Soccer preview: Big 12 Championship semifinal vs. Oklahoma State
Nov. 3, 2011
MATCH #20: Texas (11-7-1, 3-4-1 Big 12) vs. Oklahoma State (18-0-2, 6-0-2 Big 12) Versus Oklahoma State ... The Longhorns and Cowgirls have met on the pitch 19 prior occasions with Texas owning a 9-7-3 edge in the all-time series. This season, the teams played to a 1-1 draw in Stillwater. Last season, the Longhorns toppled Oklahoma State 1-0 in Austin to break a Cowgirls’ 13-match unbeaten string. The teams are an even 1-1-1 in Big 12 Championship action, but Texas has advanced to the next round two of the three times. In 2003, the Cowgirls beat the Longhorns in the quarterfinal, 1-0. In 2006, Texas registered a 2-0 victory over OSU in semifinal action. Iin 2007, the squads played to a 1-1 tie, but the Longhorns advanced to the championship game with a 5-3 edge in the penalty kick shootout. Oklahoma State regular-season meeting ... The Longhorns broke OSU’s 15-match win streak with a 1-1 tie in Stillwater. Texas scored the only first-half goal the Cowgirls have yielded all season on a goal by Kristin Cummins (assist from Taylor Knaack) in the fourth minute. It marked the only time all year Oklahoma State has trailed. The Cowgirls tallied the equalizer in the 57th minute. Megan Marchesano scored from 20 yards out from the left corner of the penalty box.
Texas Tech recap ... The Longhorns exacted revenge for their 3-2 double-overtime loss to the Lady Raiders in the regular-season with a 1-0 triumph in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals to send Texas Tech packing. Kristin Cummins scored on a header off a pass from Kylie Doniak in the 11th minute to register the game’’s lone goal. Alexa Gaul pitched her seventh shutout of the season and the 19th of her career with four saves. Gaul piling up the shutouts ... With her back-to-back road shutouts against Houston and Georgia and home blankings of UTSA, Dartmouth, Oklahoma and Seattle and Big 12 Championship shutout vs. Texas Tech. Alexa Gaul increased her career shutout tally to 19 to move her into second place on Texas’ all-time list. Dianna Pfenninger (29 - 2005-08) owns the school record. UT CAREER SHUTOUTS Gaul moving up the career wins list ... With her 11 wins on the season, Alexa Gaul has moved past Alex Gagarin (28 - 2001-04) for second place on Texas’ list for career goalie wins with 30 victories. Gaul now only trails Dianna Pfenninger who owns the school record with 54 wins in net between 2005-08. UT CAREER GOALIE WINS Gaul coming off a banner year ... Junior goalkeeper Alexa Gaul is coming off one of the best goalie seasons in school history. Last season, Gaul registered a 0.99 goals-against average and eight shutouts to earn All-Big 12 Second Team recognition. The GAA ranked fourth on UT’s single-season list and the eight shutouts ranked second. She enters the season with 11 career shutouts (No. 5 UT career) and a 1.36 GAA (No. 4 UT career). Three consecutive games with three or more goals ... With their offensive output against Houston (3-0), Georgia (3-0) and Cal State Northridge (5-1), the Longhorns registered three consecutive games with three or more goals for the first time since 2006. Three consecutive wins by three or more goals ... With their three straight victories over Houston (3-0), Georgia (3-0) and Cal State Northridge (5-1), the Longhorns recorded three consecutive wins by three or more goals for the first time in the history of Texas women’s soccer. Back-to-back road shutouts ... With their shutouts against Houston (3-0) and Georgia (3-0), the Longhorns registered consecutive road shutouts for the first time since 2008, when they notched shutouts at Texas Tech (Oct. 12 - 1-0) and at Kansas (Oct. 24 - 1-0) with two games in between. Back-to-back shutouts with three or more goals ... With their shutouts against Houston (3-0) and Georgia (3-0), the Longhorns registered consecutive shutouts while scoring three or more goals in each game since 2007, when they notched shutouts against Houston (Sep. 21 - 4-0) and Stephen F. Austin (Sep. 23 - 4-0). Returning for the Horns ... Texas returns 13 players, including seven starters, from last year’s squad that advanced to the program’s ninth NCAA Tournament appearance. The Horns bring back 67.5 percent of their starting positions (156 out of a possible 231), 67.4 percent of their points (60 of 89 points) and 76.7 percent of their goals (23 of 30 goals). The returning 13 have played in a total of 427 games, averaging out to 32.8 games per person. Making them count ... Senior captain Lucy Keith has eight goals for her career and all eight goals are game-winners. Her total ranks fifth on Texas’ career list tied with Kylee Wosnuk (2000-02), Katie Baruth (1996-98) and Carol Finch (1995-97). Petrucelli ranks among top coaches ... Chris Petrucelli currently ranks eighth all-time among Division