Photo by Brian Okosun
Texas A&M Soccer
No. 8 Texas A&M defeats Georgia, 1-0
Texas A&M Soccer was on a mission to prove themselves on Friday night.
After falling to Georgia in the 2015 season, the Aggies were determined not to let history repeat itself. In a hard-fought match against the Bulldogs, Texas A&M walked away with a 1-0 victory, bringing them to 2-0 in SEC play and 6-2 on the season. The win also made for their fifth consecutive shutout.
"It's something that we've been able to hang our hat on. We know that we can defend well and we defended well tonight," Coach G. Guerrieri said.
"Dani Rice continues to be absolutely rock solid back there. The confidence [the team has] from having Dani behind them right now is really helping us out."
While the defensive players continued to dominate in Friday night's game, the offensive players put up a relentless fight in front of the Georgia goal.
In the first 25 minutes of the match, Haley Pounds and Emily Bates were taking shot after shot. It seemed as though it would only be a matter of time until one of them would score. But it was Sarah Shaw who ultimately made the difference.
In the 26th minute of the game, the Aggies lined up in front of the Bulldogs' goal to receive a corner kick from freshman midfielder Cienna Arrieta. After Arrieta perfectly placed the ball in front of the goal, the ball was bounced around in a confused cluster. The ball was then passed out into open field, landing at the feet of midfielder Shaw.
Brian Okosun
Brittany Crabtree dodges a defender and makes a run to the goal.
Optimizing on disheveled defenders, Shaw slid the ball in between the crowd from 18 yards out, placing the shot in the back right corner of the net.
"When we had scouted Georgia, he [Guerrieri] noticed that the goalie stays on their line most of the time. So I knew to keep it low and try to hit to the corners," Shaw said. The game-winning goal makes for her first of the season.
When the Aggies returned in the second half, they changed formation, putting four defenders on the field and Margaret Schmidt, who is typically a center back, in the midfield. With a strong defensive presence in the game, Texas A&M made it clear they were doing everything in their power to keep the Bulldogs away from their net.
The tactic proved to be successful after the Aggies only allowed Georgia to take four shots throughout the entirety of the game compared to Texas A&M's 12 shots.
"It's definitely a nice taste of revenge. It was an upsetting loss last year," McKayla Paulson, a junior defender, said. "We have a more experienced team now, so we were all ready to come out and beat them in front of the 12th Man and show them who's the top dog."
The Aggies will conclude their non-conference season this Sunday against UC Riverside at Ellis Field at 6 p.m.
After falling to Georgia in the 2015 season, the Aggies were determined not to let history repeat itself. In a hard-fought match against the Bulldogs, Texas A&M walked away with a 1-0 victory, bringing them to 2-0 in SEC play and 6-2 on the season. The win also made for their fifth consecutive shutout.
"It's something that we've been able to hang our hat on. We know that we can defend well and we defended well tonight," Coach G. Guerrieri said.
"Dani Rice continues to be absolutely rock solid back there. The confidence [the team has] from having Dani behind them right now is really helping us out."
While the defensive players continued to dominate in Friday night's game, the offensive players put up a relentless fight in front of the Georgia goal.
In the first 25 minutes of the match, Haley Pounds and Emily Bates were taking shot after shot. It seemed as though it would only be a matter of time until one of them would score. But it was Sarah Shaw who ultimately made the difference.
In the 26th minute of the game, the Aggies lined up in front of the Bulldogs' goal to receive a corner kick from freshman midfielder Cienna Arrieta. After Arrieta perfectly placed the ball in front of the goal, the ball was bounced around in a confused cluster. The ball was then passed out into open field, landing at the feet of midfielder Shaw.
Brian Okosun
Brittany Crabtree dodges a defender and makes a run to the goal.
"When we had scouted Georgia, he [Guerrieri] noticed that the goalie stays on their line most of the time. So I knew to keep it low and try to hit to the corners," Shaw said. The game-winning goal makes for her first of the season.
When the Aggies returned in the second half, they changed formation, putting four defenders on the field and Margaret Schmidt, who is typically a center back, in the midfield. With a strong defensive presence in the game, Texas A&M made it clear they were doing everything in their power to keep the Bulldogs away from their net.
The tactic proved to be successful after the Aggies only allowed Georgia to take four shots throughout the entirety of the game compared to Texas A&M's 12 shots.
"It's definitely a nice taste of revenge. It was an upsetting loss last year," McKayla Paulson, a junior defender, said. "We have a more experienced team now, so we were all ready to come out and beat them in front of the 12th Man and show them who's the top dog."
The Aggies will conclude their non-conference season this Sunday against UC Riverside at Ellis Field at 6 p.m.
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