Soccer: Ags claim SEC title with 3-2 victory over LSU

Most Texas A&M students spend their Halloween night getting dressed up in their favorite costume before finding their way to Northgate where they socialize and partake in a few adult beverages.

Some even revert back to their childhood and spend their evening walking the neighborhoods of College Station, going house to house in usual trick-or-treat fashion.

But for a select few, Halloween is a night to win championships.

On Thursday night, the No. 24 Texas A&M soccer team picked up their 13th conference title after defeating the visiting LSU Tigers 3-2 in front of 1,968 at Ellis Field. With the victory, the Aggies finish the regular season 14-4-1 overall and 9-2-0 in conference play, while the Tigers fall to 9-8-2 on the year and 5-5-1 in SEC matches.

Florida was also named co-champion after a 5-1 defeat of Georgia on Thursday night.

“It’s a special feeling to be a champion in this conference,” said A&M head coach G Guerrieri. “It doesn’t matter what the sport or the gender, it’s the SEC and it’s filled with great teams and great coaches.”

Needing a win to claim the title, the Aggies came out hot and drew first blood in the 14th minute off the head of junior midfielder Shea Groom. On the play prior to the goal, Groom took a shot that was pushed out of bounds by the LSU goalie Megan Kinneman which gave A&M their first corner kick of the match.

Junior Kelley Monogue served a great ball into the scrum where Groom out-jumped the competition and deflected the ball into the net to give the Aggies an early 1-0 advantage.

“Playing at Ellis Field in front of the 12th Man gives us such an advantage,” Groom said of the energy the team showed early in the game. “We were just excited to be in front of our fans.”

Knowing a one goal lead wasn’t safe, A&M continued to play with high intensity to start the second period and eventually broke through once again on a shot from junior Allie Bailey in the 56th minute. Bailey fielded a pass from Groom on the left side of the penalty box and whizzed one past Kinneman for the 2-0 lead and her seventh score of the year.

However, the Tigers would answer the bell and immediately pulled back within one when LSU forward Summer Clark beat A&M keeper Jordan Day just 16 seconds later, making the score 2-1 in favor of the home team.

“Giving up a goal in the next minute [after we scored our second] was kind of a shock,” said Guerrieri. “[We] showed [our] character and confidence in each other to not be shaken by it.”

That confidence was apparent over the final 30 minutes of the contest as the Aggies asserted their dominance down the stretch to pull away from a lesser opponent. Twice this month, A&M has posted come-from-behind victories at Ellis Field over teams they 'should have' beat.

And while the Aggies never trailed against LSU, they did what was needed to preserve their victory – and their championship.

In the 65th minute, freshman Liz Keester stole the ball from an LSU defender deep in Tiger territory and made a pass to junior Annie Kunz who took a shot and scored to give the Aggies another two-goal lead at 3-1.

LSU picked up their second goal minutes later, but thanks to Kunz’ score and strong defense over the last 15 minutes of the contest, A&M was able to withstand a final push and grabbed the title on the final night of the regular season.

“This win showed the character of this team,” stated Guerrieri. “This is a group that comes from great families with great soccer backgrounds, but it’s also indicative of the environment they’re in here at Texas A&M.”

Now, the focus turns to the SEC Tournament where the Aggies hope to pick up another crown.

Although competition starts on Monday from Orange Beach, Ala., A&M will not see the field until Wednesday due to a first-round bye and will face the winner of the 7-10 match-up.

“Sometimes in sports, people don’t take the time to celebrate the real accomplishments,” concluded Guerrieri. “This is a real accomplishment. To win the SEC is something they should be proud of.

“We want them to enjoy tonight. It’s Halloween night, having a little bit of extra candy tonight is no big deal.”