Texas A&M opened the 2016 soccer season tonight at Ellis Field with a loss to the nation's top-ranked team, the Florida State Seminoles.
Shortly before the second minute of the first half, a scattered Aggie defense allowed Florida State forward Deyna Castellanos to tap the ball into the back of the net from just outside the goal area.
Unfortunately, the Aggies were unable to recover from the early goal. The Seminoles held Texas A&M scoreless until the end, using their impenetrable defense to hold the Aggies in the midfield for the majority of the first and second half.
From the moment the game started, Texas A&M knew it was going to be a tough fight against the No. 1 team in the land.
The game proved to be a physical one, and frequent fouls from Florida State prevented the Aggies from being able to breakaway and take shots on goal.
While Texas A&M's Mikaela Harvey was the target of much of the Seminoles' physicality, Haley Pounds was able to step up to the plate and utilize her time in front of the net to attempt some shots on goal.
Abigail Cook, TexAgs
Haley Pounds kept the Aggies in the game and took a few shots on goal to keep the pressure on the Seminoles.
"Haley Pounds did a great job in helping us get control of the ball and move," said coach G Guerrieri.
"Hard work pays off, and Haley's a hard worker," he said. "She's relentless and
wears her heart on her sleeve.
You could see that she wasn't going to
give in on anything."
"One of my mottoes is to be relentless, and I think we showed that," said Pounds. According to Guerrieri, it is that relentlessness that is going to help Texas A&M win games throughout the rest of the season.
Pounds was not the only player that shined on Friday. Guerrieri noted that the new freshmen class did well against a formidable foe.
"I thought all of the freshmen played great," said Guerrieri.
"Cienna Arrieta was one of the best players on the field, I thought. I'm real pleased with the way the freshmen responded. It can be a daunting task in front of a big crowd like tonight and the number one team in the country, and they stepped up to the challenge real well."
Despite the tough loss, Pounds remains optimistic about the rest of the year.
"They're an amazing team, and I thought we played well. Even though we lost, we do have confidence going forward in this next game against Rice and going forward in the season."
Texas A&M Women's Soccer will take on Rice this Sunday, August 21, at Ellis Field at 6 p.m.
