DALLAS — No. 21 Texas Longhorns soccer was eliminated from the NCAA tournament in its first round matchup against No. 25 SMU Mustangs.
The Mustangs scored goals in the first 10 minutes of each half to defeat the Longhorns, 2-0.
The first goal of the match came nearly six minutes into the game. A ball was fed from the left wing to the backside right post, then crossed immediately back across to the left post and volleyed home by Alina Khan. The second goal was added just two minutes into the second half. A cross played into the box was cleared out by the Texas defense, but fell to the feet of midfielder Wayny Balata near the top of the 18-yard box.
The SMU midfielder then fired a shot from 15 yards out to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.
Texas nearly brought the game within one goal with two opportunities in the 68th and 69th minutes. Trinity Byars and Holly Ward both had shots that went just wide of the goal for the Longhorns.
The Longhorns out-shot the Mustangs by a total of 10 to 9, but trailed 4 to 1 in shots on goal. With the loss, UT dropped to 8-15-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament play over 15 appearances and 0-3-0 against SMU in NCAA First Round contests, according to Texas Athletics.
The season for the Longhorns has now come to its conclusion and ends the year by losing consecutive matches for the first time all season. UT's final record for the season was 11-5-6 (win-loss-tie).
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