Soccer: A&M downs Auburn 2-0, now 4-0 in SEC play

Game Recap

College Station - Sundays are made for rest and relaxation. Some people spend them lazily watching football with their feet propped up and their favorite beverage in hand, while others use the day to catch up on chores or other household tasks.

However, for the 10th ranked A&M soccer team, Sunday is just another day of hard work and dedication to the sport they love so much.

On a scorching hot September afternoon, the Aggies defeated the defending SEC tournament champion Auburn Tigers by a score of 2-0 at Ellis Field in front of an announced crowd of 1,891. With the victory, A&M moves to 10-1-0 on the season and 4-0-0 in their inaugural SEC campaign, good enough for first place in the SEC West.

After roughly 30 minutes of back-and-forth play, the Tigers earned the first good look of the match when a breakaway led to an open shot by forward Alexa Allen. Allen's blast was able to get by A&M goalie Jordan Day, but glanced off the left post before being cleared of the box by the Aggie defense.

About six minutes later, A&M forward Bianca Brinson was able to find some open room and charge into the Auburn box where she was then challenged by Tiger goalkeeper Amy Howard. With Howard out of position, Brinson was able to make the necessary pass to Catalina Clavijo who put the ball into the evacuated net with relative ease, making the score 1-0 in favor of the home team.

"[Bianca] did all the hard work. She did an awesome job of chasing the ball down," said Clavijo. "All I had to do was put something on it to get it in. I knew once [Bianca] took it to the sideline that she was going to try and cross it back. I just put myself in a position to where I thought I could get it in."

The goal and assist were the first of the year for Clavijo and Brinson respectively.

After the half, Auburn was much more active on the offensive end. That offensive pressure culminated in their best chance for a goal when the ball was mishandled by Day, resulting in an empty net for the Aggies. However, A&M defender Lyndsey Gnatzig was able to corral the ball and clear it out of bounds before the Tigers could register another shot.

"A few times they took advantage of us being a little hesitant to come up and get balls," said A&M Head Coach G. Guerrieri. "Jordan (Day) did a great job. Had she not come out for a couple of shots, they would've been able to put an open header on goal."

In the 86th minute, A&M midfielder Jayne Eadie took a free kick from about 35 yards out. Once in the box, the ball bounced off the heads of two Tiger defenders to the feet of senior midfielder Beth West. West then rocketed a shot off the Auburn crossbar which eventually found its way into the net for the second and final Aggie goal of the game.

Guerrieri concluded, "Clearly it was not a beautiful win, but winning is beautiful. We'll take it."

Next up for the red-hot Aggies is an away match versus the Kentucky Wildcats at 6 P.M. on Friday evening.

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Post-game notes

* Goalkeeper Jordan Day recorded her 7th consecutive shutout, tying the SEC record, and has now gone 696 minutes without being scored on.

* A&M out shot the Tigers by a total of 15-14 on the afternoon.

* Aggie forward Kelley Monogue saw the field as a substitute after missing Friday's contest against South Carolina with a concussion.