No. 24 Soccer blows past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 3-0

Sunday, September 8

Austin, Texas

5 p.m. CT

University of Texas

3-2-0

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi

1-4-0

Team	1	2	Final F
TXA&M-CC	0	0	0
Texas	3	0	3

No. 24 Soccer blows past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 3-0

09.08.2019 | Soccer

Box Score

Sophomore Kailey Smith, junior Haley Berg and sophomore Julia Grosso all scored in the victory.

AUSTIN, Texas – A three-goal offensive explosion, over the first 22:55 of the match, powered No. 24 Texas soccer (3-2-0) to a 3-0 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-4-0) on Sunday evening at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Key Texas Players

Texas sophomore midfielder Kailey Smith scored the first goal and match-winner of her collegiate career just 46 seconds into the contest against the Islanders.
Junior midfielder Haley Berg and sophomore midfielder Julia Grosso each scored a goal and dished an assist for three points. Berg's was her third score over UT's last two matches, while Grosso's goal was her team-leading fourth of the season.
Both sophomore forward Mackenzie McFarland (her second of 2019) and senior defender Emma Jett (her first of 2019) were credited with assists on Smith's opening goal.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Nicole Curry lowered her career GAA mark to 0.73 (still the best in school history), remained fourth in the school record books with her 29th career win and moved into fourth in solo shutouts with her 18th.

Important Notes

Texas out-shot Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by a total of 19-8, including 12-3 in shots on goal, and registered a 7-3 advantage on corner kicks.
The Longhorns have now won their last 17 non-conference home matches dating back to Sept. 4, 2016.
Texas scored first in a match for the first time this season. Since head coach Angela Kelly took over the program prior to the 2012 campaign, the Horns are a staggering 64-9-9 when locating the net first in a contest.

The Details

It took just 46 seconds for the Longhorns to grab the advantage against the Islanders. Off a Jett throw-in from the left sideline, McFarland possessed the ball and delivered a feed across the 18 to Smith in space. The Lake Forest, Calif., native blasted a shot from 14 yards out that rattled off the right post, ricocheted off the back of Texas A&M-CC goalkeeper Kyleigh Hall and went in to make it 1-0.

UT's offensive pressure continued virtually unabated over the next 15 minutes as the Longhorns earned a succession of three corners (2:20, 7:25 & 15:48) with shots from McFarland (4:50) and Berg (11:30) forcing saves.

The Islanders finally registered their first shot of the contest at the 19:00 mark as midfielder Abby Deakin fired wide right from distance.

Grosso & Berg soon put Texas in complete control by combining efforts on a pair of goals over a 1:49 stretch of the first half.

First at 21:06, Grosso made a strong run up the left wing into the 18 and crossed into the middle. Berg settled the pass in space and side-footed an 11-yard blast past Hall into the netting for a 2-0 advantage.

Just 1:49 later at 22:55, it was Berg's turn to do the assisting, as the Celina, Texas, native delivered the final pass to Grosso who blasted a left-footed, 19-yard drive into the lower right corner to make it 3-0.

During the 27th minute, Texas A&M-CC finally forced Curry into action. Off a cross from the right wing, Texas' net minder punched the ball straight out to the top of the 18. Midfielder Celia Hilsabeck was waiting, but her eventual shot bounced straight in to Curry for a routine save.

Late in the first half, Texas continued its pressure with redshirt junior forward Tecora Turner, freshman forward Sydney Nobles and senior forward Kyra Falcone all having shots blocked.

The Islanders had one final chance over the opening 45 minutes as a header off a set piece by midfielder Addison Urbanus was stopped by Curry at 43:31.

Out of the halftime break, the Longhorns continued their shooting gallery from the 48th-57th-minutes with Smith, Berg, Grosso, freshman forward Teni Akindoju and senior forward Cyera Hintzen all having shots either saved, blocked or venture wide of frame.

Texas' lead nearly became 4-0 at both the 68:00 and 74:02 marks. First, it was Falcone's turn as the San Antonio, Texas, product fired a shot from the left side of the 18 that was saved from the netting by an Islander defender. Next, it was Turner as the Memphis, Tenn., native rattled a 13-yard effort off the right post before it was cleared away.

Texas A&M-CC didn't manage a shot in the second half until the 82nd minute. The Islanders came close to a breakthrough at 83:25, though, as Deakin drove a long effort off the outside of the upper right corner of the woodwork.

With the Longhorns working to kill the clock, they allowed a free kick about 35 yards out in the final minute. A&M-CC's Hall raced up from her keeper position to take the free kick and drove it in on frame. Curry proved up to the task, however, making the catch on a dive to preserve the clean sheet.