Soccer drops road contest at No. 7 West Virginia, 2-1

Friday, October 2

Morgantown, W. Va.

6 p.m. CT

University of Texas

1-3-0, 1-3-0

#7 West Virginia

3-1-0, 3-1-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Texas	1	0	1
West Virginia	2	0	2

Soccer drops road contest at No. 7 West Virginia, 2-1

10.02.2020 | Soccer

Box Score

Junior midfielder Julia Grosso scored her first goal of the 2020 season in the tough loss

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – On a chilly Friday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Texas (1-3-0) got the first goal of the season from junior midfielder Julia Grosso, but it wasn't enough as No. 7 West Virginia (3-1-0) scored twice over a 16-second span of the first half to knock-off the Longhorns, 2-1.

Texas Player Notes

Grosso scored her first goal of the 2020 season, and the 11th of her career, during the 24th minute.
Senior midfielder/forward Haley Berg registered her team-leading second assist of the season. She now has 18 helpers in her career to move into a tie for seventh all-time in Texas history with Cyera Hintzen (2016-19), Kylie Doniak (2008-11) and Kelly McDonald (2001-04).

The Details

Texas put together a solid chance in the opening minute as Berg battled up the right wing and crossed a tantalizing feed towards the left post. While tightly marked, freshman forward Kelsey Hranicky raced into that area about 12 yards out, but a West Virginia defender was able to tip the ball away before any shot.

After strong pressure from the Mountaineers, Berg had a deflected ball drop at her feet just outside the 18 at the 10:43 mark. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, the Celina, Texas, native's right-footed drive traveled wide left of frame.

With WVU continuing to attack, a Longhorns defender collided with a Mountaineer player inside UT's defensive 18, and the head referee pointed to the spot at 16:32. Jordan Brewster stepped up and buried the penalty kick into the lower left corner to give West Virginia a 1-0 lead.

Just 16 seconds later, a WVU long ball over the top put the Longhorns defense under more duress. Texas senior goalkeeper Savannah Madden raced off her line in an attempt to clear the ball out of danger, but a tightly-marked Lauren Segalla somehow managed to leap and deflect it by the net minder. She won the race to the loose ball and finished easily into an open net to make it 2-0.

Texas battled back into the match at 23:23 following strong build up play from the back. Berg ended up in possession well outside the top of the 18 and delivered a perfectly weighted pass through the WVU backline to Grosso entering the box. The Canadian international dribbled in and beat Mountaineer keeper Maddie Murphy from nine yards out to cut the Longhorns deficit to 2-1.

The back-and-forth action continued as WVU nearly scored again at 24:40. Isabella Sidley ended up in a 1-v-1 situation against Madden, but UT's goalkeeper raced out and managed to knock down the shot before holding on for a huge save.

Out of the halftime break, Texas managed better early possession as the Longhorns forced a corner in the 50th minute. Berg delivered the ball in towards the top of the six, but WVU keeper Maddie Murphy managed to punch it clear.

Madden delivered again in the clutch for the Longhorns during the 52nd minute. Enzi Broussard found herself in clear space about 17 yards out and hammered a blast on frame. UT's net minder managed to deflect the shot out to her left to keep Texas within a goal.

West Virginia again came close to a third in the 66th minute as Enzi Broussard fired just wide left of frame from 17 yards out.

Texas continued to fight as Grosso tried her luck from 18 yards out at 68:53, but her shot bounced right into Murphy's waiting arms between the pipes.

Down the stretch, WVU did a solid job of holding possession as the Mountaineers "D" kept the Longhorns from getting off a shot over the last 20+ minutes in finishing off a 2-1 victory.