A&M's offense shines against UTRGV as the Ags cruise to a 5-0 victory
No. 15 Texas A&M soccer defeated UTRGV (4-2-1) 5-0 in a dominant shutout victory on Sunday.
In the first-ever meeting between the two sides, the Aggies, who improved to 7-1-2 on the year with the win, looked to extend their winning streak in their final non-conference match of the season.
Coming off an impressive 3-0 conference win against Mississippi State on the road, the Aggies looked sharp to start the match.
A&M broke the ice in the fourth minute. Forward Ally Watt intercepted a pass intended for a UTRGV defender and crossed the ball to sophomore forward ÁsdÍs Halldórsdótir who slid one into the left corner. The goal, Halldórsdótir’s second of the season, kicked off a big night for the Iceland-native who tallied two goals on four shots in the match.
In the nineteenth minute, the Aggies extended their lead to 2-0. Midfielder Addie McCain, on a long pass from Jimena Lopez, beat out a UTRGV defender and knocked one in the left corner off of a fake to increase the Aggies’ lead.
With the momentum squarely in the Aggies favor, UTRGV attempted to kick their offense into gear.
In the twenty-third minute, UTRGV forward Emily Zapata launched a powerful deep shot that bounced off the right post. The Vaqueros struggled to gain any momentum offensively for the remainder of the match, managing only six shots throughout the game.
While the Vaqueros offense struggled to gain any traction, UTRGV’s goalkeeper Kinga Szemik played an outstanding game. Szemik, who ended the match with twelve saves, showed stellar vision and positioning despite being bombarded with thirty shots from a persistent Aggie offense.
Out of the break, the Aggie offensive control of the match never wavered.
In the fifty-first minute, a cross from Jimena Lopez put the Aggies in position to strike again. Midfielder Macie Kolb chased down a long cross and passed to Ally Watt. A quick tap from Watt to ÁsdÍs Halldórsdótir allowed Halldórsdótir to slot another in the bottom left corner to put the Aggies up 3-0.
In the eightieth minute, Jimena Lopez, with assists from Grace Piper and Callyn Walton, launched a big shot from just outside the left corner of the six-yard box. With a goal and an assist, Lopez, the team’s leading scorer, added three more points to an already impressive total, pushing her to nineteen points on the year.
In the eighty-fourth minute, midfielder Katie Smith tapped a cross pass to Abby Grace Cooper. Cooper knocked it in the net, scoring the Aggies’ final goal of the match and her first of the season.
A&M head coach G Guerrieri spoke highly of his team’s continued improvement this season.
“I think that we keep getting better and better every game,” said Guerrieri. “That’s what I’m most impressed with. We looked better in the second half today than we looked in the second half on Thursday, which was our best half of the season.
“You could see our depth. . . With the substitutions in the midfield, all the substitutions up front and everyone just kind of stepped in. If anything, they actually picked up the pace a little bit, which was really nice to see.”
With the incredible depth of talent the team enjoys, the Aggies appear to have worked through their offensive woes from early in the season. With a challenging stretch of conference play before them, the renewed confidence in their offense is important.
“We feel as though up to this point we haven’t been the sharpest at connecting our passes, but we have seen improvement moving forward,” said midfielder Addie McCain. “Seeing the connections in the game tonight showed that, and we just need to gain the confidence to do that every match. The goal was to build off today and realize we can play this way in our conference.”
The Aggie will be back in action at Ellis Field on Thursday when they take on Kentucky for their SEC home opener.
