First-half outburst carries Texas A&M past Grambling State, 8-0
90 minutes of pure domination.
Last facing Grambling State 17 years ago, the Aggies made sure to leave a big mark on the goal sheet as they routed the Tigers on Thursday night at Ellis Field, 8-0. Sydney Becerra and Jazmine Wilkinson headlined the explosive attack with two goals each.
“I can’t say enough good things about our team,” A&M head coach G Guerrieri said. “I've been saying all the way around I've been pleased with the way they've been playing. It was 90 minutes of good concentration.”
Georgia Leb opened the scoring for A&M in the third minute with her shot rolling to the right of Grambling State goalkeeper Madison Covery-Taylor. The early goal was assisted by Mia Pante and Carissa Boeckmann.
“[Boeckmann] played a dime of a ball, and I was just lucky enough to sprint the extra five yards and be able to place it in the back of the net,” Leb said.
In the 28th minute, Sammy Smith struck the ball into the right side of the net off an assist by Pante and Margo Matula.
“I thought [Margo Matula] did really well and then once we were really attacking, she was like involved in the attack especially as a centerback,” Boeckmann said.
With a shot ricocheting off of the right post, Wilkinson added to the Aggies’ tally in the 31st minute. Four minutes later, in the 35th minute, Becerra launched the ball into the top left corner on an assist from Wilkinson.
“[Wilkinson] was really good,” Leb said. “I was proud of her for slipping two away.”
A free kick caused by a hand ball on the Tigers just outside of the penalty box led to Becerra earning her second goal of the night as she curved the ball right over Benton in the 40th minute.
“I wasn't sure like what type of shot I was going to hit,” Becerra said. “It was kind of from distance but it ended up working out.”
Closing out the first-half blitz, Kate Colvin — who appeared in her first game this season — scored in the 42nd minute.
A yellow card was issued to the Tigers’ Samantha Diaz in the 51st minute. Diaz’s foul on Andersen Williams set up a free kick outside of the box for Becerra, but the shot was saved by Covey-Taylor as she re-entered the match.
Taylor Jernigan scored after she earned a free kick that was serviced by Boeckmann in the 83rd minute. The goal marked Jernigan’s first as an Aggie.
The eighth goal of the night was scored by Wilkinson in the 88th minute and was assisted by Boeckmann. Boeckmann hurdled a defender, laid off the ball to Wilkinson and then waited on the ground for the ensuing goal.
“Now can we build on this and can we take this to Houston on Sunday with a little bit more confidence and a little bit more swagger to the way we go about things because Rice is a really tough team to play against,” Guerrieri said.
Now sitting at 2-3-1 on the season, A&M will travel to Rice this Sunday for a 7 p.m. CT matchup before returning to Ellis Field next Friday to open Southeastern Conference play against Kentucky.