Longhorns dominant in 4-0 rout of Cougars

Goals:
Diana Charrier ( 1' ), Mary Strange ( 12', Ast: Diana Charrier ), Sissy Danna ( 50', Ast: Diana Charrier ), Brittany Caporale ( 78', Ast: Caroline Suter )


“Our goal for this season is to get back to nationals,” first year coach Jaime Mimbela plainly stated after Saturday’s win over the University of Houston Cougars. The Lady Longhorns took that goal to heart, and came out as if they were shot out of a cannon. Right from the first whistle, the Horns played with a great intensity. Within the first 15 seconds, the Longhorns put in a goal to take a 1-0 lead. After putting immediate pressure on the Cougars, the Horns stole the ball and sophomore forward Diana Charrier blasted a past the keeper into the top of the net.


This was just the beginning for the University of Texas. The entire team: offense, midfield, and defense played well, and played together. One of the only chances U of H had at the goal came in the 5th minute. One cougar forward found herself unmarked on a corner kick 5 yards from the goal, but when her header beat the keeper, veteran defender Morgan Stelly was there to clear the ball from the goal line. The Lady Horns were not to messed with.

Only a few minutes after the stellar defensive play, the Longhorns tacked on another goal. Charrier found her self playing a key role again on a beautiful strike by midfielder Mary Strange. After gathering the ball at midfield, Charrier turned and took on all four of the Cougar defenders. With some skillful dribbling, she maneuvered her way past the defense and took a shot on goal. Unfortunately, the UH keeper made a great save and pushed the ball towards the sideline. However, Charrier did not give up on the play. She beat her defender to the ball, turned, and fired a cross to the middle of the 18 yard box. There, waiting for the ball, was Mary Strange, where she struck a perfect “one-touch” volley into the back of the net. The rout was on.

Satisfied with the play of his starting eleven, Coach Mimbela subbed in a fresh squad. “I have twenty-five players, who all can play. If I feel the need to, I want to use as many players as I can,” said Mimbela. His confidence was proven not to be a fluke as the new lineup picked up right where the first squad left off. There was virtually no difference in the quality of play, which to Mimbela, was a “huge confidence builder.” The Horns peppered the Cougar goal with chance after chance, many created by center mid Hanna Ammar and forward Caroline Suter. The Longhorn D did not slack off either. The stifling Horn defense gave the Cougars not even a glimpse at the goal. Which gave the Longhorns a 2-0 lead heading to the half.

The second half of the game yielded no difference in the theme of the first, the University of Texas was dominant. Five minutes into the half, Diana Charrier found herself, yet again, contributing to a UT goal. The Horns were awarded an indirect free-kick after a handball by the U of H goalie. Charrier took the kick from a mere seven yards from the goal. However, it was near impossible to find an opening, as every Cougar on the field was standing on the goal line. However, after the initial shot was blocked, Charrier put the ball back towards the goal where it fell perfectly to the feet of Sissy Danna, who easily put in the Longhorns third goal of the match.

Not quite done, were the Horns. The players seemed to be hungry for more. A final statement to complete the game. This finishing statement came in the 78th minute by the vocal leader of the team Brittany Caporale. After being played a beautiful through ball by Suter, Caporale slotted a shot to the left corner to beat the keeper. The thrashing of the Cougars was complete.

“I told the girls right from the first practice, I want to play a possession game. I want quick passes, I want to keep the ball, and we did that today.” Coach Mimbela replied when asked about his philosophy on team play, and how his team executed that during the game. He could not have been more spot on about how his team performed. The Lady Longhorns easily controlled the ball for more than 75% of the game. There were long stretches throughout the game where the Cougars did not get the ball within 35 yards of the UT goal. It was a complete team performance.

Player(s) of the Game:
-The Defense: The back four and goalkeeper did an outstanding job the entire game keeping a clean sheet. The Longhorn defense only allowed two legitimate scoring opportunities. One blocked by Morgan Stelly, and the other thwarted by the keeper Alejandra Eljuri. Every player who stepped on the field in defense performed very well.

- Alex Weidenheft: The freshman center-mid showed no signs of nervousness in her first game. Weidenheft was all over the field. She controlled play, fed the forwards, and helped the defense when needed. Look for Alex to play a major role in the Longhorns’ run to Nationals.