Kozarski’s Strike with 62 Seconds Left Pushes Tech Past Cincy 2-1, to Big 12 Semis

AUSTIN – A rocket of a left-footed shot by senior Giselle Kozarski with 62 seconds left, a first half header from Hannah Anderson and two assists from freshman Sam Courtwright pushed the No. 5 ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders to a dramatic 2-1 victory Monday afternoon over Cincinnati in the Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals.

In the same stadium and goal as Anderson’s dramatic winner over then No. 14 Texas, it was a different hero that made her presence felt as Kozarski delivered the Red Raiders (15-0-4) 15th victory of the season.

Not to be lost in the victory was another strong performance by fellow senior Madison White who recorded three saves, no bigger than a sprawling 83rd minute save on a point blank save off a ripped shot by Fran Stables.

The Red Raiders got off to a good start in their first match of the 2023 Big 12 Championship using a 13th minute header from Anderson off a Courtwright free kick to take a 1-0 lead. The free kick came from about 35 yards and found the wide-open Anderson in the six.

Anderson high pointed the ball and redirected a header for her fifth goal of the season.

The strike allowed Tech to take a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.

After a slow start to the second half by both sides, Cincinnati (4-8-7) found the equalizer when Ellie Flower picked off a pass and slipped a ball to Lauren Zemberyova who hit a shot that

White initially saved before it fell into the net.

With the game tied at one, Tech continued to search for the go-ahead goal, but nothing materialized until midway through the 88th minute, when Skurcenski trapped and delivered a perfect pass to Courtwright who fed a streaking Kozarski.

The forward raced down the left side took two dribbles and ripped a left-footed shot past UCs Anna Rexford with 1:02 left on the clock.

With the victory, Tech advances to Wednesday semifinals against Texas. First kick from Round Rock is set for 4:30 p.m.

HEAD COACH TOM STONE:
“It wasn’t our best performance of the year but a lot of credit needs to go to Cincinnati, who may not have had a ton of wins in Big 12 play this year, but has given everyone fits. Their gameplan for us today was excellent. They were well organized and kept their cool. Tip of the hat to their coaching staff, they did an amazing job of getting their team ready to play. We got too complacent and played too slowly. We didn’t do a good job of taking advantage of opportunities to go after them when we them, especially when we were up one. They had a good counterattack. Maybe there was a bit of good fortune that the ball went in. We were fortunate in the end that we had Maddie White pulling that one out of the upper corner that could have been the game winner for them. Thank goodness for Maddie White saving and what a goal from G. I said yesterday in our team meeting that it’s a new season, it’s a postseason and a tournament. It’s not a regular season game and we need new hero’s and new moments. New dramatics. We had so much of that over the regular season, and now G has provided us with our first heroic moment. I was telling her [from the sidelines] to get the ball to her right foot, but she smashed it with her left foot and brought the victory to us. She obviously knew better than me.”

UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders look to advance to the Big 12 Championship title game on Wednesday afternoon when they battle Texas. First-kick from Round Rock is set for 4:30 p.m.

–TECH–

Release provided by Andrew Stern Texas Tech Athletics