The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Sunday, November 19
Durham, N.C.
12 p.m.
University of Texas
at
#3 Duke
No. 18 Soccer Preview: NCAA Third Round at No. 3 Duke [Nov. 19, 2017]
11.18.2017 | Soccer
The Longhorns face the top-seeded Blue Devils with a berth in the NCAA Elite Eight on the line
Texas NCAA Third Round Media Supplement
Soccer Match 21: NCAA TOURNAMENT THIRD ROUND
No. 18 Texas (14-3-3, 5-2-2 Big 12) at No. 3 Duke (21-2-0, 10-0-0 ACC)
Schedule:
Sun., Nov. 19 #4-seed TEXAS at #1-seed Duke 12 p.m. CT – WATCHESPN/ESPN3
Location: Durham, N.C. (Koskinen Stadium)
Tickets: LINK
Bracket: LINK
Television: Sunday's match will only be broadcast online through WATCHESPN/ESPN3.
Free Kicks:
- Texas, a No. 4 national seed, is continuing the program's 12th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Sunday's contest against No. 3 Duke in Durham, N.C., marks just the fourth time in program history that the Longhorns have advanced to the NCAA Third Round and the first time since 2007 when the Longhorns knocked off No. 2 Texas A&M, 3-2, to face Florida State in the Sweet 16. UT has never advanced past the NCAA Third Round, having suffered losses to nationally-ranked Portland in 2004 & 2006 (both 2-0) and to Florida State (4-0) in 2007.
- With NCAA Second Round upsets on Friday of defending national champion USC (by Baylor) and Texas A&M (by Notre Dame), the opportunity now exists that if the Longhorns advance past No. 3 Duke on Sunday, the Burnt Orange & White would return to Austin to HOST THE ELITE EIGHT MATCH WITH THE CHANCE AT THE NCAA COLLEGE CUP ON THE LINE. Obviously, Texas faces a stern task against the powerful Blue Devils, but having the potential to host the NCAA Elite Eight round at Mike A. Myers Stadium is staggering for a UT team once picked to finish EIGHTH in the 2017 Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll!
- The Longhorns enter Sunday's match-up with a 1-2-0 all-time record against Duke and a 0-2-0 mark against the Blue Devils in Durham, N.C. Texas lost in those two previous road meetings, 3-0 (Oct. 7, 1995) and 3-2 (Aug. 31, 2003). UT's lone victory in the series came in Austin on Sept. 1, 2002, 2-1.
- The Longhorns head into Sunday's match with a 1-8 mark all-time against No. 3-ranked teams with the lone victory against a No. 3-rated squad coming against No. 3 Penn State back on Sept. 1, 2006, in Austin, 2-1. UT is 9-22-1 in program history against the top five, but is 1-0 this season after knocking off No. 5 West Virginia at home on Sept. 24, 1-0.
- Texas sophomore forward Cyera Hintzen is making the most of her first trip to the NCAA Tournament, leading the Longhorns with three goals over her first two career NCAA postseason matches. Even more stunning about the Garland, Texas, product's performance over her the two matches is that she is ALREADY TIED for the most NCAA career goals (three with Kelsey Carpenter, 2004-07) and second in NCAA career points (six, behind Kelsey Carpenter's eight from 2004-07) in Texas program history!
- The Burnt Orange & White seem perfectly comfortable taking penalty kicks in 2017 as the Longhorns are now 7-for-8 from the spot this season. Junior midfielder Katie Glenn has made two (one vs. Northeastern back on Sept. 10 and one in the PK shootout vs. Clemson) while sophomore defender Atu Mshana, freshman forward Haley Berg, junior defender Chelsea Surpris, sophomore defender Emma Jett and junior defender Paige Hooper all joined Glenn is nailing PK's to advance past Clemson in the NCAA Second Round shootout.
- 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 20 of Texas' 29 total goals, 22 of 30 total assists and all 14 wins & 11 shutouts in goal (sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Curry).
- Sophomore forward Cyera Hintzen was rewarded for posting just the second two-goal effort in a NCAA match in Texas history by being tabbed to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week (Nov. 14) for the second time this season. The Garland, Texas, native now leads the Longhorns with 10 goals and tops the Big 12 Conference with six match-winning goals in 2017.
- 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 16 of Texas' 29 goals, registered nine of 30 total assists and managed 41 of the Longhorns' 88 total points (47%) this season.
- Overtime has become the norm over the latter half of the season as Texas has ventured to at least one extra session during 10 of its last 14 overall matches dating back to Sept. 10. In all, Longhorns players have been on the pitch for 114:20 of overtime action this season. That's more than an entire additional regulation match.
- Texas' current team goals-against-average of 0.61 rates just 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. UT has allowed 13 goals and tied the school record with 11 shutouts over 20 matches during 2017.
- Texas sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Curry is currently second in the Big 12 Conference in shutouts with 11 over her first 20 career matches played and rates second in the league in goals-against-average at 0.61, just 0.05 behind the leader. Curry has also leapt up the Texas single-season top 10 for clean sheets, shattering the old school record for single-season shutouts (nine) previously held by Longhorns Abby Smith (2014) and Dianna Pfenninger (2008).
- 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 had remarkable success in such match-ups in 2017. So far through 20 contests, the Longhorns are a sparkling 11-3 in one-goal decisions with victories over Rice, Little Rock, North Texas, Sacramento State, Northeastern, UTRGV, Iowa State, No. 5 West Virginia, Texas Tech, Kansas State and Baylor.
- Texas' offense has managed to register more shots on goal than its opponent in 14 OF 20 MATCHES so far in 2017. UT leads in the category, 132-86, for an average margin of 6.6-4.3 shots on goal-per-match.
- Texas won 25% (7-of-28) of the Big 12 weekly awards handed out over the 10 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 were the most in a single season in program history. Sophomore forward Cyera Hintzen owned three Offensive Player of the Week accolades and freshman midfielder Haley Berg won two Freshman of the Week honors, while junior midfielder Katie Glenn (Offensive) and sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Curry (Defensive POW) earned one each.
- 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 12-2-2 when putting the initial score on the board and 5-1-1 when leading at the halftime break.
- Texas' defense is particularly stingy, having allowed more than two goals in a single match ONLY TWICE OVER THE LONGHORNS' LAST 107 MATCHES (both occurrences happened at TCU on Oct. 17, 2014 & Oct. 28, 2016) and only once over the last 62 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.
Players Mentioned
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