AUSTIN, Texas – On Friday night in exhibition action at Mike A. Myers Stadium, braces (two goals) from both sophomore midfielders Lexi Missimo and senior forward Teni Akindoju led a cadre of five different Longhorns goal scorers as Texas rolled past Incarnate Word, 7-0.
Texas Match Notes
- Returning Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year Lexi Missimo directed the assault from the middle of the pitch, scoring twice while dishing a team-high three assists for seven points.
- Teni Akindoju also scored twice, while transferring sophomore midfielder Jilly Shimkinfifth-year senior forward Mackenzie McFarland and senior forward Sydney Nobles each tickled the twine once.
- Senior defender Cameron Brooks dished two assists, while freshman forward Liz WordenMcFarland, sophomore midfielder Amelia Abbott and Nobles all recorded a single helper.
- Texas out-shot Incarnate Word by a commanding total of 28-7, led 11-4 in shots on goal and held a 10-3 corner kick advantage.
The Details
It took Texas just 1:19 to get the 2022 campaign off to a roaring start. Brooks started the scoring play by driving up the left wing and crossing into the middle. While leaping over the feed, Worden got a slight deflection on the ball before Missimo drove it off the keeper’s hands and into the left side of the goal from nine yards out to make it 1-0.
The Longhorns offense continued to swarm in its offensive third as Brooks (2:08), Worden (3:02) and senior defender Carlee Allen (4:11 & 12:32) stretched the early shot advantage to 5-0.
Worden had a golden opportunity to get on the scoresheet during the 15th minute. A through ball up the middle located the Riverside, Calif., native in space driving in 1-v-1 on UIW keeper Makenzie Hall. The net minder quickly raced off her line and managed to just get a diving touch on the ball as Worden lost her balance. The Cardinals managed to recover before any shot could be launched.
After Hall saved a McFarland effort from a sharp angle on the right wing at 18:38, the Burnt Orange & White doubled their advantage at 19:25. Missimo delivered a pass through the back line to Shimkin in space. The Penn State transfer dribbled in to the top of the box and chipped the keeper from 18 yards for a 2-0 advantage.
It took just 30 seconds for the Longhorns to increase the gap to 3-0. Again, Missimo found a player in space as McFarland took control about 11 yards out on a sharp right angle and somehow deflected a shot off a UIW defender and into the twine.
Incarnate Word finally registered its first shot of the match at 28:46 as Keeley Ayala had a shot from 20+ yards blocked away harmlessly.
Following a pair of UIW corners, Bria Bowers tried her luck but missed wide right in the 33rd minute. Less than two minutes later, Texas graduate goalkeeper Savannah Madden was forced into action for the first time by leaping to grab a shot from 18 yards out on the left wing by Sierra Wannamaker.
At the 40:40 mark, Missimo again distributed a ball out wide left to Brooks. The Round Rock, Texas, product took a dribble and bent a perfect pass right in front of Nobles charging up the middle of the 18. The Southlake, Texas, native had no trouble beating Hall inside the left post from eight yards out to make it 4-0.
The shooting gallery continued out of the halftime break as McFarland nabbed a turnover in the back, drove into the right side of the 18 and crossed into the middle. Waiting to volley a quick shot home from five yards out was Missimo as her quick flick extended the Longhorns lead to 5-0.
UIW strung together arguably its best stretch of offensive pressure from the 52nd to the 54th minutes. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, all three of their shots were from outside the 18 and only two forced routine Madden catches.
Down the stretch, Texas head coach Angela Kelly went deep into the bench (19 players saw action), but the scoring continued.
A long pass upfield from Abbott landed right in the path of an on-the-run Akindoju. The Halifax, Nova Scotia, product drove in on goal and beat a charging Hall into the right edge from 16 yards out to make it 6-0.
With just 3:32 left in regulation, Nobles took possession outside the top of the box and lifted a pass into the middle. Akindoju managed to fight off a pair of Cardinal defenders to take possession and drove home her second goal of the match from eight yards out to finalize the 7-0 score line.
It was so close to becoming 8-0 at the 87:40 mark, but Abbott’s long effort from 20 yards out rattled off the right post before being cleared.