I women’s soccer coaches in winning percentage (.744) and victories (340). Among active Division I coaches he ranks eighth in winning percentage and eighth in victories. His 340 wins rank 15th all-time across all NCAA divisions. Two All-Big 12 performers return ... The Longhorns return a pair of All-Big 12 performers from 2010. Goalkeeper Alexa Gaul and midfielder Kylie Doniak were both tabbed All-Big 12 Second Team in 2010. Gaul registered eight shutouts and a 0.99 GAA and Doniak scored 23 points on seven goals and nine assists. Three former Big 12 All-Newcomer Team members return ... The Longhorns return three players who have garnered Big 12 All-Newcomer honors in the past, including defender Nina Frausing Pedersen and midfielder Lexi Harris from 2010 and forward Hannah Higgins from 2009. Transfers of Influence ... Vanessa Ibewuike and Taylor Knaack were two of the 10 players named as Transfers of Influence by Soccer America. Ibewuike made the All-Big Ten Freshman Team in 2009 when she led Purdue with five assists. Knaack started 22 games for Notre Dame in 2009 when she scored six goals and scored one goal in a handful of games in 2010. She played in 27 games in 2008 after missing 2007 with an ACL injury. Freshman of Influence ... Freshman midfielder Clarissa Wedemeyer was one of 10 players named as Freshmen of Influence by Soccer America. A midfielder out of Colleyville, Texas, she was a member of the U.S. U-17 National Team and played for the Dallas Texans ‘93 Red squad. She served as the Texans’ team captain in 2008 where she helped lead her team to the USYS National Championship en route to picking up the Golden Boot Award as the top goal scorer in the tournament. Wedemeyer makes debut ... After missing the first 12 games of the season with a foot injury, Clarissa Wedemeyer made her Longhorns debut in the Longhorns 2-0 win over Oklahoma. She logged 34 minutes of action in her first career game. Wedemeyer made her first career start in UT’s 1-0 win vs. Seattle. Early shutouts ... Texas has recorded four shutouts in the first six games of the season for just the second time in the history of the program. In 2008, Texas blanked Samford (4-0), Louisville (1-0, 2OT), UTSA (3-0) and Arizona State (0-0, 2OT) early in in the season. A shutout of San Diego would mark the first time UT blanked five of its first seven foes. Winning early ... Texas started the season with six wins in its first eight games for the fifth time in school history. All five of those seasons have occurred since 2006. TEXAS BEST EIGHT-GAME STARTS Streaking ... The Longhorns are looking for their first six-game win streak since the 2006 season when they won nine consecutive games between Oct. 6 and Nov. 3. This marks just the sixth time Texas has won five or more consecutive games. The Longhorns won a school record 11 in a row in 2001 and also won nine consecutive games in 2002. TEXAS WIN STREAKS OF FIVE OR MORE GAMES Higgins assists ... Hannah Higgins has recorded a total of eight assists this season, ranking her second in total assists among Big 12 players. Her assists per game ratio of .57 ranks her second in the Big 12 behind Kansas’ Whitney Berry (.73). Higgins’ assists for this season has also moved her into 10th place tied with Courtney Gaines (2007), Kylee Wosnuk (2000) and McAuliffe (1997) in Texas’ assists list. UT SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS Doniak ranked #87 among upperclassmen ... Soccer America ranked Longhorns’ senior midfielder #87 among all upperclassmen. Doniak earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors in 2010, leading Texas with seven goals, nine assists and 23 points. She was ranked 93rd prior to the 2010 season. Gaul named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 6) ... Gaul was named the league’s defender for the first time this season and the fourth timeme in her career. She collected her third and fourth shutouts of the season as Texas recorded a pair of 2-0 wins over UTSA and Dartmouth. It marked just the second time in school history that a Texas team had notched four shutouts in its fi rst six games. For the weekend, Gaul had four total saves. She also earned an assist on the Longhorns’ second goal against UTSA, launching a long toss over nine Roadrunners to a sprinting Hannah Higgins who set up Vanessa Ibewuike for a shot on goal from 20 yards. Doniak named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week (Aug. 29) ... Doniak’s impressive week began in the Longhorns’ 3-0 win against Georgia in which she scored one goal. Doniak added two goals and an assist as the Longhorns eased by Cal State Northridge 5-1. Both goals scored by Doniak against Cal State Northridge came in the first five minutes of the second half. The wins against Georgia and Cal State Northridge along with another 3-0 win against Houston on Aug. 22 helped the