Texas A&M drops 'Turn It Gold' match at Ellis to Oklahoma, 2-1

Luck and mistakes: the Aggies’ biggest mid-afternoon rival.

In a disappointing loss, Texas A&M (6-4, 1-1) fell to Oklahoma (8-2, 1-1) in their first Southeastern Conference showdown.

The 2-1 loss also marked the end of the Ags’ 9-0 home streak against the Sooners.

“This is on me,” head coach G Guerrieri said. “... I feel bad that I didn't prepare the team well enough to be able to handle it. We thought we'd set up some situations by showing some scenarios by which we could score more goals and we created some situations where we just didn't finish it off. We got to give the goalkeeper a lot of credit and she did a good job.”

A shaky opening with tit-for-tat passes and lucky breaks set the course of the match.

Though the Maroon & White took initial control, a seventh minute slip-up allowed the Sooners a golden opportunity: a one-on-one attempt. 

Facing no defense, senior forward Leonie Weber took the first shot of the night. The attempt was thwarted with ease by freshman goalkeeper Sydney Fuller.

“We've got some great players on this roster that are outstanding finishers and are coming back from ACL injuries, they're going to be outstanding in 2025,” Guerrieri said. “Having other players step up to fill those roles is something that continues … The rest of the team is hanging on there, picking up what other people are not used to doing. So that's where we are. We can out-shoot teams and we can out-possess teams, you don't get points for that.”

In the 13th minute, MaKhiya McDonald took the Maroon & White’s first attempt of the match, marking the first of five saves by OU junior goalkeeper Duffey Caroline.

A video review in the 14th minute nullified graduate forward Sophia Green’s goal due to an offsides penalty. This would prove to be the last of the Aggies’ luck.

“(Sydney Fuller) is coming off an injury and it's tough when you're having to deal with that,” Guerrieri said. “I know she's kind of hurt today, so it's tough for her.”

Oklahoma took their first lead with a shot by Ella Pappas in the 18th minute.

On the following drive, Mia Pante tied the match off a Sydney Becerra assist.

“[It was a] Good response by Mia, getting the goal to bring it back to 1-1 initially,” Guerrieri said. “For the rest of the time, with us being able to kind of come close and kicking the ball out of bounds for most of the day or shooting at the goalkeeper's hands was kind of the rest of it.”

A second video review in the 27th minute brought the Sooners their next lead. A header by Michelle Pak was confirmed, bringing the Sooners the 2-1 lead.

The Ags entered the half with four shots, three shots-on-goal and one save, compared to the Sooners’ five shots, three shots-on-goal and two saves. 

“We went into a back-three to create more offense and create more attacks,” Pante said. “It took us a bit to get adjusted to that, and we were playing more into their style of play, which was the long balls. That's what they wanted, so we were just feeding that to them. Then when we did have our chances, we just didn't execute.”

Play began slowly as the Ags struggled to get in-box. 

Will Huffman, TexAgs

Making a late run, the Aggies out-shot Oklahoma 6-2 in the second half.

Sophomore forward Taylor Jernigan took the first attempt of the half in the 56th minute. Oklahoma’s senior forward Ella Pappas followed up in 59th. Both teams' attempts landed left and off-target.

The last minutes of play followed in similar fashion. Attempts by Pante, graduate midfielder Kate Colvin and a final attempt by the Sooners were all abated. Multiple Aggie shots were taken from a distance, easily tipped off course. 

The clock stopped and momentum ceased leading into the 77th minute as Oklahoma’s graduate forward Abigail McNulty was stretched off field due to injury. No updates were given postgame. 

The next effort, a last-chance attempt by Pante in the 88th minute, marked the last of the match.

“It all comes down to intensity in the other team's box,” Pante said. “We have great intensity in our box, we don't let anyone run past us in our box. But just attacking, we just think that we'll have many chances. But this is the SEC, and we don't have the amount of chances we have when we play pre-season games, so we have to really capitalize on the chances that we're given in these games.”

Guerrieri & Co. will continue home play against Auburn (9-0-1, 1-0-1) on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT.