No. 6 Texas A&M soccer defeats Auburn 4-2

After struggling to convert their chances in their last two matches, the No. 6 A&M soccer team (12-1-1, 3-1-1 SEC) defeated Auburn 4-2.

The Aggies found the back of the net early, scoring on the first opportunity of the game as defensive midfielder Grace Piper crossed a perfect ball onto the foot of Ally Watt who scored on an acrobatic volley.

The Aggies quickly added to their lead just a minute later as Addie McCain found a wide open Jimena Lopez in the center of the goal at the six-yard line. Lopez then netted a sliding goal off of McCain’s cross.

“I was really pleased with our finishing,” Guerrieri said. “The first two goals were exactly as we prepared the whole week for.”

Lia Musgrave, TexAgs

The Tigers attacked the Aggies for most of the first half despite being down.

After the A&M defense was virtually untested in the game’s opening minutes, the Tigers scored on their first real chance via a breakaway shot from six yards out. Auburn forward Aycock Treva slotted the ball into the back post past A&M goalkeeper Cosette Morche.

Despite the early offensive explosion, the Aggies slowed down and the Tigers were on the attack for the rest of the half.

“You’re winning 2-0 inside of two and a half minutes and then we stop playing. We just took the foot off the gas and allowed a good team to start playing,” Guerrieri said. “One of the things that we respect Auburn the best for is that they're a hardworking team. For the rest of the half, they outworked us.”

That changed in the 39th minute as Addie McCain settled a poor Auburn clearance and scored a rocket goal from 20 yards out. McCain’s goal gave the Aggies a 3-1 lead at the intermission.

Auburn netted a quick goal off the foot of Dani Solaru who beat A&M’s offside trap and scored from eight yards out. That goal proved to be an exception to the great performance by the Maroon and White in the second half.

“I thought that we came out more in the second half and put more of our stamp on the game,” Guerrieri said. “We did a much better job of keeping them contained in the midfield.”

A momentum shift in favor of the Aggies occurred in the 70th minute as A&M ripped a shot from about 10 yards out. Auburn defender Bri Folds put her arm out to stop it from going in the net and was issued a red card. The Aggies were awarded a penalty kick and Jimena Lopez placed it out of reach of the Auburn goalkeeper.

“I was just very confident of where I wanted to kick it so it didn’t matter where they keeper went if it was well taken it would go in,” Lopez said. “I just had to be confident of where I wanted to shoot it, be confident and strike it hard.”

A&M goalie Cosette Morche made some incredible saves down the stretch to close out the game and the Aggies locked up their third win in SEC play.

The Aggies will return to action on Sunday as they take on Kentucky. The game will be televised on SEC Network+ with kickoff slated for 1:00 P.M.