Longhorns complete their historic week. Doniak moved into UT’s career Top 10 for goals ... With her goal against USC, Kylie Doniak moved into a time with Kati McBain (2000-03) and Abby Gutowski (1998-2001) for 10th place on the Longhorns’ list for career goals with 18. She also ranks sevnth on Texas’ career list for assists with 18. She needs one more point to enter the Top 10 for points. She currently has 54 points. UT CAREER GOALS UT CAREER ASSISTS Scoring off set pieces ... The Longhorns have scored 14 goals off set pieces this season, including five goals off corner kicks, seven goals off free kicks, one goal off a throw-in and one off a penalty kick. Double-digit wins ... Texas has recorded 10 or more wins in a season for the 11th time in the last 12 years. The only time Texas did not reach the 10-win plateau is 2009 when the Longhorns finished 9-9-3. The Longhorns are guaranteed to avoid a losing season for the 12th consecutive season. The last time Texas finished below .500 is 1999 when the Horns posted an 8-9-2 mark. Scoring first ... The Longhorns have scored first on 11 occasions this season, going on to post a 9-1-1 mark in such games. Texas scored first in the season-opener vs. Loyola Marymount before allowing three goals in the second half in a 3-1 loss. The Horns’ opponents have scored first in eight games and Texas in 2-6 in such games. The Longhorns have posted come-from-behind wins vs. USC (2-1, 2ot) and Missouri (2-1) after allowing the games’ opening goals. Texas allowed the first two goals of the game against Kansas, but responded two knot the game at 2-2 before falling in double overtime. The Longhorns also fell behind Texas Tech, 1-0 and 2-1, but sent the game to overtime, where they lost in the second OT period. UT since Doniak’s injury ... With senior F Kylie Doniak healthy, the Longhorns began the season 6-2 in the first eight games. Since Doniak’s injury prior to the Sept. 23 contest against Baylor, the Longhorns have gone 5-5-1. In the first eight games the Longhorns scored a total of 19 goals (2.38 goals per game), as compared to 13 goals (1.18 gpg) in the last 11 games without Doniak being at full strength. Nine Horns earn Academic All-Big 12 ... Kristin Cummins (Government), Kyle Doniak (Corporate Communications), Nina Frausing Pedersen (Undergraduate Studies), Lucy Keith (Public Relations), Amanda Lisberger (Education: ALD - Youth & Community Studies), Stacey-Ann Smith (Government) and Gabby Zarnegar (Undergraduate Studies) were all named Academic All-Big 12 First Team. Doniak earned her third-straight First Team nod and Cummins picked up her second First Team recognition. Keith and Lisberger both earned Second Team recognition in 2010. The seven First Team honorees was the most since 2008 when the Longhorns logged eight. Alexa Gaul (Education: ALD - Youth & Community Studies) and Hannah Higgins (Health Promotion & Fitness) were tabbed Academic All-Big 12 Second Team. Higgins also earned second-team honors in 2010. Four Horns earn All-Big 12 ... Goalkeeper Alexa Gaul, midfielder Lexi Harris, forward Hannah Higgins and defender Nina Frausing Pedersen were all named All-Big 12 Second Team. Gaul has started all 18 games between the pipes for the Longhorns. She owns a 1.14 goals-against average and has posed six shutouts on the year. She earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week recognition on Sep. 6 after posting shutouts against UTSA and Dartmouth. She was also named second-team all-conference as a sophomore in 2010. Harris has appeared in all 18 games for the Longhorns, including 17 starts. She has eight points with four goals on the year. Harris was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer as a freshman in 2010. Higgins has started all 18 matches for Texas. She ranks third in the Big 12 with eight assists and has 14 points, including three goals. She had tallied a pair of goals in the Longhorns’ 2-0 win over Oklahoma. Higgins was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer as a freshman in 2009. Two Horns earn Big 12 All-Newcomer ... The Longhorns had two players named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team as freshman Brooke Gilbert and senior Taylor Knaack earned the accolades. Texas was one of only four squads to have multiple players named to the squad, joining Kansas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Gilbert was selected as a midfielder. She has started all 18 games for the Longhorns and owns two points with one goal, the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Seattle. Knaack started 16 games before suffering a season-ending injury. She ranks third on the squad with 11 points with three goals and five assists. The transfer from Notre Dame tallied game-winning goals against Georgia and Cal State Northridge. |
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