No. 22 Texas soccer’s rivalry match against the No. 20 Oklahoma Sooners began after inclement weather threatened the scheduled starting time. With determined fans, team alumni and Bevo in attendance, Texas’ sights were set on a homecoming victory.
Coming off a Southeastern Conference win against the Ole Miss Rebels a week before, the Longhorns were eager to keep their conference win streak alive.
The first few minutes of the match began slowly for both teams. The squads traded offensive efforts, each being met with successful defensive challenges.
The first sign of an offensive edge showed in the sixth minute when a foul by Texas freshman midfielder Caroline Swann set Oklahoma up for a free kick. Meeting the free kick in the air, Paige Califf, Sooner redshirt senior midfielder, headed the ball just right of the goal, missing her chance to put Oklahoma up early.
The two teams continued to trade offensive and defensive advances through the start of the first half, with neither team showing a clear advantage.
28 minutes into the first half, Mike A. Myers Stadium erupted as a shot by Texas junior forward Alicia Riggins at first deflected off the glove of Callie Sullivan, Oklahoma redshirt freshman goalkeeper, only to then be deflected by another Sooner, this time in the wrong direction, landing in the back of the net.
Texas’ excitement was short-lived, however, as an official review of the play determined that Texas sophomore forward Audrey Bryant had fouled the Sooner responsible for the goal, resulting in the goal being rescinded.
In a quick turnaround, Oklahoma’s offense pushed upfield, and the Sooners took the lead on a goal by freshman midfielder Kate McCallister. The goal rolled just past the hands of Bayliss Flynn, standout Longhorn senior goalkeeper.
As the first half came to a close, a similar situation ensued when Oklahoma’s first goal of the match was voided after an offside penalty on the Sooners.
The second half started with a bang as a struggle for possession between Oklahoma junior forward Kayla Keefer and Texas’ Swann resulted in shoving between the two and, surprisingly, only a warning from the referee.
The energy seemed to subside from there, with both teams once again trading back-and-forth offensive and defensive efforts.
“The challenge today was, ‘Can we be good enough to actually win?’” Texas head coach Margueritte Bates said in a post-match media availability, addressing the team’s ties and losses earlier in the season.
The Longhorns seemed to find their footing in the 68th minute, preparing for a penalty kick after Oklahoma received a yellow card during a struggle for possession in the Sooner penalty box.
Lining up for the first penalty kick of the afternoon for either team, Texas junior midfielder Amalia Villarreal looked to steal the momentum back from the Sooners.
Approaching the kick with a strategic hesitation, Villarreal struck the ball into the bottom-right corner of the goal, evening the score at 1-1.
The two squads continued to struggle to find an edge until Villarreal again found it in the 82nd minute. Sending a shot towards the Oklahoma goal, Villarreal’s effort was blocked by a Sooner defender. Villarreal, however, regained control of the ball and launched it toward the top of the net, just past the hand of Sullivan, putting Texas up 2-1 with just eight minutes remaining.
“I think we had a better mentality in the second half,” Villarreal said following her second career multi-goal match. “Always stay alert and always stay in the mindset that we’re going to score.”
As the final minutes of the second half wound down, Oklahoma earned a corner kick after Flynn expertly blocked a shot attempt. However, Flynn squandered the corner kick, ending any chance the Sooners had to regain control of the match.
“(Flynn) manages the space behind her back line really well,” Bates said. “She prevents a lot, and you could see that on display tonight.”
The second half ended shortly after, with Oklahoma unable to score an equalizing goal.
Texas, moving to 2-1-2 in conference play on the season, will be on the road again in their next scheduled match, heading to Lexington, Kentucky to play the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday evening.
