PENSACOLA, Fla. – For the second time in her career, and first since Nov. 23, 2023, Texas senior forward Holly Ward was credited with a brace after finishing with two goals throughout the Longhorns’ 3-0 win over LSU in the quarterfinals of the 2024 SEC Soccer Tournament.
Minutes after Amalia Villarreal’s goal during the match’s 54th minute broke a 0-0 tie, Lexi Missimo sent a pass several yards ahead of Holly Ward to allow the Vancouver, Canada native to outrun the LSU defensive back line and have a 1-on-1 opportunity with the Tiger goalkeeper Sophine Kevorkian. As Kevorkian came off her line and towards a charging Ward, the forward immediately fired the ball into the bottom-left corner of the goal for Texas’ second goal of the match, marking the sixth different match this season the UT offense has scored multiple goals against a SEC defense.
After enduring a near 30-minute stretch that saw LSU record four of their 12 shot attempts on the night, Ward took the ball and dribbled to mere inches away from the Tiger end line before turning and running parallel with the line. As she reached the edge of the 6-yard attacking box, Ward fired off her career high seventh shot attempt and this one went between the legs of Kevorkian and into the back of the net to seal Texas’ historic victory.
FROM HEAD COACH ANGELA KELLY
“I saw a team that grew into the match. Obviously, it took a little too long for us to get going today for my liking but was really proud of their response and a great second half.”
FROM SENIOR FORWARD HOLLY WARD
“I think with Lexi (Missimo), Ashlyn (Miller) and myself in the midfield, we were trying to figure out where I could run to be able to be 1-on-1 with (LSU’s) goalkeeper. And once we got things going, everything started to take off from there.”
MATCH NOTES
- Tuesday afternoon’s win for Texas marked the first conference tournament victory for the Longhorns outside of the state of Texas.
- UT entered the match with a 0-5-4 all-time record in conference tournament matches played in Kansas City and St. Louis.
- With the clean sheet against the Tigers, Texas senior goalkeeper Mia Justus was credited with her 11th clean sheet on the season, tying Nicole Curry’s single-season record set throughout the 2017 campaign.
- Not only was Amalia Villarreal’s second-half goal the first for Texas at the SEC Tournament, but it was also the 700th all-time goal scored at the SEC Soccer Tournament.
- Villarreal also scored the Longhorns’ first goal in SEC competition, too, with a first-half goal against Alabama on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024.
- By being credited with an assist on Holly Ward’s first goal of the match, Texas senior midfielder Lexi Missimo has now recorded at least one point in nine consecutive matches, tying Trinity Byars and Kelly Wilson for the program record.
- Tuesday afternoon’s starting assignment for fifth-year senior defender Lauren Lapomarda was the 92nd of her career, setting a new program record for most career starts.
UP NEXT
With the win over the Tigers, Texas (14-3-2) advances to the semifinals of the 2024 SEC Soccer Tournament for the first time in program history and will face off against second seed Arkansas (14-1-2) at Brosnaham Soccer Complex in Pensacola, Fla., at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7.
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