The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Soccer’s Haley Berg makes an immediate impact
08.19.2017 | Soccer
The freshman midfielder scored just 25 seconds into her first collegiate match against Rice.
25 seconds. That's all the time it took for freshman Haley Berg to make an impression for the Texas soccer program.
With the Longhorns searching for an early spark, during its 2017 season opener against Rice on Fri., Aug. 18 at Mike A. Myers Stadium, Berg wasted absolutely no time in providing it.
Off a cross from the left wing by sophomore forward Cyera Hintzen, redshirt sophomore Mikayla Flores tried controlling the pass inside the 18-yard box. The ball instead ricocheted off the La Verne, Calif., native and dropped right at Berg's feet just outside the six. Despite being tightly marked by an Owl defender, the rookie midfielder deftly gained possession, and just 25 ticks into her initial collegiate game, calmly finished her first career goal from seven yards out to make it 1-0.
"I don't think scoring goals ever gets tiring," Berg said. "I think this one will always definitely be up there as one of my favorites because it was my first collegiate goal. I'll always remember it because it was with this team and in my first game."
Berg's goal for the Burnt Orange & White has certainly been a long time coming for a player who famously committed to Texas as an eighth grader. In fact, her story caused quite a stir back in 2014 as the New York Times even featured the prolific scorer in a national story on recruiting.
"Haley's a special player, and I think in our sport, it's really difficult to find a natural goal scorer," Texas head soccer coach Angela Kelly said. "She's probably the closest definition to the consummate goal scorer that I've seen. Her eyes get big in front of the goal, she finds spaces for herself and she's deceptively quick. She trains with a killer instinct, and she puts in a little extra-added focus on how she textures a ball, how she finishes a ball and how she strikes a ball. Putting the ball in the back of the net really means something very special to her."
It's apparently extremely special to Berg as the Celina, Texas, native has long been used to "ticking the twine," scoring 105 goals over just two seasons for a start-up soccer program at Celina High School and 37 goals during the 2016 campaign for her Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) Solar Chelsea FC squad.
That natural goal-scoring ability, and the requisite ability to cause an immediate impact, is what turned the head of Kelly and so many other coaches across the country years ago.
It also earned Berg time with both the United States U-18 Women's National Team, where she earned three caps during the 2016 International Cup in Northern Ireland, and as part of the U.S. U-19 Women's National Team roster.
"Haley is just so composed in front of the goal," Kelly said. "She's led the country in scoring for several years (ECNL), and she's in her safe place in front of the goal. It's pretty impressive for a freshman to have the sort of quick impact she had for our team tonight. I think regardless of the year that a player is, we want everyone to take responsibility from the freshman through the senior class. When it's a young player having an impact, it's special. I always knew that she wouldn't miss a beat and she hasn't."
And young players making an immediate impact is going to prove especially important for the 2017 edition of the Longhorns as Texas boasts a staggering 18 combined freshmen and sophomores on its roster.
"We had quite a few freshman that were on the field and contributing tonight, that's exciting," Kelly said. "If you just look at our lineup, we're led by the majority of our squad that are sophomores. A few juniors and then the addition of the freshmen, so they're going to get a baptism by fire and they're getting a lot of experience. They're training really hard, and it's a lot of information to digest during the early season. It's a little bit like trying to drink from a fire hose for them at the moment, but I'm pleased with how receptive (the young players) are."
The exposure to the collegiate game would prove a challenge for any freshman, but for Berg, she's just looking to make an impact whenever she can.
"I just expected to take my first season game-by-game," Berg said. "I didn't know when my first goal was going to come. I was hoping it was going to come eventually, but I'm glad it was during the first game. I feel like the goal would have felt the same for me if anyone else had scored it. Whether it was in the first 25 seconds or the last 25 minutes, overall, it's just really exciting. Every goal, no matter when it happens, just pumps you up. Hopefully, it's just the first of many for me at Texas."
