A&M soccer defeats Colorado College on a rain soaked Friday night
Amidst rainy conditions, the No. 5 Texas A&M soccer team (7-0) defeated Colorado College (3-2), 2-1 at Ellis Field behind late goals from Asdis Halldorsdottir and Rheagen Smith. Colorado College parked the bus from the very beginning sitting back in a 1-4-4-1 formation.
“You’ve got to give Colorado College some credit. They came in with a plan — they were going to put 10 people behind the ball and close down the midfield,” Guerrieri said.
The Aggies were the aggressors throughout the match, however, their possessions became sloppy when a torrential downpour soaked the pitch.
“It’s pretty difficult to play in the rain because the ball is slippery but I feel like we stuck to our game plan, we passed around really well,” A&M midfielder Addie McCain said. “It’s tough but you’ve just got to do what you do and just play.”
Tied at 0-0 with three minutes left in the first half, lightning struck in the area, prompting a delay that lasted around 45 minutes. Though they tallied 12 shots in the half — three of which were on frame — the maroon and white were unable to score and entered the intermission tied with the Tigers at 0-0 . Colorado College was able to net the first goal of the match with a strike from the center of the 18-yard box that went into the upper right side of the net.
“We just had to keep our focus and maintain our battle we them. They may have scored but we had to fight back even harder just to come back,” Rheagan Smith said. “Down the line that will prove that we’re a team that’s hard to beat. We will give 100-percent for all 90 minutes.”
The goal sparked an increase in intensity from the Aggie side as they put three forwards up top in order to combat the defensive Tiger formation. The intense pressure proved fruitful as Asdis Halldorsdottir tied the game up with a beautiful 25-yard strike that found the top right corner of the goal.
“I’m really happy with her and her performance, she’s getting more and more comfortable in our system,” Guerrieri said of Halldorsdottir. “You can see that her level of play is really starting to rise which is fantastic going forward.”
The Aggies continued to pepper Colorado College goalkeeper Jade Odom, who had to make five saves in the match. In the 70th minute, Kendall Ritchie bent a ball to the front post of the goal, which grazed the head of Rheagen Smith from a yard out of the goaline for the game-winner. The win lifted the Aggies record to (7-0). The maroon and white will return to action on Sunday hosting William & Mary with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.