A&M eliminated from SEC Tournament by Mississippi State in heartbreaker
After missing the postseason in 2021, Texas A&M’s hopes for a deep run in the SEC Tournament were dashed in the opening round by Mississippi State after a nail-bitting 2-1 overtime loss on Sunday evening in Pensacola, FL.
Not all hope is lost as the fate of the Aggies’ postseason will be revealed during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Nov. 7. Currently ranked No. 28 in RPI, the Maroon & White hope to snatch one of 33 available at-large bids.
“For us to get 29 shots and only put 10 of them on-goal and miss several open goals, you don’t win if that’s what’s going to happen on both sides of the ball,” A&M head coach G Guerrieri said. “It’s tough for us, but it’s what we got to be able to get better at and be able to do going forward from it. That’s just the way the game is, it can be a cruel game sometimes.”
In the 99th minute, Mississippi State’s Maggie Wadsworth tracked down a pass from midfield and slotted it back as she tumbled out of bounds. The ball slipped through the air between two A&M defenders and was perfectly placed for a go-ahead header by Jojo Ngongo in the first of two 10-minute overtime periods.
And just like the first meeting between the two teams in September, a single lapse by the Aggie defense made all the difference as the Bulldogs held on to eventually win the game.
Though the Aggies controlled the first-half margin in shots (12-7), they lacked efficiency compared to Mississippi State as all their attempts were on frame.
In the 38th minute, midfielder Juliet Moore served a spiraling ball into the 6-yard box from just beyond the center circle. With A&M’s backline scrambling, Kenna Caldwell nearly recovered the kick but lost the handle as Gwen Mummert burst through and tapped in the game’s opening goal.
Caldwell collected six saves in total, all occurring in the first 45 minutes, while Mississippi State’s Mac Titus saved a career-high nine shots.
The score remained 1-0 in favor of the Bulldogs late into the game.
As time winded down in regulation, Maile Hayes crossed through the penalty box, but her attempt was deflected. Forward Jai Smith retrieved possession before the ball left the end line and slanted it back to Mia Pante, who fired past a diving Titus for a heroic equalizer in the 86th minute.
The momentum from Pante’s clutch goal powered the Aggies through the opening minutes of overtime, but they came up just short of translating it into another score.
“If there’s a silver lining to it, we get a chance now to go and get better,” Guerrieri said. “Health-wise, we ran out of players. We had a couple of players go out in this game. So it gives us a week to recharge and regroup and see where the NCAA Tournament committee sends us.”