Texas A&M dropped its final match of the season 1-0 to No. 1 overall seed Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Jazmine Wilkinson went down in the 19th minute after being fouled by Heather Gilchrist and was subbed out for Taylor Jernigan after Kenna Caldwell’s free kick.
Caldwell earned the first shot on goal of the match, but Cristina Roque punched the ball away.
The Maroon & White ended the match with four shots on target, and Caldwell had a pair off of free kicks.
Perhaps the closest A&M came to scoring all night, Mia Pante’s header in the 23rd minute was defended by Roque’s woodwork. It was the Aggies’ second shot of the game.
In the 39th minute, Lauren Flynn’s backheel flick went just wide of Caldwell’s post with the assist by Leah Pais. If the shot were on frame, it would have caught Caldwell completely off guard.
For all of Florida State’s offensive pressure, the score remained 0-0 at halftime.
Still, it seemed like only a matter of time.
Off a Beata Olsson assist, Jordynn Dudley scored in the 55th minute to give the Seminoles the lead. Dudley bodied off Carolyn Calzada and held possession to slot the ball past Caldwell for the match’s only marker.
Desperately needing a goal to claw even, A&M never found the net.
Sam Smith passed to Carissa Boeckmann, who had a banger of a shot in the 68th minute. But once again, Roque came up big.
Three minutes later, Roque pushed Smith’s header over the goal to maintain the Florida State lead.
The Seminole offense exhausted A&M’s backline as they earned 10 corner kicks to the Aggies’ four. The Maroon & White kept attempting its transitional offensive style, and they ended with nine shots to Florida State’s 12.
Maile Hayes, A&M’s usual offensive spark, was nowhere to be found as she did not step foot on the pitch. Coach G Guerrieri only circulated 16 players, as five Aggies played all 90 minutes.
In the end, Florida State drained the remainder of the clock, and A&M’s season with it.
