Texas started off with a 4-0 win over New Mexico. The Lobos bunkered in for the first half, and despite dominating possession the Horns were unable to score, 0-0 at the half. Texas came out flying in the second half, but it wasn't until the 60th minute that Kylee Wosnuk finally put Texas on the board. Then the flood gates opened as New Mexico had to break out of its shell. Freshman Mia Moody played most of the game at striker after Mary Nelson was injured early in the first half. Moody's blazing speed created all kinds of havoc for the Lobos back line, and she got her first career goal. The Texas defense gets my game ball, as they allowed no shots in the second half. The back line was Gailey--Wickwire--Kram--Hopkins, but it usually looked more like a 3-4-3 as Gailey played forward for the most part. Kram is just a monster as a roving central defender. Next up is Duke on Sunday. Texas Preview Article
Duke recap A great start to the year as Texas defeated Duke 2-1 in front of almost 2,500 fans. This was a good test for the Horns. Duke is a good team, especially on defense, but often didn't commit numbers to the attack and had to settle for long shots. The Texas D played very well and kept the shutout for 87 minutes. It was a defensive stalemate until Kati McBain scored late in the first half. The second half was very entertaining as Duke pushed forward more and Texas tried to exploit the extra space with quick counters. McBain repeatedly knocked long through balls right down the middle, finally springing Kelly McDonald for a great goal. Freshman Mia Moody got her first start (Mary Nelson sat out) and looked very dangerous with her speed, wearing out the Duke defenders. Duke got a consolation goal with 3 minutes left, finally breaking on a counter with numbers. POTM was Kati McBain with a goal and an assist. It is great to see Kati and Kylee Wosnuk make an impact in the first two games. They were the stars of the team as freshmen in 2000, but both suffered a bit of a sophomore slump last year. Next week we play Cal and Stanford on the road. Kelly Wilson and her silver boot will be back! Congrats to Kelly and the World Champion U-19s.
West Coast Road Trip There should be a good shake out in the Top 10 over the next two weeks. Texas and Texas A&M both head to California to take on Cal and Stanford this weekend, then they both play UNC next weekend in Spring, TX. Should be a great test for all five of these teams.
Texas over Cal 2-1 on two Kelly Wilson goals: http://www.texassports.com/mainpages/sc_pages/2002_03/001/sc_090602_20.html On a related note, Stanford defeats the Aggies 1-0.
Stanford - Texas [R] Stanford win 1-0 Details on the Stanford thread . Kelly Wilson had a very quiet day today. I expected fireworks from her, but playing your best attacker out left on a 3-forward line negates her effectiveness. For their part, Kylee Wosnuk and Kelly McDonald didn't do too bad on top. If both can develop their holding skills as target forward(s) to feed Kelly Wilson, this will be a very scary squad. They're already fast, and speed is something you can't teach. Hopkins-Brost showed plenty of poise in the back. Good holding skills. Unlike the rest of squad playing direct, she will actually dribble and distribute the ball on her way up to midfield. Katie McBain is very good, and the Los Altos native played well to give something to cheer about. But she needs help at midfield. With no one to hold and distribute the ball at midfield, Stanford and Withers imposed their will. With the lack of effective holding and distribution, Texas played a very direct style to their forwards. If the squad can develop better holding and distribution skills, those dangerous attackers will take this squad far.
Texas vs. Cal Texas 2:1 Cal This game was, by all accounts, ugly. Neither team was able (or looked) to get the ball down and play. The field was small, and neither side had much time when they did get the ball on the ground. Kelly Wilson got two chances in the game and scored on them both. The first was a scramble in the box, the second a breakaway, where she managed to finish well with a defender draped all over her. She is an excellent player and scores when they need her to- the mark of a good forward. Her speed makes her dangerous, but her touch is clean and she holds the ball pretty well. A good game from her. On the other hand, Texas desperately needs a distributing center-midfielder. There were instances when the field could have been switched easily but was instead thumped over the forwards' heads. Texas needs a tricky player who is good in tight spaces. The fact that they played a 3-back formation didn't let their outside backs utilize the space up the lines, which I thought was a disadvantage. The center-back (Laura Kram) wins balls well but whacks them up the field when she could distribute better- either to her goalkeeper or center mids. Again, this is where a flat-back 4 would have been helpful, as outside backs would have been potential channels. That said, I was entirely unimpressed by Cal. For as many talented California-based players as they have, their level of play was poor. They looked to play even less than Texas did. This leads me to believe that the coach is not very good. He should be getting much more from his talent. Cal created a few chances- Tracy Hamm is quick up front but her touch was poor and she gave the ball away a lot. Cal's goal came late in the game on a lucky handball in the box. Overall, a disappointing game. Texas needs to be more composed all around, and Cal needs a coach who can get his team to play like they are capable of playing.
