No. 14 Texas A&M Women's Soccer clutches tight win over Little Rock

With SEC play fast approaching, the Aggies seem to have turned over a new leaf. They are playing with more skill, effort, and passion than we have seen yet this season.

Friday night, Texas A&M took on the Little Rock Trojans in what started off as a surprisingly slow game. Fortunately for the Aggies, a second half burst of energy and a powerful shot on goal from Emily Bates would be all they needed to walk away with a 1-0 victory over the Trojans.

"The first half we were kind of on cruise control," Coach G Guerrieri said.

"Little Rock came in here with a great game plan. They were very organized. They were tough. It took a world class goal to score and that's what Emily did for us," he continued. "If you want an example of great effort, Emily Bates is the example."

In the first half, Texas A&M proved that they were the team to beat by maintaining ball possession for the majority of the half and by showcasing their fine-tuned ball skill.

Despite dominating in the midfield, the opportunities in front of the goal were lacking. After 45 minutes of play time, the Aggies had posted the only shot taken on goal in the entire first half.

"The first half was pretty frustrating for us offensively," Emily Bates said.

Frustrations aside, at the start of the second half it appeared as though Texas A&M was a new team. The unproductive first half did not weigh the team down, but instead energized them to come out and clinch a win.

In the third minute of the second half, Bates dribbled her way down to the penalty box in front of Little Rock's goal. After dodging a few of the Trojan defenders, Bates ripped a shot from 18 yards out, landing the ball in the back left corner of the net.


"We were just kind of slow and lackadaisical in the first half. We pushed another person forward because they were putting so many defenders behind the ball and I think that really helped us offensively," Bates said.

"To get anything on-frame was a bonus at this point. To have it go in was just kind of luck."

Bates' first goal of the season would be the game-winner for the Aggies.

"It was really frustrating to wait this long, but now that one has gone in I think that it's going to keep building off of that," she added.

With another shutout in the books for Texas A&M, the Aggies are feeling confident looking ahead to their upcoming matches.

"I think any time that you build up 180 minutes of scoreless ball is a good sign," Guerrieri said.

"We're going to have to come out and play really well on Sunday because Illinois is a much different team than we just played tonight. They're going to bring a lot of challenges for us. They're going to ask a lot of questions of us. We have to be ready to bring energy in the second half in the game on Sunday."

After tonight's victory over Little Rock, Texas A&M's current season record stands at 3-2-0. This Sunday they will take on Illinois at Ellis Field at 6pm.