The No. 14 South Carolina women’s soccer team fell short of reaching its third SEC Tournament Championship in six years after it was defeated 1-0 by the No. 21 Texas Longhorns Sunday afternoon.
The team faced Texas for the second time in program history and for the first time since the Longhorns joined the SEC during the offseason. Both of the teams came into the matchup ranked in the top-25 nationally.
South Carolina cruised through the SEC Tournament up until the final game as it received a first-round bye, and then went on to beat Alabama 4-1 and Mississippi State 3-0.
The Gamecocks controlled the first half of the game against the Longhorns. The team dominated in time of possession, which prevented Texas from getting settled into the game. South Carolina outshot Texas 7-3 in the first half. The team also attempted more corner kicks and crosses than its opponent in the opening 45 minutes.
Freshman forward Katie Shea Collins became a threat in the early moments of the match, hitting the left post in the 13th minute. She later had another chance denied by Texas’ senior goalkeeper Mia Justus in the 20th minute.
But South Carolina was held scoreless, and the game headed into halftime tied at 0-0. The Gamecocks were also tied at zero heading into halftime during its semifinal matchup against Mississippi State — a game where the team scored three unanswered goals in route to a 3-0 victory.
The Gamecocks came out firing to start the second half, shooting the ball six times within the first five minutes, with three of them being on goal. This was the most offensively productive that South Carolina ended up being in the second half, as the team did not have a shot on target for the following 35 minutes of play.
After several possessions of non-threatening attacks, Texas broke the scoring seal in the 79th minute when sophomore defenseman Carly Montgomery found the back of the net after heading a corner kick. It was Montgomery’s second goal of the season.
The Gamecocks didn’t go away easily. Fifth-year forward Corinna Zullo had an opportunity to score off a free kick in the 84th minute, but Zullo's bid was denied by a diving Justus. Moments later, a shot attempt by fifth-year forward Catherine Barry in the 85th minute skimmed off of the right post.
The late efforts were not enough to force overtime, as the Gamecocks were held scoreless for the third time this season, and the Longhorns won its first-ever SEC Championship.
Gamecocks unable to finish
The Gamecocks shot the ball 17 times against the Longhorns, making it the highest number of attempts the team has had in a game all tournament. In South Carolina's games against Alabama and Mississippi State, the team in total scored 7 goals on 20 shots.
Collins and Barry both hit the post against the Longhorns, and Justus was able to deny all seven of the shots that the Gamecocks put on frame. The team conducted several chances, but were unable to convert in all 90 minutes of play. Barry, the goals and points leader of the SEC in 2024, led the Gamecocks in shots, seven, and shots on goal, three, in the championship game.
The Longhorns scored the lone goal of the game despite having three less shots on goal than the Gamecocks.
Limiting Missimo
Longhorns senior midfielder Lexi Missimo finished second in the SEC in goals and assists this season. Despite her accolades, the Gamecocks prevented the senior standout from freely facilitating the Longhorns' attack.
Missimo, who is also third in the SEC in shots on goal, was unable to put a shot on target until the 78th minute of the game, when her shot was denied by junior goalkeeper Christina Tsaousis.
Tsaousis ended the game with three saves against the Longhorns.
Gamecock defenders were able to block multiple shots by Massimo and other Longhorn forwards throughout the game and forced most of Texas to shoot from outside the box.
But Missimo was still able to impact the game as her corner kick led to Montgomery scoring the game-winning goal.
A silver lining
Despite not getting the win, the Gamecocks have appeared in three SEC Championships since 2019, winning two of them in the process. The only team to have appeared in more SEC championships since 2015 is Arkansas, but the Razorbacks have yet to win the championship match.
The Gamecocks have won at least 10 games in every season since 2013 and will enter the NCAA tournament with a 10-3-7 record.
What’s next?
The South Carolina's women’s soccer team will now set its sights on the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA will set the bracket and determine the team’s seeding on Nov. 11 at 4 p.m., and the first round is set to begin on Nov. 15.