Soccer Watch

With time running out in the final overtime, and a stinging rain slanting down almost horizontally in the bitter wind, Kelly McDonald calmly chested down a cross in the corner of the penalty area, and rocketed a half-volley into the far corner to give the UT women a dramatic 3-2 win over Nebraska Sunday afternoon. With that one shot, the Longhorns jumped back into a tie for second place in the Big 12, regained their spot in the NSCAA national rankings, and kept alive hopes of hosting an NCAA regional tournament -- all of which were slipping away after a 1-0 loss to conference leader Colorado on Friday night.

In the end, the top four teams in the conference split their four-game showdown over the weekend, as Nebraska broke Texas A&M's 24-game home winning streak Friday night, 2-1, in front of a record 3,586 fans at the Aggie Soccer complex, before A&M handed Colorado their first loss of the season, 2-0, on Sunday.

The Horns end their regular season this Friday, hosting Texas A&M in a 7pm showdown on Halloween night, Oct. 31. Mike A. Myers Stadium, off Red River next to Memorial Stadium. $6; $3 students/UT/seniors; $1 if you wear your Halloween costume. www.texassports.com

Congrats, too, to the UT men, who advanced to nationals this weekend by winning their pool at the regional tournament in Lubbock. The Horns -- a club, i.e. nonvarsity, squad -- will play for the national club championship Nov. 20-22 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The U.S. women play Mexico this Sunday, Nov. 2, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas -- 1pm, televised on ESPN2. Also, MLS playoffs kick off Saturday, Nov. 1; no locally televised games that I could find.

European Champions League play continues next week with a 16-game schedule Tuesday and Wednesday. ESPN2 will show one match live: stage two of the "Battle of Britain," as the Glasgow Rangers visit Manchester United at 1:30pm Tuesday, Nov. 4. More on this, that, and the other at Soccer Watch online.