After a regular-season massacre of Texas soccer by Vanderbilt, the Longhorns knew what they had to do to take back control.
“We knew the result we had shown against them the first time (we played them) wasn’t who we are, it wasn’t our standard,” sophomore forward Ava McDonald said after the game.
Starting with the ball, Texas instantly began their attack toward the Vanderbilt goal.
Junior forward Alicia Riggins, seeing that Vanderbilt was caught off guard by the pace of the attack, immediately located freshman midfielder Caroline Swann downfield. Riggins firmly sent a through ball to Swann, who intercepted the pass perfectly and rifled the ball into the bottom center of the goal, putting the Longhorns up 1-0 just 43 seconds into the game.
In their first meeting of the season, physicality was a large part of both Texas and Vanderbilt’s approach. In fact, Texas was hit with two yellow cards in the matchup, in addition to a slew of called fouls. That trend continued into tonight’s game, with multiple injury stoppages after contested collisions.
Texas’ graduate goalkeeper Bayliss Flynn, who has been a cornerstone of Texas’ defense, continued to show her aggressive play style. On numerous Vanderbilt attacks, Flynn prevented scores by charging in and putting herself between attackers and the goal.
The Longhorns, again, shocked fans in the 30th minute. McDonald, known for her speed, zipped past two Vanderbilt defenders, bending a shot around two more Commodores and graduate goalkeeper Alexa Gianoplus for Texas’ second goal of the game.
The first half continued with back-and-forth action from both squads, but neither found the net as the half expired.
The second half began with as much bravado as the first. Seemingly mirroring Texas’ first-half efforts, Vanderbilt promptly moved the ball downfield. Despite a quick volley of back-to-back-to-back shots, the Longhorns fended off the attack as Flynn cleared the ball out of the goal area.
Despite its offensive dominance, Vanderbilt couldn’t land a shot until almost 35 minutes into the half. Kicking their fourth corner of the game, the Commodores seemed determined to get on the board.
With the kick, Vanderbilt senior midfielder Melania Fullerton made the first attempt at a goal, sending a rocket that deflected upwards off the goalpost. Locating the ball in the air, senior forward Megan Hinnenkamp jumped for a header, finding the goal and narrowing the Commodores’ deficit to 2-1.
With just 10 minutes left in regulation, Texas did all it could to keep Vanderbilt from scoring again. With only two shots in the entire second half compared to Vanderbilt’s 24, the Longhorns abandoned their hope of scoring again and entered survival mode, clearing every Commodore attack.
As the clock wound down, Texas kept Vanderbilt at bay and secured a shocking 2-1 upset over the Commodores.
With their victory over Vanderbilt, the Longhorns will play on Nov. 12 against the winner of the matchup between Kentucky and Arkansas.
