No. 6 BYU women's soccer loses first Big 12 match to Texas in tournament final

Texas will say "goodbye" to the Big 12 with a little more hardware.

In the Longhorns' final season in the Big 12 before heading to the Southeastern Conference, Lexi Missimo — the No. 2 goal scorer in the country — scored a brace to lift fourth-seeded Texas to a 3-1 win over No. 6 BYU in the Big 12 women's soccer championship match at Round Rock Multipurpose Complex in Round Rock, Texas.

Brecken Mozingo scored for the Cougars (16-2-3), who lost to a Big 12 opponent for the first time since joining the conference this summer.

"Credit to BYU; what a fantastic team. You saw two of the best offenses in the country," Texas coach Angela Kelly said during the postgame trophy ceremony on ESPN+. "They've had a wonderful season. I'm really proud of my squad and our team, the way they battled. We're really excited to have this championship."

The Longhorns (15-4-2) clinched the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament's field of 64, which will be announced Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. MST. BYU is expected to receive an at-large bid.

But the Cougars were playing Saturday night for a championship trophy in their first year in the conference, as well as a shot at a top-four overall seed. With Saturday's loss, that may be left up for debate.

Less than two minutes into the match, Missimo gave Texas a 1-0 lead, finishing off a setup by Ashlyn Miller and Trinity Byars with her 23rd goal of the year that ranks second nationally. But Mozingo equalized in the eighth minute, rifling a pass from Olivia-Wade Katoa off her left foot to pull one back for the Cougars.

The two sides each faced the same number of shots in the first 45 minutes en route to the stalemate, though BYU put four of its six shots on target, which Texas goalkeeper Mia Justus saved on three occasions.

But the Longhorns earned a penalty kick after Olivia Smith was called for a foul against Missimo in the box, and the fourth-year junior cheekily put it away in the 56th minute.

BYU nearly responded again, but Rachel McCarthy's attempt in the 75th minute was saved by Mia Justus.

Instead, less than a minute later, Holly Ward extended the lead by lacing a rocket off her right boot to push Texas' advantage to 3-1 and send the Longhorns to their first conference tournament title since 2007.

With the win, the Longhorns booked an automatic berth in next week's NCAA Tournament and will learn their fate during Monday's selection show. The Cougars are also expected to receive a bid via at-large selection, and Utah State is also in the field after winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament for the first time in program history.

"We're peaking at the right time, and we're really excited," Kelly said.

The Cougars were represented with four players on the Big 12 all-tournament team, including outside back Kendell Petersen, attacking midfielders Brecken Mozingo and Olivia Wade-Katoa, and forward Ellie Walbruch. Only Texas had more, with five players.

Big 12 women's soccer tournament

• Offensive Most Outstanding Player: Lexi Missimo, Texas
• Defensive Most Outstanding Player: Mia Justus, Texas
• All-Tournament team: GK Mia Justus (Texas), DF Kendell Petersen (BYU), DF Lauren Lapomarda (Texas), DF Hannah Anderson (Texas Tech), MF Brecken Mozingo (BYU), MF Olivia Wade-Katoa (BYU), MF Lexi Missimo (Texas), F Ellie Walbruch (BYU), F Chloe Netzel (UCF), F Trinity Byars (Texas), F Holly Ward (Texas)

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