Soccer continues unbeaten start by blowing past No. 25 Colorado, 3-0

Friday, September 8

Austin, Texas

6 p.m.

University of Texas

6-0-0

#25 Colorado

4-1-2

Colorado

Texas

Photo by: Brendan Maloney

Soccer continues unbeaten start by blowing past No. 25 Colorado, 3-0

09.08.2017 | Soccer

Box Score

The Longhorns improve to 6-0 to open the season for the first time in the program’s 24-year history

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AUSTIN, Texas – On Friday night at Mike A. Myers Stadium, Texas soccer improved to 6-0 for the first time in 24 years of program history as goals from junior midfielder Katie Glenn, junior forward Alexa Adams and sophomore forward Cyera Hintzen helped the Longhorns knock No. 25 Colorado (4-1-2) from the ranks of the unbeaten via a dominant 3-0 victory.

Texas' defense has now posted three consecutive shutouts and hasn't allowed a goal over the last 349:11 of playing time dating back to the first half against Little Rock on Aug. 25. The victory also marked the first at home over a ranked team for UT since knocking off No. 16 Texas Tech back on Sept. 26, 2014, 1-0 (OT).

For the match, the Burnt Orange & White out-shot the Buffaloes, 12-10, including 5-2 in shots on frame, and led in corner kicks by a 5-2 count.

Colorado entered the contest having not allowed a single goal on defense over six matches to begin the season (607:58 of action) before giving up two to Texas during the opening 25 minutes and three for the night. The stout Longhorns defense has now permitted just two total goals and 14 combined shots on goal (2.3 shots on goal-per-match) to the opposition over six contests.

For Glenn, her 14th minute score marked both her second of the season and her second consecutive match-winning goal after blasting one home from distance last Sunday in securing a 1-0 triumph at Sacramento State. Adams picked up her first goal of 2017, marking her first points since returning from an ACL tear that ended last season prematurely. Hintzen added her team-leading third goal of the campaign for insurance at 47:11. Freshman forward Haley Berg added a career-high two assists, while redshirt freshman Cydney Billups, Adams and Hintzen were each credited with single assists during the victory.

Texas took control of the proceedings right from the opening kick-off as Hintzen fired wide right from distance at 1:25.

Just 2:12 later, Glenn stepped into a lengthy drive of her own from deep in the middle, forcing Colorado keeper Jalen Tompkins to make a diving stop to push the shot wide of the left upright.

The Buffaloes managed their initial shot of the contest 5:51 in as midfielder Taylor Kornieck moved into the left edge of the 18-yard box and had a try blocked by sophomore defender Atu Mshana before being cleared away.

With the Longhorns swarming offensively, their first goal eventually came in the 14th minute. Berg secured a ball outside the top of the 18, moved quickly up field and delivered a pass out on the left wing to Billups. The Greenwood Village, Colo., native delivered a low cross into the middle of the 18 right to the feet of Glenn, who slotted home a shot from 10 yards out to make it 1-0.

Colorado seemed to settle into the match some after allowing the score as midfielder Sarah Kinzner fired high of frame from 20 yards out in the 17th minute.

Off a free kick, a dangerous CU cross from near the left end line was punched out front by Texas sophomore net minder Nicole Curry. The clearance traveled straight to Buffalo defender Alex Vidger who launched just high and wide of the upper right corner from 18 yards out.

Texas struck again to make it 2-0 during the 25th minute as a Hintzen cross from the left wing was deposited home from eight yards out in the middle by Adams.

At the 32:56 mark, the Longhorns advantage nearly expanded to three scores as a shot from just outside the top right corner of the 18 from junior midfielder Kayra Dollas rattled hard off the cross bar.

The closest the Buffaloes came to pulling one back in the match came at 36:01 as Becca Rasmussen found some space behind the UT backline. The CU midfielder took a quick dribble and fired a shot in a 1-v-1 situation but was denied by a diving Curry, who immediately smothered any rebound.

Out of the locker room, Colorado tried to up its pressure with midfielder Megan Massey having a shot go high and another blocked at 45:36 and 46:48, respectively.

Once again, Texas turned the tables against the Buffaloes with Hintzen working great combination play with Adams and Berg to finish from 15 yards out in the middle and make it 3-0.

Down the stretch, the Longhorns kept Colorado from mounting any serious threats with several long shots from Kornieck and Kinzner missing the target.

With just 1:30 left on the clock, CU's Hannah Scheid forced Curry into action to make a final stop, but that was it as Texas wrapped up its fourth clean sheet in six matches.

Texas Post-Match Quotes

Head Coach Angela Kelly

On starting off the season 6-0: I think it feels wonderful. It's just a credit to the players. They've been working so hard in training. They're doing the right things on and off the field. It really pleases me that they get this small reward, but our next match is Sunday. They can enjoy it for tonight. We're going to go cheer on our volleyball squad against Minnesota right now. We have our future teammates and official visits in town, so we're going to support all our other Longhorns tonight. We're going to be at the football game tomorrow as well, and then we're going to get ready for our match on Sunday.

On what the team did well during the match: I thought we had good composure. We were able to play positively out of pressure and move for one another. That's something we've been working one. Connectivity. Mobility. Those are all aspects of a quality squad, and I think our movement tonight was good. I think it could have been even better, but that's exciting. I just want to credit the players. They put in the work. When you put in the work, these are the types of results this program should expect.

On the team's progress: Colorado is a quality squad. They're No. 25 in the polls I believe. We were able to put the ball away early. We continued to mount that pressure, and that's the pursuit we've always been in. I'm really pleased with our young talent and how quickly they've been adapting and their learning curve. It was a quality win, and I just want our players to understand that. It was a job well done.

On the team's mentality: For me, it's always the next game is the most important match on our schedule. Quite honestly, that's exactly how we've been and how we've been looking at every game. I haven't even been focused on next week. I know who we play. I'm not saying I don't know who we play, but right now we're focused on Sunday. We pair our schedule up to the next weekend. We have a ton of talent in our conference. Scheduling Colorado, is preparing us for other teams in our conference. Just as all the teams are. Just as the North Texases, the Rices and the Cals. That was all to see the different types of styles around the country so we can be prepared. Our conference is exceptional and we have to play better than we did tonight as we go forward.

Player Quotes

On starting the season 6-0:

Junior forward Alexa Adams: It feels great, but we have to focus on one game at a time. We have to keep moving forward and not focus on being 6-0.

Junior midfielder Katie Glenn: It's great. We've worked very hard up to this point, and I think our hard work is paying off. Now we're just getting ready for the next game.

On overwhelming a ranked opponent:

Adams: It's just a good feeling for when we play higher ranked teams like Colorado. I think it's good that we had this game at this moment so we can see where we're at and continue moving forward in the season.

Glenn: I think this game was very similar to games in-conference. I think it was a good preparation game for when we get into Big 12 play.

On scoring the only goals against Colorado all season:

Glenn: I really had no idea. I wasn't really keeping track of their record. I just take every game as it is, and I was just trying to put one in the back of the net.

On the team's progress:

Glenn: We've just been competing really hard every day at practice. Every week we're getting better. There's still room for improvement so we're going to keep working harder.

Adams: I think this team just wants to be better. We want to win. We want to compete. We come out every day at practice and try to push each other to be better.

On the team's mentality:

Adams: I think everyone is on the same page. We want to win. We want to keep moving forward. We want to have a winning season and make the Big 12 tournament because we didn't do that last year. So we have a target on our back and we want to show the world what we can do.