Missed opportunities doom A&M in home-finale loss to South Carolina

With plenty of chances to break the scoring seal, Texas A&M soccer fell short to South Carolina in Thursday’s home finale, 1-0.

The Aggies now drop to 7-6-3 (3-3-2 SEC) on the season.

“We hit the post, we hit the crossbar, we hit everything but the freaking net, and we lose at home again,” head coach G Guerrieri said. 

Their golden touch was clearly missing.

Despite outshooting the Gamecocks 25-9 — 16 attempts coming in the second half — and putting 10 shots-on-goal, missed opportunities haunted the Aggies once again.

“When we have 25 shots, we have to execute at least one or two,” midfielder Sydney Becerra said.

Kenna Caldwell made a goal-saving dive in the 34th minute to deny Corinna Zullo a picturesque goal.

Overall, Caldwell made five saves but allowed the decisive goal in the 43rd minute as Gracie Falla’s header scored just inside the left post off a corner kick.

“It just comes to putting [goals] away at the end of the game and staying locked in for that one corner kick,” sophomore defender Carolyn Calzada said. “That was a really unfortunate goal which sucks. We worked so hard the whole game.”

Calzada shot a rocket from distance in the 64th minute that bounced right off the woodwork. 

“I think that’s the third time that’s happened this season, so I guess I’m just cursed,” Calzada said. “I thought it was going in.”

Unable to capitalize on any momentum, the game eventually ended with a shot-on-goal by Carissa Boeckmann in the 89th minute that was saved by Heather Hinz. 

Hinz tallied nine saves for South Carolina.

With their postseason chances in peril, the Aggies close the regular season on the road with trips to Knoxville and Baton Rouge. They’ll take on Tennessee this Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.

“Our attack was pretty toothless tonight in a lot of ways,” Guerrieri lamented. “We’re still in control of our destiny, but we’ve got to go and do it now on foreign soil.”