Maile Hayes is the player of the game - energy, positioning and passing. Suggest using Laney Carroll as a true attacking mid - she can create and is much more offensive minded than our current mids.

Final: USA 1 - A&M 4

Strong bounce back game by the Aggies!

As I mentioned after the TCU loss, despite the outcome, A&M found a lineup that can work going forward. And that's what we saw today, especially in the second half with complete domination and a dismantling of a quality side in South Alabama. The touch passes and triangle like attack in the final third was something we haven't seen at A&M in a long time. With Boeckmann leading the attack in the midfield, Hayes, McDonald, Colvin, and Pante used spacing and quick touches and turns to stretch the defense and get good shots in front of goal. 2 of the goals were textbook perfect buildup and put aways. Hayes had a really good game today. This group is starting to gel and knows what each teammate wants before it's actually passed to them. This is a very good sign for a team that didn't have an identity until the second half against TCU.

The coaches are experimenting with placing Carroll in the attacking mid position and I think that is a good spot for her because she's not really a scorer, she's an assist person going forward. She can be aggressive and make those patented moves on the outside and get crosses into the box.

The back line was solid outside of one mistake but really it was the backside coverage that was lacking from Pante on the South Alabama goal. I'm not sure why our defensive mids are not covering for the back line when they get caught upfield, but that has to be corrected.

Becerra seems a bit flustered at this point in the season, but she's too talented to remain on the bench for long. And Leb is really being used for free kicks and corners. I thought both of them would be mainstay starters by mid-season, but they are not quite ready this year unfortunately. Finally, it was good to see Anderson Williams get some real minutes the second half. Hopefully she can regain the form she had when she first arrived at A&M before all the injuries started.

The next few games will be interesting to see if this new form A&M has will take hold or if it was just a brief reprieve from being a very average team. Let's hope this is the start of some good things on the horizon for this group.

I've been talking up Maile this season. She has a high motor and has been more decisive than others. I think it was most obvious at Illinois how much her energy and aggression impacted the game when she came in. I was glad to see her get the start.

We only played 6 substitutes today with a 3 goal lead for the final 30 minutes. Ali Russell had a big brace on her knee.

Mia was running behind her mark to catch up. Right behind. Their legs got tangled and Mia fell her mark ran on. With the observed result

Maile. Yeah, my fav too She seems like our best fit right now as a true forward who can handle the ball, pass, and is more than willing to scrap for the ball with anyone on the opposition. Fast enough, but more, she plays with obvious determination and is willing to do what it takes to give herself a chance to score. Witness her play in first half when she was struck in the head attacking their goal.

G put out the following tweet yesterday "Welcome Back @MaileHayes5! After a Long, Focused, and Patient Recovery from missing the spring and preseason, she bags 2 great goals this weekend"

I remember she didn't play in the spring but did not know that she apparently missed preseason practices.