After winning six straight games at home, the Texas women's soccer team continues to struggle on the road.
Two tough road games against Nebraska and Colorado resulted in one loss and one tie for the Longhorns. Texas falls to 7-5-1 on the year and 3-3-1 in conference. With the loss and two Texas A&M wins, the Longhorns lost any outside chance of capturing the Big 12 season title.
Despite a three-goal effort, Texas dropped a 4-3 decision to Nebraska. The afternoon looked promising for the burnt orange after an early goal. Senior Kelly McDonald scored her second goal in as many games after finishing a pass from teammate Kelly Wilson. McDonald's score came three minutes into the game and gave Texas its first and only lead of the afternoon.
Nebraska stormed back five minutes later by stringing two quick goals together. Husker forward Nikki Baker, who was involved in every Nebraska goal on the day, set up Brooke Brandenberg for the tying goal and then notched the go-ahead score herself 43 seconds later.
Nebraska would extend its lead later in the half when Big 12 leading scorer Brittany Timko put a ball past Texas goal keeper Alex Gagarin, who received her first start of the year.
But the Longhorns continued to hang around. Caitlin Kennedy brought the match back to within one goal when she took a pass from Amy Burlingham and scored for her fourth time of the year. Nebraska took the 3-2 lead into halftime.
The Huskers found the back of the net again 15 minutes after the break. Baker scored her second goal of the match and put Nebraska up for good.
Wilson responded 10 minutes later and brought the Longhorns to within one score again, but the Husker defense was too tough. Texas lost for the first time this season when scoring three goals in a game.
Sunday proved to be a different kind of match. Colorado and Texas each tallied one score on the afternoon on the way to Texas' first tie since the 2002 season. The Texas forwards continued to provide a spark. Kelsey Carpenter earned the Longhorns' only goal of the day after receiving a pass from McDonald. Carpenter was the fourth forward to score a goal, marking the second straight weekend four different players have scored.
The Buffaloes tied up the game 14 minutes after halftime when Fran Munnelly beat Gagarin off a rebound. Both teams struggled to gain an advantage in the final minutes but neither was able to capitalize. Texas had two dangerous chances in the overtime periods, one by Kennedy and one by McDonald, but both shots sailed high.
Texas will be playing for seed in the conference tournament during the final three league games, all of which will be played in Austin. The Longhorns hope to rebound this weekend when BYU comes to town.
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