AUSTIN, TEXAS – The San Diego State women’s soccer team faced off against a top 20-ranked team for the third straight match on Thursday. In its lone road nonconference match of 2024, SDSU played at No. 16 Texas on Thursday evening. Emma Gaines-Ramos gave the Aztecs a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute, but Texas scored three unanswered goals and bested SDSU 3-1.
Texas (5-0-1) threatened early with a free kick from just outside the box only 18 seconds into the match, but the San Diego State (1-3-1) defense held them off. After missing Saturday’s match against Oklahoma State, Gaines-Ramos returned to the lineup on Thursday and made her presence felt quickly, firing into the bottom right corner of the goal past Texas keeper Mia Justus for her second goal of the season. Olivia Sekimoto and Kali Trevithick were credited with assists.
The Aztec lead was short-lived as Texas’ Amalia Villarreal scored on a pass from Madison Haugen just two minutes later.
In the 17th minute, the match was paused for half an hour due to lightning.
After an Alexa Madueno save immediately following the returning to action, Carlin Blake, Trinity Coker and Dori Savage each had shots on goal in one possession, but Justus saved all three. Madueno had two more saves in the first half before the Longhorns took the lead in the 44th minute on a goal by Carly Montgomery with an assist from Lexi Missimo.
Both offenses went quiet in the second half with nothing but four saves by Madueno and one from Justus until the 86th minute. At 85:27, Missimo scored a goal of her own on a pass from Ashlyn Miller to extend the Texas lead to two goals. Neither team was able to get another shot on goal over the last few minutes of the match.
The Aztecs finished the match with more saves (7-6) while the Longhorns had more shots (26-8), shots on goal (10-7) and corner kicks (9-5). San Diego State’s shots on goal percentage was an impressive 87.5% while SDSU held Texas to 38.5%
Madueno’s season-high seven saves nearly doubled her previous season-high of four. Madueno is up to 329 saves for her career, just nine behind Aubree Southwick’s program record of 338.
Gaines-Ramos’ goal gives her the team lead with two goals and four points this season. The goal was the first score allowed at home by the Longhorns this season and just the fourth overall (the other three came at Southern Methodist).
San Diego State will be back at the SDSU Sports Deck for the remainder of its nonconference schedule. SDSU hosts UC San Diego on Thursday, September 12, at 7 p.m., Eastern Washington on Sunday, September 15 at noon, and Utah Valley on Sunday, September 22 at noon. Admission for all three matches is free and each will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.