No. 16 Aggies jump out early, down Wildcats 4-0 on Sunday evening
The No. 16 Texas A&M Aggies (3-0-1) toppled a previously undefeated Abilene Christian (3-1-0) team 4-0 in a shutout victory on Sunday.
The Aggies’ offense wasted no time in getting down to business. Junior forward Jimena Lopez, with assists from Macie Kolb and Rheagen Smith, scored in the first minute of the match. Lopez’s score came at the twenty-five-second mark and became the second-fastest goal to start a match in school history, behind only Nikki Thrasher’s eleven-second strike against Oklahoma State in 2001.
With a goal already on the board, the Aggies did not wait long to add another to their lead. Forward Ally Watt, with an assist from Lopez, racked up a second score for A&M while still in the first minute when she headed one in from inside the goal box to make it 2-0.
In the twentieth minute, junior Addie McCain slotted one in the bottom left corner to put the Aggies up 3-0. Jimena Lopez, who earned Player of the Game honors, also assisted on the goal. With a score and three assists on an outstanding night, Lopez can see an improvement in the team’s early offensive efforts.
“We’ve been working on getting a good start and making an impact on our rivals,” Lopez said. “I’m really proud of our team to start off that way, and scoring two early goals, that was awesome.
“I wouldn’t say we have hit our stride. We are definitely improving. However, there’s always room for improvement. We want to get better and better and keep getting stronger until we’ve really reached that peak.”
Heading into half time with a 3-0 lead, the Aggies did not lose any momentum. In the sixtieth minute of the game, McCain, with another assist from Jimena Lopez, struck again to put up another point for the Aggies. With her second goal on the night, McCain secured the first brace of her Aggie career.
The firepower of the offense was backed with solid defensive play, as the Aggie defense allowed only one shot in the first half and seven throughout the game. Reigning SEC Freshman of the Week Shantel Hutton recorded two outstanding saves to keep the Wildcats off the board in the second half.
Following Friday night’s 4-0 win with another high scoring victory, A&M head coach G Guerrieri believes the two matches have answered any lingering questions regarding the team’s offensive abilities.
“It definitely answered a lot of questions if we can keep the ball and if we can move the ball,” said Guerrieri.
“The fourth goal tonight was a terrific setup - [it was] inside, outside, back across, and in,” Guerrieri added. “We scored two goals in the first minute of the game. I don’t know that we’ve ever done that in the 27 years I’ve been here. You can see a lot of things we still have to clean up, but it’s the second weekend of the season, and we’re in a good spot right now to be undefeated in the first four games.”
The Aggies will be back in action on Friday night when they face off with Ohio State at 8:00 p.m. at Ellis Field.
