Soccer: Ags draw to No. 9 Baylor 0-0 in double-overtime

For over 100 years, Texas A&M and Baylor have engaged in the ‘Battle of the Brazos’ in some shape or form.  After A&M left the Big 12 conference in 2011, it appeared that the heated rivalry would cease to exist.

However, it was rekindled once again – bad blood and all – on Sunday night in the Texas A&M Invitational soccer tournament.

Behind a combined 25 saves, the No. 24 Aggies and No. 9 Bears battled to a 0-0, double-overtime tie in front of 2,052 fans at Ellis field. With the tie, A&M now sits a 3-2-1 on the season and 14-4-2 all-time against their foes from Waco.

From the opening kick, it was obvious that the match would be highly contested, and at some times overly-physical. Within the first 30 seconds of the game, A&M forward Annie Kunz was intentionally tackled by Baylor forward Vic Hoffman on the Aggie sideline and eventually carted off the field due to injury.

Kunz would return to the sidelines during the second half in crutches and appears to only have suffered a bad sprain after x-rays came back negative.

“The tone was set when their coaches sent their player to try to break [Kunz’s] leg,” said A&M head coach G Guerrieri. “Their kid goes out under instruction from their coaches within the first 10 seconds and tries to break Annie Kunz’s leg, and almost did.

“They tried to set the tone and I was proud that our kids didn’t let the bully break us in half. I was pleased with the battle our kids put up when they still tried to play against a team that was interested in playing much soccer.”

With Kunz on the bench, A&M turned to their other weapons to fill her void. Although Kunz went down, the Aggies did return junior midfielder/forward Shea Groom after missing the past two games with a broken bone in her face. Groom registered three shots on the evening, two of which were on goal.

“It was great having Shea back in,” said Guerrieri. “I thought she did great both in the midfield and in a couple positions on the front line.”

Also impressive was junior forward Bianca Brinson who was coming off a decent game against San Diego where she recorded her first assist of the season.

 “Bianca did a great job of really trying to cause trouble for Baylor,” stated Guerrieri. “She played some great balls for us across the area that we were just half a step off from.”

Over the final 20 minutes of play, Baylor pushed for possession as much as they had all game, but a team effort on the part of the Aggies and a few outstanding saves from A&M goalie Jordan Day kept the Bears off the board and the score at 0-0. Day, who led the country in shutouts in 2012 with 14, picked up her second goose egg of the season.

“If you don’t have a goalie who can deal with Baylor’s crosses, you’re in trouble,” said Guerrieri. “Unfortunately for them, that’s Jordan’s strength. She’s outstanding with those. I’m always proud of her and she always does a great job.”

Obviously , the Aggies wanted to come away with a victory, but a tie against a top-10 team is nothing to frown upon and Guerrieri knows that a rematch in the NCAA Tournament is a very real possibility.

And while A&M would love another shot at beating the Bears, Guerrieri hates the thought of risking his players against a team that is out for blood.

“It scares me to put anyone out against a team like that. I know this team like the back of my hand, it’s what they do,” concluded Guerrieri. “I see these players like my own kids. I hate when someone comes out and tries to hurt my kids.

“[Baylor] will probably do very well in the Big 12 which gives a good chance that we could see them in the post-season due to geography.”