coaches rankings, while rating No. 11 in the Top Drawer Soccer and No. 16 in the Soccer America polls. Texas also fell five slots to No. 14 in the latest release of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
- Texas' current team goals-against-average of 0.57 rates ahead of the program record of 0.64 established back during 2008 when that Longhorns squad allowed just 14 total goals all season (21 matches) with a school record 11 shutouts.
- Texas' offense has managed to register more shots on goal than its opponent in 13 OF 15 MATCHES so far in 2017. UT leads in the category, 110-56, for an average margin of 7.3-3.7 shots on goal-per-match.
- Texas' 3-2 (OT) win over Northeastern (Sept. 10) was noteworthy in that it marked the first time the Longhorns had allowed at least two goals in a match and won since beating Dayton back on Aug. 17, 2012, 3-2 (OT). That covered a stretch of 105 total matches between the occurrences, and UT had been 0-25-2 when allowing two or more goals over that span. With a 3-2 (2OT) victory over Texas Tech (Sept. 29), Texas turned the trick twice in just five matches in 2017!
- For the Longhorns, scoring the match's first goal seems to be a key to victory in 2017 as the Longhorns are 10-1-1 when putting the initial score on the board and 4-1-1 when leading at the halftime break.
- Texas has had plenty of heroines to start the season as five different Longhorns (Cyera Hintzen, Haley Berg, Katie Glenn, Amber Stearns and Cydney Billups) have all registered match-winning goals over the opening 15 contests of 2017. During the ENTIRE 2016 campaign, only four different players managed match-winning tallies.
- Texas' defense is particularly stingy, having allowed more than two goals in a single match ONLY TWICE OVER THE LONGHORNS' LAST 102 MATCHES (both occurrences happened at TCU on Oct. 17, 2014 & Oct. 28, 2016) and only once over the last 57 matches. In fact, an opponent has scored more than two goals in a contest only five times since head coach Angela Kelly took over the program (three times during her first season on the Forty Acres in 2012).
- With her goal just 25 seconds into the season-opening, 2-1 victory over Rice (Aug. 18), freshman midfielder Haley Berg became the first Longhorns player to score in her first collegiate match since now senior forward Olivia Brook knocked home a goal during the 44th minute of her debut in a 2-2 (2OT) tie versus Arizona State back on Aug. 22, 2014.
- Texas sophomore forward Cyera Hintzen was chosen as one of 11 players on the annual Preseason All-Big 12 Team, the league office announced. The Garland, Texas, native is coming off a 2016 campaign that saw her tally two goals on the way to earning the program's fourth all-time selection as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. She was one of just three sophomores to make the preseason squad. Hintzen has wasted no time making her impression felt in 2017 with the match-winning goal and an assist during the 2-1 season-opening victory over Rice (Aug. 18).
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