Aggies eliminated by Georgia in double-OT heartbreaker in Pensacola

Heartbreaker.

In Thursday’s Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals, Texas A&M fell to Georgia in the last 30 seconds of double overtime, 3-2.

Though the Aggies’ reign in the 2023 tourney lasted much longer than their first-round loss to Mississippi State last season, A&M has not reached the championship round since 2017.

However, the postseason may continue for the Aggies depending on Monday’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show. 33 at-large bids are up for grabs, and the 64-team field will be revealed at 3 p.m. CT.

Texas A&M (9-6-4) currently ranks 40th in RPI and its strong showing in Pensacola figures to factor into polishing off a compelling resume.

“Well, we’re expecting to see our 28th opportunity to be in the NCAA Tournament,” A&M head coach G Guerrieri said. “I think we’ve created a really good resume. We have some great wins against teams who are in the top 20 in RPI.”

Vying for a spot in the championship, the Aggies were the aggressors offensively. They ended the game with 27 shots compared to the Bulldogs’ 16. A&M also put up 13 shots-on-goals while Georgia had 11.

Alas, the finishing touch was missing once again.

“A bit of a microcosm of the season. All the opportunities we create and that we just didn’t finish off… We just need to finish one or two more of those and we break games open,” Guerrieri lamented.

Tori Penn’s shot nutmegged Margo Matula as Kenna Caldwell made a diving save to palm the ball out of the mouth of the goal in the 27th minute. 

A perfectly slotted pass from Andersen Williams to Kate Colvin, who was creeping into the box, led to the latter firing. Taylor Jernigan recovered the rebound of Colvin’s shot and notched her fourth goal of her freshman campaign in the 40th minute.

Adysen Armenta’s handball in the box resulted in a penalty kick for Georgia. Nicole Vernis stepped up to the spot against Caldwell. Caldwell dove the wrong way as Vernis shot into the left side of the goal. The Bulldogs leveled in the 56th minute.

For accumulation and denying a goal scoring opportunity, Carissa Boeckmann was booked with a yellow card in the 73rd minute. Georgia’s goalkeeper Jordan Brown took the free kick nearing the half line, and Devon Winters’ shot in the 73rd minute was caught by Caldwell as she fell.

The second yellow card was given in the 77th minute to Mallie Mckenzie as she clipped Macy Matula’s back foot.

Chris Swann, TexAgs

The Aggies outshot the Bulldogs 6-2 in overtime.

At the end of regulation, the pressure amped up significantly as the Aggies and Bulldogs entered overtime with everything on the line.

In the 94th minute, Hannah White gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the match.

Maile Hayes was taken down in the box by Jessie Dunn and earned a penalty kick. Sydney Becerra stepped up to the spot against Brown, but Brown saved her shot.

The Aggies got another chance at the penalty kick as Brown stepped off her line early. Sam Smith took the second attempt, but her shot went wide right of the goal in the 102nd minute.

Off a corner kick, Jazmine Wilkinson leveled the scoresheet in the 103rd minute. Because of chaos in the box, Becerra was originally credited with the goal, but Wilkinson got the last touch on it.

Despite momentum swinging in favor of the Aggies, Georgia brought the long night to a stunning close after permanently taking the lead on a goal with just 27 seconds left.