Texas A&M soccer and Alabama played to a 1-1 draw Friday night as the squad continued to search for an end to the dry spell at Ellis Field.
With neither team tallying a goal after two golden-goal overtime periods, time expired after a tightly contested second half.
Texas A&M head coach G Guerrieri offered some words on the team’s performance and moving forward in the last stretch of the regular season.
“It’s a half-turn. We shake off a loss. Barb [Olivieri] scores a great goal. We make two mental mistakes and give up a goal to give the win away,” said Guerrieri. “I’m happy with the fight that we had out there and that we kept battling because it became a bit of a frantic game with the wind and everything, but again, we made a positive step, and now we got to go on the road and get a win against Mississippi on Thursday.”
Emotions ran high throughout the game, with the nail-biting contest in addition to the match marking senior night for the Aggies.
“It was a mixture of being really excited and sad,” said senior Macie Kolb. “Sad that this was my second to last game on Ellis, just knowing that and knowing I won’t be playing in front of the fans anymore soon. So it was really exciting just knowing I had to soak everything in and appreciate everything Aggieland has given me.”
A fast-paced match ensued in the opening minutes of the contest as both teams struggled to get a grip on possession.
Senior goalie Kenna Caldwell asserted the Aggies’ strong defensive stance as she registered her first save of the night in the 11th-minute after recovering a missile from Alabama. Caldwell ended the period with three saves and six on the night.
“I thought (Caldwell) was solid,” Guerrieri said. “She did a good job of leading the backline, I was really pleased with the way the backline played, and we were able to keep the midfield pretty compact which was good for us.”
Alabama nearly capitalized off a corner kick as a quick pass was spotted to defender Gessica Skorka, and she fired one from outside the box, only for the shot to be intercepted by a diving Caldwell.
Numerous chance opportunities were created for both sides, but neither could take advantage and strike first, leaving the first half scoreless.
Seconds into the second half, Texas A&M finally broke the ice as sophomore Barbara Olivieri punched one in from 20 yards off an assist from Mia Pante to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead.
A rapid touch-and-go sequence almost put the Aggies up two as Kate Colvin’s header flew just above the woodwork in the 53rd-minute.
Alabama then found an equalizer off a header from forward Kate Henderson as the Crimson Tide evened the match at 1-1 in the 56th-minute.
With over 15 minutes remaining, Makhiya McDonald almost pushed the Aggies on top after getting a few steps ahead of the Crimson Tide and firing one from up-close. The attempt was swatted away at the last second.
The rising intensity carried into the closing minutes of regulation as both sides scrambled to try and find a winner. No spark was lit, and golden-goal overtime was soon underway.
Numerous offside calls were given to both A&M and Alabama through the first overtime period as each team was eager to put the game to rest.
A second overtime period was in motion with no side letting up. Midfielder Taylor Pounds was on the mark from deep but was quickly recovered by Alabama’s goalie. The score remained iced as the match ended in a draw.
“It’s experience for us,” Guerrieri said. “It’s our second overtime game, and it’s just disappointing we couldn’t win at home. We want to win these games at home here at Ellis, especially on senior night.”
The Aggies will head back out on the road to take on Mississippi State this Thursday night.
