Pair of Taylor Pounds goals propel Aggies to victory over LA Tech, 2-0
Another scoreless first half? In the books.
Another Aggie win? In the column.
In a high-opportunity match, Texas A&M (4-2) commanded LA Tech (2-2-3) on Sunday. In its concurrent match at Ellis Field, the Aggies secured the 2-0 win.
This marks the Aggie's first-ever match and win against the Bulldogs and secures A&M’s undefeated record against Louisiana teams, now 27-0-3.
“They had a little bit of extra time to prepare for this particular game, which you can see that they're very well coached,” Texas A&M head coach G Guerrieri said. “They have players that are used to playing together. They did a great job. I think they're going to do very well in Conference USA as they get into their season. For us, it had to be an exercise in patience as we went forward.”
A&M graduate goalkeeper Grace McClellan entered the pitch for her first match of the season, easily claiming the clean sheet.
According to Guerrieri, freshman goalkeeper Sydney Fuller was out with a minor injury but should be ready for play on Thursday.
“Our goalkeeping situation is really solid, and to be totally frank, I was planning on Grace playing tonight no matter what,” Guerrieri said. “Every single one of our games, it's been a tough choice for me to figure out who was going to be the keeper that played tonight.
“Sydney Fuller was awesome against TCU, had some great saves that helped us to win that game. I was going to give her the night off anyway, and I was going to give Grace this game as it was.”
LA Tech opened the night with a shot on goal by senior defender Lena Radler in the second minute. This would prove to be their only offensive move of the half.
In the same minute, graduate forward Jazmine Wilkinson took over the field and filed the Ags’ first shot of the night, which was turned away by sophomore goalkeeper Cadence Rutledge.
“I was really pleased for Grace,” Guerrieri said postgame. “She was super solid. You could see her leadership, and her confidence is awesome. She's ready to go any night, and we all feel completely confident that she could step in and get it done.”
Standout moments of the half include sophomore forward Kennedy Clark — who claimed two shots on goal in the 38th and 42nd minutes — and junior midfielder Sydney Becerra — whose shot ricocheted off the woodwork in the 30th, barely bouncing down and out.
“You have to give a lot to LA Tech, a lot of credit for the way that they defended,” Guerrieri said. “They defended really hard, (Rutledge) made a lot of saves. We hit the crossbar, had one video review to see if it went in. It's just the persistence of our attack. We were able to finally kind of break the seal on that goal in the second half.”
Though the theme of scoreless first halves continues, the Aggies had one of their most successful starts with 14 shots and five shots on goal in the first 45 minutes.
On the contrary, the Bulldogs entered their locker room with one shot on goal and a yellow card.
“It shows that we had a lot of patience,” junior defender Carolyn Calzada said. “They pressed us, but they held a pretty low block once we got into their half, so it was hard to get chances inside the box.
“Continuing to be patient outside the box, and a great ball from Macy (Matula) to get a header off Taylor, was just great for our momentum and just kind of honestly slowing them down in their attack.”
Walking back to the pitch, the Maroon & White put up six unmatched attempts in the first 10 minutes of second-half play.
“We really need to focus on finishing and building out of the back," graduate midfielder Taylor Pounds said. “We know we can play our wingers, and they can make things happen, but I think playing through our midfield more and just working on shooting, making sure we're moving the goalkeeper ultimately is what we need to do.”
In the 58th minute, Pounds put A&M on the board with her first goal of the young season.
Pounds quickly followed with her first brace as an Aggie in the 59th off a pass from Georgia Leb.
“(Rutledge) was making save after save,” Guerrieri said. “She was awesome. She did a great job, and she took a knock. I think she said that she hyperextended her knee. Hats off to (head coach Steve Voltz) for every ounce of energy that they had.”
Tech’s second and final attempt came in the 68th minute with a shot by sophomore defender Dakota Merino. A McClellan save claimed a clean sheet in her season debut.
“[Our defense is] our rock,” Pounds said. “They're such good communicators. They keep me in line. They pull me back if they need help. They control our team well and make sure we're all in position and doing what we need to do.”
The match concluded with 30 shots and four shots on goal by the Aggies.
The Bulldogs left with two shots and two shots on goal.
“We created a lot of chances,” Guerrieri said. “We have to be much better in our finishing. That's the obvious point. You get 30 shots. You have to finish at a higher percentage than two.
“All in all, I was pleased for Grace to get a shutout. I was pleased for the defense. I thought that they did a good job in closing down things. I thought (MaKhiya McDonald) did a good job in closing down opportunities. This is something that announced two wins in a row, and we're trying to build momentum as we carry on and get ourselves ready.”
Looking ahead, the Aggies prepare to hit the road on the way to Connecticut.
“We've never gone up and played Central Connecticut before,” Guerrieri said. “This is going to be the first time we've played on artificial turf, probably since we've had to go and play at Texas Tech when we were in the Big 12.”
Guerrieri and Co. will face CCSU (0-5-1) on Thursday with kickoff at 6 p.m. CT.
