Soccer preview: at Gonzaga

Match 5: Texas (2-1-1) at Gonzaga (1-1-2)

Time: Sun., Sept. 4 – 3 p.m. CT

Location: Spokane, Wash. (Luger Field)

Tickets: LINK

Live Stats: LINK

TV: The match will be web-streamed on WCC Network through GoZags.com via this LINK.

Free Kicks:

Texas and Gonzaga will be meeting for just the second time on Sunday with the Longhorns having won the previous match-up in Austin back on Aug. 22, 2019, 4-3. During that contest, Texas built a 3-1 lead before Gonzaga battled back to tie things up in the 67th minute at 3-3. UT All-American Cyera Hintzen broke the tie at 80:56, but the Bulldogs earned a penalty kick with five seconds remaining in regulation. Then junior Texas goalkeeper Savannah Madden came through with the clutch, match-saving save on a dive to her left as the Burnt Orange & White prevailed.

The Longhorns currently rank 19th in NCAA Division I in assists-per-match (3.00) with 12 helpers over their first four matches. Individually, sophomore midfielder Lexi Missimo and freshman forward Liz Worden are tied for 20th in the country in total assists (three).

With Tuesday's selection to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week (Honorable Mention), Texas sophomore forward Trinity Byars picked up her fourth career nod to the organization's national team of the week after previous inclusions on Sept. 21 & 28, 2021 (honorable mention) and Nov. 2, 2021 (full team). In her first weekend back with the Horns after her trip to the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Byars played 80 minutes in the loss to No. 1 North Carolina before scoring a brace (two goals) and dishing an assist during the 3-2 win over Florida.

With 19 assists over her first 29 career matches, sophomore midfielder Lexi Missimo has already moved into seventh all-time in program history in the category. She needs just one more to tie Texas-Ex Kelsey Carpenter (2004-07) for sixth.

Texas' roster is dominated by players from a pair of standout club soccer programs, Solar SC (Dallas area) & the Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada). Previously coached at Solar SC by Derek Missimo (Lexi's dad), the Longhorns currently boast a staggering 11 different players from the program (Byars, McFarland, Missimo, Nobles, Claros, Lapomarda, Sydney Cox, EmJ Cox, Miller, Sproat, Dellosso), while freshman Olivia Ahern joins Holly Ward, Emma Regan & Teni Akindoju as products of the Whitecaps system. In all, 15-of-29 Texas players come from the two programs (52%).

Texas fifth-year senior midfielder/defender Emma Regan has been voted as one of the team leaders for a reason. It's because she provides a consistent presence for the Longhorns. The Burnaby, British Columbia, native has played in Texas' last 64 matches and is riding a streak of 62 consecutive starts dating back to Oct. 25, 2018. For her career, Regan has played in 72 total matches with 71 starts. As a freshman in 2018, she missed her only collegiate matches due to a Team Canada call-up for senior-level international duty at the CONCACAF Women's Championship.

The Longhorns have won 44 consecutive matches in which they scored two-or-more goals in a contest dating back to the start of the 2017 season. The last time Texas failed to win when tickling the twine on two occasions was in a 3-2 defeat at TCU back on Oct. 28, 2016.

UT is 37-4-4 since the start of the 2018 season when scoring first in a match & is 2-0-1 in such contests in 2022.

After going just 2-8 in one-goal matches back in 2016, the Longhorns have turned around their fortunes by going 33-17 in their last 50 one-goal matches since beginning 2017.

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics