Makes the double SEC Championships seem like an even bigger accomplishment

Just a huge win for A&M to pull out a game we didn't deserve to win. Monogue made the shot of her life for the winner, she knew she couldn't miss that shot and she didn't. I said all along that Notre Dame would be the toughest out for A&M in the tourney in the quest for the College Cup, and the Irish proved they are a really good side. I'm really proud of the way the team responded after giving up the equalizer as it became a mental test to slowly take back control of the game and then come up with the winning goal. They also did a masterful job of finishing it off in the final 8 minutes with some key possessions by Malherbe and Kunz in the corners.

It's been a while since a team came into Ellis and pretty much controlled the match, stifling our attack and dominating the middle of the field. Florida also had some success, but not like ND did today. We had some girls in the midfield that really struggled today, got pushed around and didn't hustle like they needed to to prevent ND from taking over the pace of play. That was really disappointing since this was the biggest game of their careers. ND dictated long stretches of the match in A&M's end of the field. Thankfully the defense held up for the most part with terrific performances from Streight and Mueller, and while Day is clearly not 100%, she came up with a huge save when the game was tied 1-1 by pushing a ball just wide of the goal.

I was also proud of the crowd today, which was pretty raucous in the 2nd half, especially the last 20 minutes. I think Ellis was at its loudest ever when Kelley scored the winner. Absolutely deafening. The ND sideline just sunk after that score as they knew it was over.

Now on to Penn State on Saturday night, and we will really need the local community to come out and support the team during a Thanksgiving weekend when most students will be gone. This team deserves to be sent out on a high note with a win and first ever College Cup appearance. Coach G is so close to the promised land and this group of girls is in prime position to accomplish a milestone in the program. I'm not as high on Penn State as others and I actually think they are an easier team to play than ND. I really believe A&M is going to go through as long as we come out and hustle from the opening whistle and put it away early on. I just think our offense will be too much for the Nittany Lions, which have not faced an offense like ours this year.

Another backhanded compliment from hidden

Meh, I agree with everything Hidden said.

Penn State. 20-3-0, #2 seed. Should be another nail-biter.

Double post.

Also agree with everything hidden said. I thought we were outplayed today. But the final score is all that matters.

Great match of two soccer titans battling for the right to advance! Definately a carnival atmosphere at Ellis today!!

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Definately a carnival atmosphere at Ellis today!!

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Despite the wishes of Notre Dame & the NCAA...

ND was very anti-standing

Did you know confetti is an artificial noisemaker?

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Definately a carnival atmosphere at Ellis today!!

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Despite the wishes of Notre Dame & the NCAA...

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Backstory?

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Definately a carnival atmosphere at Ellis today!!

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Despite the wishes of Notre Dame & the NCAA...

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Backstory?

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Basically, the ND coach complained to the NCAA official at the game that we shouldn't be able to use confetti because it gets on the field and makes noise. And then the ND fans moved into the Maroon Militia section and complained to the ushers that we were standing and tried to make us sit down so they could see, even though there were plenty of seats elsewhere. Very whiny and rude fans.

They called is bullies for making them stand in the Maroon Militia section

Today's game was the most stressful game in recent memory and I pretty much agree with Hidden. The Aggies dominated the first 15 minutes and the last 20 minutes. Imagine what they could do if they won all 90 (7 goals?).

The crowds this weekend were the most electric and fun I've experienced in four years at Ellis. So. Much. Fun. A lot of new students seem to be loyally following the team. Hopefully that continues into next season too.

Hopefully we can get a good crowd on Saturday and put away a very good Penn State team and make history. I, for one, can not wait! BTHO Penn State!

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Definately a carnival atmosphere at Ellis today!!

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Despite the wishes of Notre Dame & the NCAA...

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Backstory?

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Basically, the ND coach complained to the NCAA official at the game that we shouldn't be able to use confetti because it gets on the field and makes noise. And then the ND fans moved into the Maroon Militia section and complained to the ushers that we were standing and tried to make us sit down so they could see, even though there were plenty of seats elsewhere. Very whiny and rude fans.

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Great crowd today ... everyone was really into the match and I know it helped the team to have the 12th Man on their side. I'm really glad we made the trip.

This was a really exciting match between two very good sides. I know we were outplayed in stretches but that happens. The Aggies showed a lot of heart and grit to get the job done.

This is a special group of players and a fun team to watch.

Disappointing to hear about the ND fans and coach. You would think they would want to try and grow the sport instead of poopooing on fans having fun. If their fans tried to sit in the MM section then they are idiots.

I thought we dominated the first portion of the game, then there was some even play and ND had the advantage for the end of the half. We generated a couple good chances in the first half, but once we started loosing possession and making subs we did not have as many opportunities to push forward. Our goal off the corner was a great ball by Kelly, that either went straight in or was an own goal right at the goal line. Defense was solid in the first half other than a few bad misplays, mostly from Paulson, but she also had a couple good plays...

The second half started out with a bang, but goalies save goals in the first 5 minutes. Day played well with a couple nice saves, but as someone else mentioned the goal they scored was a weak goal. Hate to see goals like that, but with as many chances as ND had, something was bound to go in. After ND scored we turned it back up and got the offense moving again. Overall ND probably outplayed us but we mostly made them work for the chances they had and we put plenty of pressure on them.

Going forward we need to sure up our passing in the defensive half, still to many giveaways for good chances. We are also giving up to many corners. I look forward to hosting the elite 8 with a chance to get to the cup.

The word "deserve" is meaningless in sports.

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Today's game was the most stressful game in recent memory and I pretty much agree with hidden

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Thanks for that. Our family got there about 20 minutes late the score was already 1-0 Ags. From that point forward the game seemed to be played mostly on the Ags side of the field with lots of close-call corner kicks. We thought it was stressful.

Someone asked how teams get here. According to Flight tracker, ND got here by charter Wednesday afternoon and then that plane flew to Lubbock to apparently pick up Texas Tech to take them to Gainesville. I talked to a ND staffer after the game and they were going back by charter. He said it was unusual for them to use a charter. I think Arizona came here on American through DFW on Thursday afternoon.
I thought it was a great crowd today and that everyone knew the importance of this game and the quality of the opponent and really helped carry the team the last 10 minutes. I think Jordan's knee bothers her on goal kicks and they were playing up so she couldn't kick it short. The same thing happened in the USC game in Orange Beach. We just could not get anything past their midfield for the middle half of the game but in the final 15 minutes we seemed to get a second wind and get better control at midfield.
It's so great for Kelley to have a comeback year. I don't think she scored at all in the last 15 games last year so for her to score now is just what the team needed and I'm really happy for her,

ND had the better side but they didn't have Kelly Monogue. The ref ignored a fair amount of pushing and punching today and the girls played tentative while under pressure for most of the match. But they righted the ship at the end of the match, and were clearly the side that wanted it more for the last 10 minutes or so. Thought little Mikaela had a terrific game and Brinson was an absolute beast with her hustle. Bring on PSU.

What did they say? I'm looking for a link.

Edit - found it..... http://www.und.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/112314aaa.html

Women's BB National championship game
Johnny's Heisman
this

I'm digging our recent success against these guys.

Where is their new coach from after Waldrum left after last season?

I will type the same comment at the beginning and end of my brief comments. The team found a way to win today and we should all be proud of the way the team fought to the end. The team started well and finished well. The middle segment of the game involved Notre Dame attempting to cram the ball down our throats. During this segment of the game they largely controlled the midfield and stymied our attackers. We struggled controlling the ball and did not play quickly enough to get the Irish off balance. Shea, Annie, Allie, BB and Kelly (props for her goals are certainly deserved) were not very productive today. The Irish made things tough on them. Janae was good in the air but also struggled with the speed of the Irsh pursuit. Harvey came back from a so-so first half and produced a solid second half. Mahlerbe put forth a good effort. To beat Penn State the team needs to work harder and faster while doing a much better job of executing on the basics and controlling the midfield. These players have what it takes to get the job done and I am confident they will step it up on Saturday.

The defense really battled today and limited the quality of the Irish threat sufficiently to get the win. Streight, Edwards, Mueller, Day and Paulson all deserve some credit today for a job well done. Yes, not everything was perfect, but you can't argue with the result. Finding a way to get Edwards and Mueller forward a bit more (Edwards did this is the first half) could help put more pressure on the opposition. The overall team defense also deserves a positive mention.

We simply have to play these higher quality teams with more quick and clean ball movement. If we can control the flow of play we will control our own destiny. Odds are that the midfielders and the forwards will play better and this will improve our odds against Penn State. Our "stars" need to show up and have an impact. Strong team defense will also remain very critical going forward.

The team found a way to win today and we should all be proud of the way the team fought to the end.

Congratulations to the Aggies and coaches on a great win!

Thanks to hiden, expert, mull and futbol for your excellent analyses/commentaries.

Edit: Very disappointing to read about the behavior of the ND fans and coaches. Moreover, I agree that the ND coach was far from gracious in her post-game comments. I expect better sportsmanship from ND.

ND's coach was most recently at Dartmouth and came to South Bend quite highly regarded. Her thinly veiled lack of respect for A&M in her post game comments will certainly not endear her to the "upper echelon" of coaches. Frankly, I've never heard any opponent or coach have anything but high praise for the Ellis Field facility and environment - whether they win, lose or draw. Very poor reflection on a Notre Dame program that has been well respected both on and off the field.

Notre Dame is a very talented team. I agree with the above comment that they are a better team than Penn State (and I've seen Penn State play 4-5 times this year). Penn State is experienced, strong, and physical, but in my opinion have nowhere near the depth of pure talent, speed and technical ability of the Irish.

Big thanks to all those who took the time to share their game analysis and perspective - really appreciated by those of us who can't get to as many games as we'd like.

I was next to a group of ND fans to the left of the Maroon Militia and they were fine. One of the guys was a former Aggie who was supporting ND because his daughter played for them. Sucks that there were some crappy ND fans but they weren't all bad.

The atmosphere was great today. I'm a first year grad student here and this was only my fifth game but it was the best by far. My previous school had excellent soccer crowds (we regularly were at or near the top in NCAA attendance for the mens games) but the yell leaders and Maroon Militia make Ellis field really really special.

I definitely felt the ref was poor today. The yellow that Harvey picked up was an absolute joke and the calls were very very inconsistent. But I also felt our girls were a bit slow on certain passes and that really hurt us on a few breaks. I also get incredibly nervous when our defenders decide to make a high risk low reward play by trying to out dribble a pressing forward. The effort to quickly score again after the equalizer was great, however.

I won't be able to attend next weekend as I will not be in town but hopefully I get 3 more games to watch on TV!

I'd like to echo all those thanking the thorough analysis for those who attended the game yesterday. The video I watched wasn't as good as previously. It seemed all I saw were wide shots of the field, so details were hard to come by.

On the conduct of the ND coach, it seems like the conduct of the coaches in general is becoming more "professional" in terms of attitude and bitterness at close losses. It's too bad. As an older Ag, I still relish the sportsmanship shown by everyone on our coaching staff. G. is always gracious, both in victory and defeat. It's sad to think that the Kim Mulkay's of the world should have the dominant voice in the coaching ranks.

All that said, these Aggie ladies have a chance next weekend to push the program to new heights and attain our first ever final four. Gig 'em ladies!

Our attendance was the best of the 8.
A&M 2250
UCLA 1542
Stanford 1300
UF 882
UNC 800
UVA 729
FSU 688
PSU 653

I don't know what was going in at UNC Friday where they had over 4000. Sunday crowds here all always smaller than Friday so yesterday was great.

I was impressed by the number of Notre Dame fans that came out to Ellis. Unfortunately, most just sat on their hands the entire time.

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I was impressed by the number of Notre Dame fans that came out to Ellis. Unfortunately, most just sat on their hands the entire time.

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I appreciate opposing fans that sit on their hands! Best kind!

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I'd like to echo all those thanking the thorough analysis for those who attended the game yesterday. The video I watched wasn't as good as previously. It seemed all I saw were wide shots of the field, so details were hard to come by.

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The video was not very good. After wide shots in the first half, some of the second half was so tight that the camera was not keeping up with the ball. I think they were struggling with the difference in brightness between the part of the field in the shadows and the rest of the field. There was one point where you could see the cameraman fiddling with the filters on the lens. I wish we had the score and clock insets that we get when SECN or ESPN is in town, but I assume that was because we the local coverage is cheaper.

That said, it's much better than nothing and I am really happy with the amount of streaming that has been available since Suddenlink got WatchESPN and SECN+ started.

There is absolutely no doubt that Notre Dame is a much better team than Arizona so it's no surprise the game was a lot closer.

The Irish recruit nationally and often have their pick of top recruits, and their roster includes a number of USWNT youth team members (and a English national team player). Their pressure and physical play, especially in the midfield, were impressive.

To me, the main difference between Friday and Sunday is that defensively, Notre Dame was much better positioned, enabling them to shut down our creative attempts to get the ball to our forwards. In the first half, especially, we had a number of opportunities that were simply cut out by defenders being in the exact right spot to make the play.

At the same time, the Aggies showed a lot of intensity and defensive hustle, too. I think for the most part, they matched Notre Dame's workrate. The Irish, of course, were trying to come from behind and the Aggies were trying not to make a mistake. That makes a difference in the mentality and approach of the two teams. Once the Irish equalized, the Aggies came alive again and started pressing.

Anyone know why Morgan Andrews did not play more for Notre Dame? She was averaging like 70+ plus minutes coming into the game but only played 19 Sunday.