Texas vs. Stanford This game was far better than the Cal game. The possession was more consistent, and both sides were more composed. Texas was unlucky not to score- they had quite a few chances in the second half. They had a ton of corner kicks as well. You can tell that Texas is starting to become a top team. Petrucelli has done a good job since he took over the position, and I think they will only get better under his guidance. They still have a ways to go, but it's getting there. The fact that they were able to compete with Stanford- whose talent level is astonishing- was a great positive for their program. It speaks highly of Petrucelli that he can get players who are not as physically talented to be able to compete at the highest level. Texas has a few holes- a distributing center-midfielder is the biggest. No one challenged the big midfielder from Stanford today, and that hurt Texas a lot. She needed someone to put physical pressure on her and no one really stepped up. Their back line is another weakness- they really need to be more composed under pressure. They manager to get by, but if Texas can get its defenders to distribute the ball better when they win it, they'll be a good team. The forward line is one of the more dangerous that I've seen. Kelly Wilson played well again today, but she wasn't able to get them the goal they needed. She is, however, a very good player. The forward runs are still not quite on, but they're getting there. Again, this program is about a year away from being really good. Good luck to them in the future. I think this program, although it still needs time to build, is getting there.
Thanks for the great reports, Purple04 and cachundo. From what I've seen this year I agree with your assessments of Texas' strengths and weaknesses. There is a lot of banging long balls from the back instead of more patient play through midfield. Even McBain in central midfield tends to go with a long through pass. This works okay against less skilled defenses like Duke, especially late in the game when the tired defenders were vulnerable to Texas' speed up front. I'd like to see McBain find target Kelly McDonald more. McDonald is good with her back to goal, and should be able to hold, then turn and find Wilson or Wosnuk, who are fast and skilled and capable of making creative runs. Petrucelli quotes: "Kelly [Wilson] was the difference in the first game. She got a couple chances to score, and she finished them. She was definitely a big boost for the team." "I'm disappointed in the way we attacked [against Stanford]," Petrucelli said. "We have too many talented players up front to have so many limited chances to score." "It only takes one shot to score, and we just didn't find any of those. We did do very well defensively. We're feeling good about that area of our game." It doesn't get any easier for Texas, as their next game is against the Tarheels, who look, well, pretty unbeatable. On a bright note, the Aggies lost to both Stanford and Cal. They can say good-bye to that Top 5 ranking. And they also play UNC next week, and will be facing three consecutive losses to ranked teams.
UNC heading down to Texas Texas looks pretty scary to me. I hope that the Tar Heels aren't looking past A&M when we face them on Friday. Dorrance is a pretty fair coach and will do everything he can to keep it from happening. Is it true that Texas has the day off on Friday, while we're getting pushed for ninety minutes or so by the Aggies?
I think it was a smart move by Texas, not scheduling a game on Friday. UNC will get to use some of its depth in what should be a very tough weekend. The Aggies travel to Ft. Worth on Sunday to take on TCU. I will be making the trip to see the Horns game on Sunday. I'd love to check out the A&M game too, but a six hour round-trip is a little steep for that. I hope someone can post a report of that game.
Hope to see you there. this will be a great match to watch, lets hope that the weather in Houston is tolerable!
When the Aggies visited Stanford, that both teams were tied for the # 3 ranking was dubious. Stanford had their way with the Aggies. Their ineptitude in attack was the main reason why the game went into OT; it wasn't because the Aggies played good defense. The Aggies' midfield is overrated. OTOH, Texas were unlucky not to muster a shot against Stanford in the 1st half. But there was no denying that there was plenty of talent up front and with McBain. As I said before, when the squad develops their holding and distribution skills in attack, those attackers will take them far. If not this year, with certainty next year. I'd be surprised if Texas don't beat the Aggies this year.
I'll try to make it out there and give yall a match report. Hopefully my Ags are just going through a funk and can fix this slide.
Hey Texan, if you're going to A&M games you should start an Aggies thread and keep us up to date! Now you're talking. Last year, the Aggies were a better team than UT, but more because of their experience than their talent level. This year the Ags have lost a lot, but UT has only gained depth and valuable experience. A #3 ranking for A&M was just not realistic this year. Now Texas is #4 and that just makes me nervous. I still think they are a year away from being a legitimate title contender. Come on Horns, prove me wrong!
