No. 24 Soccer battles back to win at Stephen F. Austin, 3-1

Friday, September 6

Nacogdoches, Texas

7 p.m. CT

University of Texas

2-2-0

Stephen F. Austin

1-3-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Texas	1	2	3
Stephen F. Austin	1	0	1

No. 24 Soccer battles back to win at Stephen F. Austin, 3-1

09.06.2019 | Soccer

Box Score

Junior midfielder Haley Berg scored her first career brace (two goals) to power the Longhorns attack

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – On Friday night at the SFA Soccer Stadium, No. 24 Texas soccer (2-2-0) got the first career brace (two goals) from junior midfielder Haley Berg and the first collegiate goal from freshman forward Teni Akindoju to fight back from an early deficit and post a 3-1 victory over Stephen F. Austin (1-3-0).

Key Texas Players

Berg's two goals were her first of the season. She also registered an assist on the night to move into a tie with sophomore midfielder Julia Grosso for the team lead in points (seven).
Akindoju's goal at 61:36 served as the first of her collegiate career as well as her first career match-winning score.
Senior forward Cyera Hintzen picked up her fourth assist over just four 2019 matches with the final pass leading to Akindoju's winning score.

Important Notes

Texas managed a season-high in shots in out-shooting SFA, 22-10. UT also led in shots on goal, 7-2, and in corner kicks, 7-3.
The Longhorns improved to 4-0-0 all-time against Stephen F. Austin and have out-scored the LadyJacks by a combined total of 14-1.
Texas has come-from-behind in both of its 2019 victories, rallying from 1-0, first-half deficits against both Gonzaga and Stephen F. Austin.
With the win, Texas avoided what would have been the program's first three-match losing streak since Sept. 25-Oct. 2, 2016.

The Details

Texas' offense took control of things right from the start of the contest as Berg fired the match's first shot over the crossbar from distance in the third minute.

At the 4:05 mark, UT sophomore midfielder Kailey Smith had a shot from the top of the 18 blocked out for a corner. On the ensuing set piece, a cross from the right side into the middle was headed over the top by a leaping Emma Jett.

It wasn't until approximately 10 minutes in that the LadyJacks made their first real foray into the Texas defensive third. The Longhorns 'D' proved up to the task, however, by preventing any SFA shot attempts.

A sustained spell of SFA pressure paid dividends at 14:20 as the LadyJacks grabbed a 1-0 advantage. Sophia Fondren delivered a corner kick towards the back post. Texas' goalkeeper Nicole Curry leapt to try to deflect the ball inside the six-yard box, but missed it as it traveled over her outstretched hands and was headed in from five yards out by Mattie Musser.

With Texas looking to answer back in the 23rd-minute, Grosso made a strong run up the left wing that even included a hurdle of a fallen defender. The Vancouver, British Columbia, native eventually crossed a tantalizing ball into the middle where sophomore McKenzie McFarland was making a strong run. A last-ditch SFA defensive lunge resulted in a potential goal-saving clearance up and over the cross bar.

During the 32nd-minute, Texas' Sydney Nobles had two consecutive chances to equalize as the freshman forward forced a save on a 19-yard shot, and just seconds later, headed a cross over the woodwork from six yards out.

Strong Longhorns pressure finally resulted in a tying score at 37:11. A Texas corner into the middle was cleared away to McFarland standing about 35 yards out on the left side. She beat a defender up the wing and crossed a promising ball into the 18. A SFA defender tipped the ball towards goal, and it bounced right to Berg who beat SFA keeper Alyson Halliday from six yards to make it 1-1.

Out of the halftime break, Texas continued to turn the pressure up offensively as both Hintzen and Grosso had 47th-minute shots blocked from the top of the box.

Against the run of early second-half play, Stephen F. Austin tried a shot from 35+ yards at 48:08, but it traveled well over the woodwork.

Berg nearly broke the deadlock at 59:22 as the Celina, Texas, product made a strong run up the middle and launched a blast that had to be saved outside the right post.

It was just 2:14 later that the Longhorns jumped in front for the first time, 2-1. Berg started the play by circling near the left end line before turning and feeding Hintzen racing into the 18. The Garland, Texas, native crossed a ball towards the left post where Akindoju waited to flick home her first collegiate goal from six yards.

Stephen F. Austin came close to tying things back up during the 73rd-minute as a long ball ahead found a LadyJacks player behind the backline. She moved in and managed to score, but the sideline official had his flag up for offside.

At 80:14, Berg finished off her brace by making a 40+-yard run up the left wing before cutting to the middle and blasting home Texas' third goal of the night from 18 yards out.

SFA got a wide shot from Sabrina Segovia at 86:44 and another offside call at 89:38 but that was it as the Longhorns completed the comeback victory.