The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Thursday, August 29
Denver, Colorado
8 p.m. CT
University of Texas
at
Denver
No. 11 Soccer preview: at Denver
08.28.2019 | Soccer
The Longhorns venture out on the road for the first time in 2019 to battle the Pioneers
Match 2: No. 11 Texas (1-0-0) at Denver (1-0-1)
Time: Thursday, Aug. 29 – 8 p.m. CT
Location: Denver, Colo. (Denver Soccer Stadium)
Tickets: LINK
Live Stats: LINK
TV: The match will be broadcast live on Altitude Sports and can be watched online via DenverPioneers.com through this LINK.
Free Kicks:
- The Longhorns enter Thursday with an 11-13-1 overall record in true road openers and a 3-4 mark under the guidance of head coach Angela Kelly. UT has won its last two true road lid-lifters with victories at Rice (3-0 in 2018) and North Texas (1-0 in 2017).
- Texas is 0-0-1 in a single all-time meeting against Denver with the two squads contesting a wild, 3-3 (2OT) tie in Austin back on Sept. 16, 2012, during Kelly's first season in charge of the program.
- Two Longhorns earned national honors following last week's season-opening, 4-3 win over Gonzaga as sophomore midfielder Julia Grosso (two goals, assist) earned a spot on the 11-member Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week, while senior forward Cyera Hintzen (match-winning goal, three assists) received an honorable mention selection to the prestigious squad. The duo combined to score three goals and dish four assists during the victory. For Grosso, the selection was her first, while for Hintzen, it was the fifth of her career (two previous nods to the team and two honorable mention selections).
- Texas is currently listed at No. 11 in the Top Drawer Soccer, No. 16 in the Soccer America and No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches rankings. The Longhorns have now appeared in each of the LAST 26 United Soccer Coaches rankings dating back to Sept. 12, 2017. UT was No. 13 in the preseason Top Drawer Soccer poll, No. 17 in the Soccer America listing and No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
- Senior forward Cyera Hintzen recently received a nod to Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason Best XI Second Team heading into the 2019 campaign. She was one of just nine total forwards to be named nationally to either the TDS first-, second- or third- teams. Hintzen was also ranked No. 19 on Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason National Top 100 that was released on Aug. 21.
- The Longhorns were well represented on this season's MAC Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List as both senior forward Cyera Hintzen and junior midfielder Haley Berg made the cut for consideration for the prestigious award. Two-time All-American Hintzen secured the program's first Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year award last season after leading the league in assists (nine) and points (29) while rating second in goals (10). Berg is coming off a United Soccer Coaches All-Region and All-Big 12 sophomore season that saw her score six times and dish three assists for 15 points.
- Texas led the league by picking up four selections to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team as senior forward Cyera Hintzen, junior midfielder Haley Berg, sophomore midfielder Julia Grosso and sophomore defender Emma Regan all picked up inclusions. In all, the Longhorns boasted 33% of the 12-member team, marking the second-most selections in UT program history and the program's first time with four nods since 2007.
- The Longhorns brought back some impressive production for 2019 as Texas returned 24 letter winners who totaled 24-of-39 goals (62%), 24-of-42 assists (57%) and 72-of-120 total points (60%) for last season's 13-5-3 squad as well as all 13 goalkeeping wins and seven shutouts between the pipes.
- The Longhorns were picked to finish THIRD in the annual preseason Big 12 coaches poll. UT received three first-place votes and 65 total points to trail only West Virginia (four first-place votes/75 points) and defending league champ Baylor (three first-place votes/72 points).
- Once again this season, the Texas soccer program has adopted the acronym RAMPED as the guideline for the campaign. The letters represent the words Respect, Accountability, Mentality, Pursuit of Excellence, Energy and Discipline, all facets of a championship team.
- Texas is coming off a 13-5-3 campaign in 2018 that saw the Longhorns finish No. 20 in the polls while reaching the Big 12 Tournament semifinals and the NCAA Field of 64. Along the way, UT started the campaign at 9-0-2 overall and climbed as high as No. 6 in both the Top Drawer Soccer and Soccer America rankings, the highest for Texas in any poll since reaching No. 4 in the Soccer America listing on Sept. 9, 2008.