UNC Report Unfortunately, with the horrendous weather and sloppy conditions, this game didn't lend itself to any kind of in-depth analysis of the Longhorns, so I'll stick mostly to general comments. I don't need to say much about UNC. I have no doubt they are the best team in the country by a mile. An undefeated season and a national championship is very likely for them. As a Longhorn fan, I was encouraged by a lot of what I saw. And I hope the girls gained some confidence by the way they played. For me the upshot is that the Horns showed they can compete with the best team in the country, not just try to avoid getting creamed. They didn't quit or hang their heads when it started to look bad. They stayed in it until the end. I now believe the Horns deserve to be considered one of the top 5 teams in the country. The Texas lineup seems to have solidified, with Julie Gailey being the one freshman to win a starting spot (she's listed as a back but is often in the midfield). Alex Gagarin finally was tested in goal and did very well considering the conditions, with 8 saves. Alex and all the defenders need to improve on clearances and distribution from the back. The midfielders worked hard despite being outmatched by UNC. McBain, Breger, and Teter all hustle defensively, as well as being scoring threats when in range. Lauren Field always impresses me when she comes off the bench; she can dish out some bone-crunching tackles and is a great physical presence to have against a team like UNC. The mids are still a little inconsistent in hooking up with the forwards. Petrucelli is favoring a direct style, but the long passes need to be more accurate. I think later in the season these units will gel, and when that happens, look out! The strike force of Wilson, McDonald, and Wosnuk is very good and getting better every game. I like how fluid they play, with Wilson and McDonald switching places, and McDonald sometimes dropping back. Once they learn to play off each other and anticipate runs a little better, they will be one of the best front lines in the country. And I think that could happen this year. All in all, the Horns should be very happy with where they're at now. Their improvement over the last three years is amazing, and Petrucelli is only getting started. They are not up to UNC's level, but then nobody is. Against any other team I think Texas will be a fearsome opponent to deal with. If I am Nebraska or A&M, I am so not looking forward to playing UT this year. And it would not surprise me to see UT and UNC playing in the 2003 championship game. Daily Texan Article Austin American-Statesman Article
And it would not surprise me to see UT and UNC playing in the 2003 championship game. It would not surprise me either. I would love to see that in front of the home town crowd in that gorgeous facilty that Texas has. They will break the aggies curse this year, I truly believe.
Curse of the Aggies The curse of the Aggies continues... Ex-Aggie transfer Esther Thompson played in goal for Vanderbilt against Texas tonight, and a collision with Kelly Wilson just inside the box had Kelly leaving the field, on a stretcher, to an ambulance. It was apparently some kind of head or neck injury, I didn't get a good look at the contact. Lets hope that Kelly is really ok, she wasn't moving at all after she was hurt, hopefully that was just precaution. Oh, Texas won 1-0 on a second half goal, in front of a good crowd of 3000+. It was a little hard to get excited by that point.
Rice report Texas blasted Rice 7-0, on a stunningly beautiful night at Myers stadium. The Texas offense was firing on all cylinders against the lowly Owls, with seven goals from seven different players. It was good to see Kelly Wilson start the game, after her trip to the hospital Friday night. McDonald paced the attack with a goal and three assists. Kati McBain got a goal and two assists, tying the UT record for career assists at 22. The defense is also playing well, with two shutouts this weekend. Petrucelli is no longer playing a flat back line. He's now going with a deep-lying defender formation, with Kram as the anchor. Freshman Julie Gailey is looking good as a wing back/mid. I'm looking forward to the conference schedule now. The final non-conference game is Friday against Washington, then Iowa State comes to Austin on Sunday. Speaking of Kelly Wilson, it was reported on Hornfans that UT has refused to release her to the USWNT for the World Cup qualifiers. That's fine with Kelly, who had her fill of travel with the U19s, and doesn't need to miss any more school (not to mention the A&M game Nov. 1).
Washington report Texas and Washington played to a 1-1 draw. Really a disappointing draw for Texas, who outplayed the Huskies all over the field but couldn't finish the job. The UT defense played outstanding, and Washington had maybe two decent scoring chances all game. The D made one mistake and it cost them. Texas outshot Washington 12-4 in the first half. Late in the half Kelly Wilson slipped her defender and was going in alone on Solo when the defender dragged Kelly down by her jersey. I don't know what the ref saw, but no penalty was given. Texas came out firing in the second half, and Kati McBain scored on a great low cross driven across the goal mouth by Hopkins-Brost. Almost immediately though came the lapse in UT's defense, when Kim Taylor was completely unmarked on a diagonal run to the top of the Texas penalty area and had all day to pick her shot, leaving GK Gagarin no chance. Despite the almost 3-1 advantage in shots, UT didn't threaten as much as they should have. The finishing was poor, and when shots were on target they were often right at Solo. Hope did make one great save near the end of the game, just getting a finger to a low shot from McDonald that I was sure was a goal. Also poor was UT's delivery of the ball to strikers making a good run. Passes were often a good 10 yards off the mark. Kelly Wilson was always double or triple teamed, and her teammates need to do a better job getting up and into space so that Kelly's good work isn't for nothing. Credit to the Huskies defense, who came in with a good game plan and stuck to their guns, earning the draw. As Petrucelli said, this draw may end up being a positive for the team, who are still young and learning what it takes to win these games. Hopefully now entering the conference schedule the Horns can get the attack in full gear, focus defensively for 90 minutes, and play up to their potential.
Iowa State report Texas began Big 12 play with a 7-0 victory over the Cyclones. The starters played the first half and took ISU apart. The Cyclones just didn't have the speed to compete, and they looked exhausted by the 30th minute. It was 6-0 at the half. Petrucelli put the 2nd team out for the entire second half. That at least made the game more interesting, but Texas' bench still got the better of ISU's starters, winning the second half 1-0. It's good to see the starters get a rest, and the reserves some good PT. Next weekend will be much tougher, with Nebraska and Colorado on the road.