Soccer: Aggies roll in 5-0 shutout of Alabama

Game Recap

College Station - The 5th ranked Texas A&M soccer team struck first against SEC West foe Alabama and never looked back, eventually beating the Crimson Tide by a score of 5-0 at Ellis Field on Friday night in front of an announced crowd of 2,039. With the victory, the Aggies move to 12-1-1 on the year and 6-0-1 in SEC play, while Alabama falls to 7-4-2 and 2-3-2 in the league.

After a somewhat sluggish start by the Aggies that allowed Alabama to be the aggressor early on in the match, A&M turned the contest in their favor when sophomore forward Shea Groom found the back of the net in the 9th minute for her first of two goals on the night. Groom, who now has four goals on the season, blasted a perfectly placed rocked that caromed off the top of the left post and past Crimson Tide goalkeeper Shelby Church to make the score 1-0 in favor of the home team.

"I was probably 23 yards out," said Groom. "I was looking up and trying to find some kind of option when I remembered that their keeper plays really near the post. I took my chance and beat her to the back post."

Twenty-one minutes later, sophomore Allie Bailey added to the Aggie lead when she arched a rainbow of a shot into the upper-left corner of the goal over the outstretched fingers of Church from about 30 yards out. The goal was the sophomore sensation's fourth of the year and gave A&M an early 2-0 lead that would not be relinquished.

While any coach would take two goals in a single half of play, the Aggies weren't done with the first half onslaught just yet.

In the 38th minute, midfielder Leigh Edwards attempted to make some space for herself inside the penalty box when she was violently fouled by the Alabama defender. The foul resulted in a penalty kick for the Aggies which forward Annie Kunz took care of with ease, making the score 3-0 for the Maroon and White.

After the half, A&M picked up right where they left off when Katie Perry found the feet of sophomore Kelley Monogue off a free kick in the 48th minute. Once the ball was at her feet, Monogue - who has been plagued by a knee injury for the first part of the season - preceded to redirect the ball into the back of the net while Alabama's Church could do nothing but watch it roll by. The goal was the seventh of the year for the talented sophomore from McKinney.

As if four goals on the night wasn't already enough, Groom added another in the 69th minute when a free kick from Jayne Eadie glanced off her head and into the Crimson Tide net making the score 5-0 Aggies.

"I dont think many people would expect those shots again," said A&M head coach G. Guerrieri. "The bottom line is the team that wins is the team that takes and finishes their chances."

Sophomore net-minder Jordan Day and the A&M back line put in another stellar performance against another high-caliber opponent on Friday night. Day made four saves in the contest, while backup goalie Renee McDermott made two once the game was all but over.

Up next for the Aggies is 18th ranked Florida (9-3-1, 6-1-0) from Ellis Field at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon.

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Post-game notes

* A&M out shot the Crimson Tide by a total of 11-10 on the night.

* The Aggies currently sit atop the SEC with 19 points. The next closest in either division are Florida and Missouri with 18.

* A&M midfielder Beth West was called for a yellow card in the 21st minute when she aggressively slid at the feet of an Alabama player.