South Carolina women's soccer falls to Texas in SEC Tournament Championship

South Carolina headed into Sunday needing to win one more match to guarantee its placement in the 2024 NCAA women’s soccer tournament.

For much of the afternoon, it seemed like the Gamecocks would secure that automatic berth. But it ultimately was not their day on a rainy afternoon in Pensacola, where it fell 1-0 to No. 3 seed Texas in the SEC Tournament Championship.

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South Carolina’s first two matches of the tournament were defined by slow starts. In the case of both the Gamecocks and their opponents, it took at least 10 minutes until a shot was directed towards goal in either game.

On Sunday, it took under two minutes for South Carolina to get on the stat sheet. Brianna Behm, who scored twice in the Gamecocks’ semifinal win on Thursday, lobbed a volleyed effort at Texas’ goal, but it was directed right at Longhorns goalkeeper Mia Justus.

South Carolina emerged as the more dangerous team on offense early in the match. Just minutes after Behm’s shot, Katie Shea Collins crossed a ball across the face of goal, but no teammate could get a foot on it. Catherine Barry also recorded her first shot of the match around the five-minute mark.

None of these early chances found the back of the net, though. These early scoring opportunities foreshadowed a theme that persisted throughout the match – the strength of Justice in front of net.

South Carolina’s offensive momentum would persist over the course of the first 70 minutes of the match. The Gamecocks out-shot Texas 15-5, and it even held a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal. But all six of those strikes were thwarted by Justice, who helped keep the match scoreless.

South Carolina had multiple close scoring attempts up to that point in the match. One of the these dangerous opportunities took place in the 48th minute, when Gracie Falla directed a ball towards the Longhorns’ penalty area after receiving it from a corner kick. The ball deflected and found the foot of Reagan Schubach, whose shot would have creeped into the bottom corner of the net had a Texas defender not placed herself in the way.

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But once the match reached its final 20 minutes, momentum started shifting the Longhorns’ way. In fact, Texas registered three shots within 36 seconds during the 75th minute.

The Longhorns had their best opportunity to take the lead four minutes later, when Lexi Missimo directed a shot towards the bottom-center part of the goal. The effort forced Christina Tsaousis to dive, but she was able to parry it away for a corner kick.

Missimo’s shot kickstarted a sustained period of offensive attack for Texas. While they were unable to score on their first attempted corner kick, they did on their second. In the 80th minute, Carly Montgomery rose above the South Carolina player defending her and headed the ball into goal.

The Gamecocks came close to finding an equalizer during the final 10 minutes of the match, though. Corinna Zullo launched a shot that also forced Justice into making a diving save in the 85th minute. Shortly afterward, a South Carolina corner kick resulted in a shot from Barry that grazed the outside of the post.

But the Gamecocks’ late offensive outburst would not be enough, as Texas went on to claim the SEC Tournament Championship in its first season in the conference.

Next up

Despite Sunday’s loss, South Carolina’s season is not over. With strong regular season and conference tournament performances, the Gamecocks have a resume that merits inclusion in the NCAA Tournament.

South Carolina will learn its potential first-round opponent during the tournament’s selection show. The show will air Monday at 4 p.m. on NCAA.com.

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