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Aggies Draw with No. 2 OSU
COLLEGE STATION, Texas –
The Texas A&M soccer team played a hard-fought, 0-0 draw against
No. 2 Oklahoma State Sunday at Ellis Field, in front of a national
audience on ESPNU.
The game culminated in a defensive
battle between the Aggies (12-5-1, 5-1-1 Big 12) and the second-ranked
Cowgirls (16-0-2, 5-0-2 Big12). Both teams kept the ball moving at
midfield and struggled to complete passes near each goal.
“They
had two really good chances that [A&M goalkeeper] Jordan [Day] made
great saves on,” head coach G Guerrieri said. “And then Merritt hit the
crossbar on the one-vs-one. Chances in this game, when you get them you
need to finish with them. Both teams were quality national powers and
neither one of them were able to finish, mostly because of what the
other team was doing.”
In the sixth minute, freshman
Meghan Streight took a free kick from the top left corner of the Aggie
attacking third, sending the ball in to the six-yard box where senior
Megan Majewski headed it into the back of the net. The play was called
back for a foul, however, and the ball never reached the back of the
net again.
Aggie senior Merritt Mathias took the first
shot of the match in the 12th minute, sending the ball wide. Three
minutes later Mathias fired again, this time hitting the body of a
defender.
In the 24th minute, Streight took a second long
free kick, this time from the edge of the circle, and landed the ball
squarely on frame to force a save by OSU goalkeeper Adrianna Franch.
Mathias
followed with another free kick four minutes later after she drew a
hard foul 25 yards from the goal along the right flank. The forward
crossed the ball into the six yard box and Majewski one-touched it into
the arms of Franch.
The Aggies had only one shot in the last 17 minutes of the half, a 41st-minute ball that senior Bri Young sent wide.
“I
think early-on, we were a little out-of-sorts with our possession,”
Guerrieri said. “I think our possession got better after the half when
we made a tactical change in our shape. As the game went on – it’s a
Sunday afternoon and both teams played a physical Big 12 game on Friday
night – you could see a lot of tired people out there.”
When
the match entered the half, both teams had recorded only seven shots
and Oklahoma State had taken three corner kicks. The Cowgirls ended the
match with a 10-1 corner kick advantage, but Day was sure-handed and
grabbed several crosses out of the air.
“I think [Jordan]
is one of the elite goalkeepers anywhere in aerial balls,” Guerrieri
said. “The fact that we give up corner kicks is not a concern to us
because we know she’ll gobble up any ball that’s put into a dangerous
spot.”
The second period ended much like the first, in a 0-0 draw after a fierce defensive half by both teams.
Freshman
Kelley Monogue led the Aggie attack, charging through traffic in the
51st minute and firing inside the near post as Franch stepped out for
the save.
“I think that [Kelley] is clearly going to be a focus,”
Guerrieri said. “She’s the best finisher in the league and she got
herself into a couple of positions and just couldn’t quite get it – she
was a little off-balance here and there. She couldn’t quite get her
foot on the ball. She still took four shots, and usually with four
shots she’d have three on goal, but she was just a little off today.”
With
29 minutes to go in regulation, freshman Bianca Brinson dribbled
through the center of the pitch 25 yards from the goal and sent a
lateral pass to Mathias, who was sprinting down the left flank. Mathias
evaded a Cowgirl defender before going one-on-one against Franch. The
goalkeeper came out of the box and Mathias fired over her head,
slamming the ball into the crossbar.
A last-minute bullet
by OSU’s Krista Lopez with 20 seconds left in regulation could have
ended the match when she went one-on-one against Day, but the freshman
keeper dove to stop the point-blank shot. Oklahoma State’s Annika
Niemeier made a final attempt to score with one second left on the
clock, but Day easily made the catch and took the match into overtime.
Monogue
again came out strong for A&M in the first overtime period, taking
three shots, two of which were blocked, within the first five minutes.
In
the 96th minute the Cowgirls missed another chance as Sarah Brown tried
to send a shot into the upper 90. Day again used her height to jump
high for the save and force a second overtime period.
The
Aggies worked to maintain possession of the ball in the final 10
minutes of the match, but were unable to capitalize on opportunities at
the goal.
Mathias sent a laser just wide of the goalmouth
with less than two minutes left in the match. The senior forward struck
again in the 110th minute after the Aggies completed three clean passes
in the attacking third. Franch made the save, however, and the match
ended with a 0-0 double-overtime draw.
The Aggies and
Cowgirls both ended the match with high foul totals. A&M took 19
shots and had 18 fouls, including two yellow cards, while OSU fired 20
times and committed 19 fouls.
“I thought the fight was
there for both teams,” Guerrieri said. “You could see two teams who had
the potential to go far in the NCAA Tournament.”
The
Aggies travel to Austin Friday for the final match of the regular
season. The game vs. Texas is set for a 6 p.m. start and will be
broadcast on AggieAthletics.com. A win for the Aggies could mean a 12th
Big 12 Championship, depending on the outcome of OSU’s Thursday match
at home against Texas Tech.
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