WACO - Three periods of extra soccer were needed to decide a pair of weekend matches for the Texas women's soccer team.
Texas was on opposite ends of the spectrum in two very similar games against Texas Tech and Baylor on Friday and Sunday, respectfully. After trailing early, the Longhorns took a 3-2 win out of Lubbock before dropping a tough 2-1 game to Baylor. Overtime goals decided both matches as Texas moves to 5-4 on the season and 1-2 in Big 12 competition.
"We need to get better at keeping the ball out of our net and get better at putting it in theirs," Texas head coach Chris Petrucelli said.
Sunday's game pitted the Longhorns against Baylor. Texas defeated the Bears in the past four meetings but was unable to extend that streak.
The Longhorns got off to a slow start in the first few minutes as Baylor came out very aggressive. But the quick-strike offense of Texas shifted the momentum. In the seventh minute of the game, senior Kristen Teter buried a crossing pass from Caitlin Kennedy in the right side of the goal. The score was Teter's first of the year, and Kennedy's assist gives her five points in the last three matches.
Texas did not hold the lead for long. Baylor answered right back seven minutes later off a corner kick. Jennifer Martin took the kick and found Tiffany Boshers amongst a pile of players in front of the Longhorn goal. Boshers settled the ball and shot it past Texas' Dana Hall.
After a second half of scoreless soccer, Anna Schuch earned the game winner in an individual effort. Right off the first overtime kickoff, Schuch got the ball deep in Texas territory and dribbled around the Longhorn defense. Hall challenged the shot and knocked the ball away but it was not cleared from the zone. Schuch got it back and blasted a shot into the top right corner of the net before Hall and the Texas defense could recover.
"We possessed the ball well and created a lot of chances," Petrucelli said. "We did everything but win the game."
The Longhorns dominated most of the game, firing 22 shots and creating numerous scoring opportunities on the Bears' end of the field. Baylor goal keeper Ashley Holder was forced to make eight saves on the afternoon. The Longhorns also took two shots on goal that were stopped by alert Baylor defenders inside the posts.
Friday's game against Texas Tech was the polar opposite for the Longhorns. Texas trailed early in the game but battled back to tie and eventually win the game in overtime.
After putting themselves in an early two-goal deficit, the Longhorns rallied back. Sophomore Ashley Foster had been in the game for only a few minutes before she was on the receiving end of a Kelly Wilson pass. Foster finished the play for her first career goal as a Longhorn.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Texas found an equalizer. Kennedy earned her third goal of the season off another assist from Wilson. Neither team was able to grab the lead in the final 25 minutes of regulation or in the first 10-minute overtime period.
But only 39 seconds passed in the second overtime before the Longhorns would take their first come-from-behind win of the season. Carrie Schmit provided the heroics by redirecting a cross from Karen Haight into the lower right corner of the net. The 3-2 win also gave the Longhorns their first road win of the year.
The 1-1 record on the weekend may not have been what Texas was hoping for, but there is still plenty of soccer remaining. The Longhorns will attempt to gain ground in the Big 12 when they host Oklahoma and Oklahoma State this weekend for two important mid-season conference matches.
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