The No. 2 seed North Texas women's soccer team won its fifth-straight by rolling to a 5-1 victory over No. 7 seed Western Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Conference USA Championship on Wednesday.
The four-goal win is the Mean Green's largest margin of victory in a C-USA Tournament match ever and the five goals scored on Wednesday tied the program record for most goals scored in a C-USA Tournament match.
WKU entered Wednesday's contest giving up less than a goal per match. The five goals UNT scored on them is the most the Lady Toppers have conceded in any match since 2006.
With the win, UNT advances to the semifinals of the eight-team single-elimination tournament and will face on Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT. UTSA defeated UAB 1-0 in double overtime on Wednesday in its first round match. The Mean Green defeated the Roadrunners, 3-1, in Denton on Oct. 16.
This marks the eighth time in last 10 years North Texas has reached at least the C-USA semifinal round.
"I'm really proud with how well we played today," said senior captain Olivia Klein. "We got the scoring in early and it put us in a good position. We know we're capable of quickly putting up goals and I thought we showed off our depth today. I'm excited to be advancing to the semifinals and one step closer to our ultimate goal."North Texas (12-5-2) senior Jenna Sheely had a career match on Wednesday versus WKU (7-9-3). The Austin native scored two goals — both in the first half — and assisted on a second half goal by Madi Drenowatz. The brace is Sheely's first of her career.
"I honestly went to bed last night visualizing scoring a goal," said Sheely. "I'm really proud of our team today."
Klein, who was named the 2022 C-USA Player of the Year on Tuesday, joined in on the scoring with a first half goal off a cross by Taylor Tufts. The goal was Klein's 10th of the year and the assist was Tufts' ninth. Both Klein and Tufts were voted first team all-conference.
Drenowatz's early second half goal off the assist by Sheely put the match away as UNT took a heavy 4-0 lead. Drenowatz has now scored in consecutive matches and has scored seven goals on the year, one off her single-season career high.
Freshman Summer Brown put the nail in the coffin as she added one final goal in the 86th minute for her fourth of the year.
It wasn't just the offense that played well on Wednesday, though. UNT freshman goalkeeper Dani Jacobson made a diving save in the third minute of the match as WKU was pressing in a then scoreless game. Jacobson, who like Brown was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team, finished the day with a career-high six saves.
The 2022 Conference USA Tournament is hosted by Charlotte. All matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up