As the rain poured down on Pensacola, confetti rained down on the Texas Longhorns.
After a close game, the Longhorns defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks 1-0 on a late goal to win the SEC Championship title.
The Texas Longhorns’ win marks the second time in program history that Texas football has won back-to-back conference titles, the first being in 2006 and 2007. This is also head coach Angela Kelly’s fifth SEC title in her career and second with the Texas Longhorns. .
It was another slow start for Texas soccer. For the first 25 minutes of the first half, South Carolina dictated the pace of the game. However, Texas’ stout defense withstood and absorbed the initial pressure from the Shamcocks, as it has all year.
Texas took the lead for the remainder of the first half, with the teams stringing together a series of passes to bring the game into South Carolina’s territory. Texas ended the first half with three shots and one on target, but South Carolina continued to feel the pressure, finishing the first half with seven shots on target, three of which threatened Texas’ goal.
The first 45 minutes of the SEC Championship Game were very close, ending in a stalemate at zero points.
Similar to the first half, South Carolina reignited their offensive pressure in the second half, finishing the game with 17 total shots, seven of which went on goal. Senior goaltender Mia Justus had another clean sheet with seven saves while forcing the Texas defense to withstand the pressure.
The tie was broken late in the game with a header by sophomore defender Carly Montgomery after a looping corner kick by senior midfielder Lexi Misimo. There weren’t many set-piece opportunities like this for Texas, and the goal came from the second of three corner kicks of the game. Montgomery scored the game-winning goal, his second of the season and third of his young Texan career.
A desperate South Carolina team ramped up the pressure late in the second half, hoping to get back into the game. After taking a shot from the top of the box, Justus made a big save through traffic to keep Texas in the lead. A few minutes later, South Carolina forward Katherine Barry’s shot hit the Justus goal post, but the score remained the same.
South Carolina continued to advance in the final five minutes of the game, not wasting its SEC season. The referee blew the final whistle and the Longhorns’ celebration began.
Texas will celebrate the win all night long, but tomorrow will determine its place in the NCAA Tournament. They could begin NCAA Tournament play as early as Nov. 15.
