A late goal by defender Carly Montgomery and even later heroics by keeper Mia Justus lifted the Texas soccer team to a 1-0 win over South Carolina on Sunday for the school’s first SEC championship.

Montgomery headed home a cross from Lexi Missimo on a set piece in the 79th minute for the only goal in the SEC Tournament final in Pensacola, Fla. That goal proved enough for Justus and the Longhorns’ defense, which allowed only one goal in three matches at the tournament.

"I’m so incredibly proud of this team," said Texas coach Ange Kelly, who's team topped Arkansas in extra time in a SEC semifinal Thursday. "Just what a battle, right? We didn’t have much left in the tank after the other night, but the fact that the score at half today was one that we liked, it gave us the ability to open up the press a little more with only 45 minutes left. We weathered the first half and then opened up during the second half and executed a wonderful set piece."

Justus ended the championship match with seven saves, including a diving stop of Corinna Zullo's header in the 82nd minute. Texas survived another near-miss moments later when Cat Barry launched a shot from about 20 feet out that glanced off the post.

"I’ve said it to everybody: She is – hands down – the best goalkeeper in the country and it was on full display here this week," Kelly said. "She has so many years ahead of her, and I’m just so grateful she’s been with us here at the University of Texas. She’s a wonderful, wonderful shot stopper. She’s tremendous with her feet to be able to make unbelievable saves and you need those kinds of players to step up in big moments to win these kinds of tournaments. I’m really proud of her and the whole squad.”

Justus also earned the tournament's most valuable player award, but she quickly deflected the praise much like a Gamecocks' seven shots on goal.

"It’s always cool to get an award, but the back line makes it so easy for me to make saves, easy saves that go right to me and forcing shooters to take bad angles," she said. "All the credit has to go to the back line.”

Texas (16-3-2), which finished third in the SEC's regular season, has won back-to-back conference tournament titles for the first time since 2006 and 2007 and has captured three conference tournament titles in the past four years. Last season, the Longhorns topped BYU in their final Big 12 match.

Texas coach Angela Kelly won her fifth SEC Tournament title and her seventh conference championship. Before she took over the Longhorns' program in 2012, she led Tennessee to SEC Tournament titles in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2008.

With the win, Texas secured the SEC’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The Longhorns will find out their seeding fate Monday and will open tournament play later this week. The first round of the NCAA Tournament will take place Friday-Sunday at select campus sites.

Before Sunday’s title match, the No. 21 Longhorns had climbed to No. 18 in the NCAA’s RPI rankings. There’s a chance they will gain a few spots and surpass No. 13 South Carolina, which would strengthen their claim to hosting a first-round matchup.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas soccer beats South Carolina, wins first SEC title for UT