Soccer: Aggies outlast Bulldogs 1-0 in double overtime

Game Recap

COLLEGE STATION - A weekend of SEC letdowns ended on somewhat of a high note when the ninth ranked A&M soccer team defeated the Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 1-0 in double overtime in front of a crowd of 2,055 on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, the Aggies moved to 15-3-1 overall and 9-2-1 in conference play, while the Bulldogs fall to 7-10-2 on the year and 3-7-2 in the SEC.

Shortly after the Texas A&M volleyball team was handed a tough loss by #11 Florida (14-25, 25-27, 25-23, 25-23, 15-6), the Aggie soccer team broke a 0-0 tie on a Bulldogs' own goal that solidified a season finish of no worse than second in their inaugural SEC season.

After 103 minutes of scoreless play, sophomore midfielder Leigh Edwards found herself with the ball just outside of the Georgia six-yard box and proceeded to fire off a cross parallel to the Bulldogs' net. After Georgia goalie Ashley Baker was cleared of the play due to being in a bad position on the ball, another Bulldog defender made a desperate attempt at the save, but proceeded to knock it in herself, giving A&M the Golden Goal victory 1-0.

"[Georgia's Rebekah Perry] knocked the [ball] into her own goal," said A&M Head Coach G Guerrieri. "[Perry] had one choice, either let Shea [Groom] knock it in or get in the way of it. It was going to go in anyway, so it was good for Shea to get on the end of it. For Leigh Edwards to get around the corner and play that ball into such a dangerous position was fantastic."

While the Aggies were able to eventually win the game, both teams had opportunities during regulation to put goals on the board.

In the 30th minute of play, Georgia was gifted a scoring opportunity by an A&M defensive miscue which left forward Meghan Gibbons one-on-one against Aggie goalie Jordan Day. Gibbons raced down the field and into the penalty box with an A&M defender nipping at her heels. Gibbons fired her shot and the Aggie defender was able to make contact with the slightest piece of the ball which redirected it wide of the goal and out of bounds.

With the wind at their back, A&M came out in the second half looking for an early goal.

Just 45 seconds into the second period, sophomore Kelley Monogue created some room for herself and had a great look at the Bulldogs' net. Monogue proceeded to fire one of her team high eight shots of the match, but the attempt was corralled by Baker on a diving stop.

Not only did Monogue narrowly miss multiple times in regulation, but she also had a great opportunity to end the game during the first overtime period when she sent a grounder towards the Bulldogs' net during the 96th minute. The shot found it's way past Baker, once again diving for the ball, but rolled just left of the net and out of play.

However, all 34 of A&M's missed shots wouldn't matter after the miscue by Georgia's Perry which sealed the game in dramatic fashion.

The Aggies play their final regular season match on Thursday night at 7 P.M. against the Missouri Tigers.

"It'll be a shorter week for us," said Guerrieri. "This is the time of year where a day off is more valuable than another practice. We'll have one less day of on-field practice, but we'll still look at ourselves very seriously on film and in the classroom with the players."

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Post-game notes

* A&M registered an unheard of 57 shots during the weekend's two game stretch (23 vs. Tennessee on Friday).

* The Aggies recorded their 12th shutout of the season, 11 of which Jordan Day has produced single-handed.

* Two yellow cards were issued to Texas A&M during the match including one to Shea Groom and one to the A&M bench.

* With a loss by the Missouri Tigers on Sunday, the Aggies have secured at worst the number two seed in the SEC tournament.