No. 19 Soccer outlasts Gonzaga in season-opening thriller, 4-3

Thursday, August 22

Austin, Texas

7 p.m. CT

University of Texas

1-0-0

Gonzaga

0-1-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Gonzaga	1	2	3
Texas	3	1	4

No. 19 Soccer outlasts Gonzaga in season-opening thriller, 4-3

08.22.2019 | Soccer

Box Score

Texas junior keeper Savannah Madden saved a penalty kick with five seconds left to seal the victory.

AUSTIN, Texas – On Thursday night at Mike A. Myers Stadium, the 1,466 fans in attendance truly got their money's worth as No. 19 Texas soccer (1-0-0) fought off a rugged challenge from Gonzaga (0-1-0) to earn a thrilling, season-opening 4-3 triumph.

Key Texas Players

In her first collegiate start, Texas junior keeper Savannah Madden made eight saves, including stopping what would have been Gonzaga's game-tying penalty kick attempt with five seconds remaining in regulation.
Two-time All-American senior forward Cyera Hinzten scored a goal and dished a career-high three assists to equal her career-high for single-game points with five.
Sophomore midfielder Julia Grosso scored her second career brace (two goals), over a stretch of just 5:08 of the opening half, and added an assist to establish a new single-match high for points (five).
Junior midfielder Haley Berg tied a career-high with two assists, while freshman forward Sydney Nobles scored her first collegiate goal just 33:01 into her first UT action.

Important Notes

The Longhorns have now won their last 16 non-conference regular-season home matches dating back to Sept. 4, 2016.
Texas has now won three consecutive season openers and improved its all-time record in lid-lifters to 15-10-1 over 26 years of program history.
Texas' four goals were the most for the Horns in a season opener since Aug. 22, 2008, when the No. 8 Burnt Orange & White knocked off Samford, 4-0.
Four different Longhorns earned their first career collegiate starts on Thursday: junior keeper Savannah Madden, sophomore outside back Cameron Brooks, sophomore midfielder Carlee Allen and junior outside back Maddie Dorsett.

The Details

It was Gonzaga that managed the contest's first shot just 16 seconds in as midfielder India Jencks fired from distance right into Madden's arms.

With the Bulldogs controlling the early possession, it was Hintzen that got the Horns on the board shot-wise at 8:11 as her effort from a tough angle on the right wing was driven wide.

Up 4-1 early on shots, Gonzaga's fifth attempt found pay dirt in the 14th minute as forward Erin Healy created some space and finished from nine yards out on the left wing into the lower right corner to make it 1-0.

After Berg and Nobles went close for the Longhorns over the next few minutes, it was the latter that tied things up at 1-1 as the freshman from Southlake, Texas, launched a bending effort from 22 yards out that hit the left side netting.

That score seemed to ignite Texas' offense as Berg began the go-ahead play by forcing a turnover just outside the top of the 18. Hintzen corralled the ball and delivered a quick feed to Grosso with the Canadian international just beating Gonzaga keeper Isabel Jones inside the right post with a left-footed try from 24 yards out at 39:02.

It took Grosso just 5:08 to get on the board again as the Vancouver, British Columbia, native beat out a defender for a pass 12 yards out and fired a shot that ricocheted off the underside of the cross bar and just inside the right post for a 3-1 advantage.

The Bulldogs came out of the halftime break with a spark, managing a succession of corner kicks and shots over the opening 13 minutes.

Finally, at 58:31, after controlling the majority of play, Gonzaga earned a set piece with forward Lauren Elwer heading home a corner feed from eight yards out to make it 3-2.

Just 7:51 later, the Bulldogs earned a free kick out near the left side line. With the spot 35+ yards from goal, Gabriela Maas appeared to strike the ball with the intention of dropping it inside the 18. At almost the exact same time Maas took the kick, a strong wind gust blew in from the southeast, somehow bending the cross over Madden and into the twine to tie the score. The gust proved so strong, in fact, that two of the three Gonzaga benches were either blown completely over or rolled 30-40 feet back to the stadium's main wall.

Suddenly dead-locked on the scoreboard, both teams continued the back-and-forth affair over the next few minutes with each creating chances to grab the lead.

The breakthrough came on another piece of Hintzen brilliance at 80:56 as the Garland, Texas, native beat a defender on the left wing and somehow snuck a 15-yard shot inside the left post to boost UT back in front, 4-3.

The craziness continued right to the final whistle as Gonzaga appeared to have tied things back up during the 89th minute only for the sideline official to have the flag up for offside.

With five seconds left in regulation, the Bulldogs battled to earn a penalty kick on a foul call in the right edge of the 18. Alaysia Lane stepped to the spot and drove a kick low towards the right post only to have Madden smother it to seal Texas' thrilling win.