The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
Soccer gets 88th minute Nobles goal to fight off Oklahoma, 4-3
09.26.2021 | Soccer, Tickets
Freshman forward Trinity Byars scored a brace (two goals) to give her seven goals in UT’s last five matches
NORMAN, Okla. – On Sunday afternoon in "Red River Rivalry" action at John Crain Field, junior forward Sydney Nobles scored an 88th minute goal to help Texas soccer (6-3-2, 2-0-0 Big 12 Conference) secure its fifth consecutive victory and fight off a tough challenge from Oklahoma (4-7-1, 0-2-0 Big 12 Conference), 4-3.
Texas Team Notes
- Freshman forward Trinity Byars tied Niki Arlitt's 2007 program record by scoring a goal in her fifth consecutive match.
- With her second career brace (two goals), Byars has now totaled seven goals over Texas' last five matches. The performance also marked the fifth multi-goal effort by a Texas player this season.
- Freshman midfielder Lexi Missimo tied a school single-match record with her first career four-assist match at Oklahoma and now owns a team-leading nine helpers in 2021.
- Texas has started Big 12 Conference play at a perfect 2-0 for the 10th time in program history and for the fifth time under the guidance of head coach Angela Kelly.
- Dating back to the spring 2021 season, Texas has scored four goals in two of its last three Big 12 matches (Baylor – April 1, 2021 & at Oklahoma – Sept. 26, 2021).
- Texas shot at 80% efficiency at Oklahoma, scoring four goals on its five total shots on goal.
- Freshman defender EmJ Cox gave Texas a 1-0 lead at 36:00 by scoring the second goal of her career.
- The Longhorns have now won 38 straight matches in which they scored two-or-more goals dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
- "Run BMG" – The trio of Byars, Missimo and Grosso have now combined to score 14 of Texas' last 18 goals and 18 of Texas' 24 overall goals this season (75%).
The Details
It was Texas that registered the first solid chance of the contest for either team off a free kick from outside the top of the box at 22:05. Missimo stepped up and hammered a 27-yard shot right into Oklahoma keeper Nikki Panas' arms.
With the teams dead-locked at 2-2 on shots during the 36th minute, Texas struck pay dirt off a corner that was earned through hard work by senior forward Mackenzie McFarland. Missimo lofted a perfectly weighted ball into the middle of the 18-yard box. Up from the back, EmJ Cox outleapt a pair of OU defenders to head a shot into the upper right 90 from eight yards out and make it 1-0.
Just seconds later, Texas forward Ashlyn Miller nearly doubled the advantage, but the freshman drilled a seven-yard shot off the left side netting.
The Longhorns added a second on the scoreboard just 3:39 after its opener. Missimo started things off in the 40th minute by deflecting an OU clearance attempt and controlling before lifting a ball into the 18. The pass dropped right in front of a crowd that included Byars and two Sooner defenders. The Richardson, Texas, native somehow out-muscled both to drill a seven-yard shot into the lower left corner for a 2-0 advantage.
Texas expanded the gap to 3-0 at the 52:38 mark after sophomore defender Lauren Lapomarda got things started by creating a turnover in the back. The Prosper, Texas. native passed up the left wing to Miller who located Missimo in the middle outside the top of the box. Missimo delivered a pass to Byars in the left side of the 18. She made a quick dribble to her left and beat Panas into the lower right corner from six yards out.
OU pulled a goal back at 55:30 as a cross from the left wing found Megan Reilly in space on the right side of the six. Madden dove to her left and nearly kept Reilly's eventual seven-yard header out, but the shot was judged to have crossed the line to make it 3-1.
Missimo had a solid opportunity to make it four for Texas at 60:18, but her running, 17-yard blast traveled over the crossbar.
The Sooners cut the Longhorns lead to 3-2 off a free kick at 67:59 as Reilly curled a 19-yard shot from the left wing into the right side netting.
Oklahoma continued to press the action as both Keera Melenhorst and Leonie Weber had 78th minute shots blocked away by the Texas defense.
The match was eventually tied on a Texas own goal at 83:01. A long ball ahead dropped right in front of a crowd that included a Texas defender and a pair of Sooners. As Madden raced off her line, the UT defender tried to gain control the ball, but deflected it ahead into the twine to make it 3-3.
In the 85th minute, Nobles put together a dangerous Texas chance off a Sooner turnover. The Southlake, Texas, product crossed a ball from the right wing to the back post, but sliding freshman forward Holly Ward couldn't get off a shot.
With time running short, the Longhorns found a winner out of nowhere. Missimo passed out to Byars on the left wing and she crossed a ball into space at the back post. Racing into the play was Nobles, and she volleyed home the match-winning goal from six yards out to finalize the 4-3 score line.
