The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
1-0-0, 0-0-0
HCU
0-1-0, 0-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Texas | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Soccer earns first win of Bates era
08.12.2026 | Soccer
Longhorns blank Huskies in season opener, 3-0
AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas soccer team opened the 2026 campaign with a 3-0 victory over HCU at Mike A. Myers Stadium on Wednesday evening. The win marked the Longhorns' first victory under head coach Margueritte Bates.
"It was great to get our first win as a staff here at Texas and begin this new chapter," Bates said. "It was exciting to see some players earn their first minutes as a Longhorn and even score their first goal as a Longhorn. While we still have a lot of work to do, hopefully we can build some momentum from this into the weekend and the rest of the season."
Texas (1-0-0) kicked off its new era in style, as two-time All-SEC Second Team selection Amalia Villarreal found the back of the net in the third minute.
Fifth-year Callan Harrington connected with Villarreal, who danced free from an HCU defender to create space just outside the box. The junior planted and fired a right-footed shot into the far corner of the net to put the Longhorns on the board.
The junior's 21st career tally was Texas' quickest goal to start a season since Haley Berg's strike 25 seconds in against Rice on Aug. 18, 2017.
Later in the half, Sadie Hoch doubled the Longhorns' advantage by curling a shot from 25 yards out into the back right corner of the cage. Hoch's second career goal came off assists from fellow sophomores Audrey Bryant and Kennedi Cotter.
In the 84th minute, Cotter punctuated Bates' Texas debut with her first goal as a Longhorn. Cotter delivered a world-class left-footed strike into the top right corner to cap off the scoring.
Texas finished the match with a 19-3 advantage in shots, holding the Huskies (0-1-0) without an attempt on target. The Longhorns controlled 74 percent of possession, earning seven corner kicks in the victory.
Bates' squad returns to action Sunday, as Texas travels to face Pittsburgh. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. CT / noon ET at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Amalia Villarreal (1)
Assisted By: Callan Harrington
GOAL by TEX Villarreal, Amalia Assist by Harrington, Callan.
02:32
Sadie Hoch (1)
Assisted By: Audrey Bryant , Kennedi Cotter
GOAL by TEX Hoch, Sadie Assist by Bryant, Audrey and Cotter, Kennedi.
37:00
Kennedi Cotter (1)
GOAL by TEX Cotter, Kennedi.
83:35
