No. 24 Soccer goes back and forth with No. 5 Arkansas

Friday, October 18

Austin, Texas

6 PM

University of Texas

11-3-2, 4-3-1

Arkansas

12-1-1, 7-1-0

Arkansas

Texas

No. 24 Soccer goes back and forth with No. 5 Arkansas

10.18.2024 | Soccer

Box Score

Texas unable to overcome Arkansas’ second-half comeback

By: Chris Allen Brown

AUSTIN, Texas – In a battle between the top two teams atop the Southeastern Conference's preseason standings, it was the fifth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks that bested the No. 24-ranked Texas Longhorns, 4-3, on Friday night inside Mike A. Myers Stadium.

The match — the first between Arkansas and Texas since Aug. 24, 2024 — similar to a heavyweight fight: Texas (11-3-2, 4-3-1) won the first round when Holly Ward found the back of the net less than 6-and-a-half minutes into the match to push the Longhorns ahead 1-0.

Then, eight minutes later, Ava Tankersley tied the score, 1-1, when she sent a loose ball in the 6-yard box past Mia Justus and into the back of the net. Texas' All-American midfielder Lexi Missimo gave the Longhorns the third round with her 10th goal on the season after Ashlyn Miller and Ward connected to find the senior and give UT a 2-1 advantage.

It was a one-goal lead that stood for nearly 25 minutes until Taylor Berman – like Tankersley – sent a loose ball in the box past Justus to even the score, 2-2, with 23 seconds remaining before halftime.

Arkansas (12-1-1, 7-1-0) became the first team to win back-to-back rounds when Tankersley recorded a brace 11 minutes into the second half to give the Razorbacks a 3-2 lead. Kate Doyle made it three straight for UA 15 minutes later after scoring her ninth on the season and making it 4-2 in favor of the visitors.

However, seven minutes later, Missimo returned the favor to Miller as the two connected for Miller's fourth goal on the season and Missimo's 60th career assist, while also cutting the Longhorns' deficit to 4-3 with 12 minutes remaining in the contest. Texas went on to out shoot Arkansas, 4-0, on the final 12 minutes, but none were on the face of the goal.

FROM HEAD COACH ANGELA KELLY

"For me, (Arkansas) is a top five team and we are right there, toe to toe. I thought we created a lot of great opportunities that we could have buried in the first half. I was proud of the fight in our team until the last second. You have to credit them, though, they have their style of play with set pieces and a more direct style, and we knew we were going to face that. We just needed to clean up some of those set pieces and those second chances, which we knew, so credit them with executing that, but to have three goals on the night, we had a great performance from so many of the players."

MATCH NOTES

Friday night's match marked the first time the Texas offense has finished a match with 10-or-more points (10) since Sept. 12, 2024, when the Longhorns finished with 10 in a 3-0 win over Houston Christian.
- The 10 points against the Razorbacks were the most points scored by the Longhorns in a SEC match in program history.
Texas senior goalkeeper Mia Justus finished Friday action with a career-high 10 saves on 19 shot attempts by Arkansas.
- Justus' previous career high was nine, which she accomplished twice with the last time happening on Sept. 25, 2023 against BYU.
With her first-half goal, Lexi Missimo has now been credited with at least one point in six consecutive matches, which is tied for the seventh-longest streak in program history.
- Missimo joins Trinity Byars as the only student-athletes in program history with multiple streaks of 6-or-more matches with at least one point.
  - Missimo had a streak of seven straight contests from Aug. 17 to Sept. 7, 2023, while Byars has three such streaks: 7 straight, 8 and 9.
By finding Ashlyn Miller for Texas' third goal on the night, Lexi Missimo was credited with her 60th career assist, tying her with UC Santa Barbara's Carin Jennings (1983-86) for 11th on the Division I women's soccer career assist list.
- Missimo is the first Division I women's soccer student-athlete to achieve the feat since Notre Dame's Kerri Hanks (2005-08) did so during her senior season in 2008.
Lexi Missimo's goal at the 19-minute mark of the contest was her 10th on the season and 54th for her career in 82 career matches.
- The 10 goals by Missimo throughout this season marks the second most in a single season by the Southlake native after having 26 as a junior in 2023.
Holly Ward's first-half goal was the 10th of her career, while her assist on Lexi Missimo's goal 13 minutes later was also the 10th of her collegiate soccer career.

UP NEXT

Texas will conclude its regular season home slate on Thursday, Oct. 24, when the Longhorns take on Missouri (5-8-2, 3-4-1) at 7 p.m.
- The Tigers will travel to Austin with a 0-5-2 record in matches away from Audrey J. Walton Soccer Stadium in Columbia, Mo.

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