Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Ags Knock-Off First Place Sooners, 6-2
Oct 14, 2005 | Soccer
October 14, 2005
For the second time in less than a week the 19th-ranked Texas A&M soccer team knocked off a first place Big 12 opponent. The 6-2 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners, Friday night at John Crain Field in Norman, improved the Aggies' record to 10-3-1, 4-2 in Big 12 play while the loss dropped the Sooners to 11-3-1, 3-2-1 in conference play.
"Oklahoma is a quality team," commented A&M head coach G. Guerrieri. "They've had some great wins this year and for us to be able to come in and win against a quality side like this, a well-coached side is something I'm really proud of."
The first goal of the game came quickly for the Aggies in the first minute of play as Laura Probst sent a short pass from the top of the box to Ashlee Pistorius on the left side who tucked the ball away for her ninth goal of the season.
With 25:04 left on the clock, A&M goalkeeper Kati Jo Spisak attempted to pick up a ball a bit too far out of the box and OU forward, Tenesha Duncan, capitalized sending a shot to the left post, tying the game 1-1 and scoring her fifth goal of the year.
Not even a full minute later, Madison Klovstad earned her first goal of the season off a double pass from Pistorius and freshman Laura Grace Robinson; a ball that was deflected off an OU defender past Sooner goalkeeper Jennifer Nichols giving the lead back to the Aggies 2-1.
OU countered with a goal in the 29th minute of play evening the game two-all when Michelle Enos netted a rebound off a Spisak deflection.
The Aggies had an opportunity to take the lead with eight and a half minutes left in the first half as Pistorius dribbled past the OU defense and fired a shot to the far right post but the shot was redirected off the foot of a splitting OU defender sending the Aggies and Sooners into halftime tied at two.
The second half started with an exchanging of possession back and forth between the two teams, but in the 55th minute of play, Klovstad sent a cross from the far left side of the field to a waiting Pistorius in the top of the box for the Aggies' third goal of the match and the game-winner.
With 23:04 left in regulation, Amy Berend sent a cross off a Klovstad throw-in that found the Aggies' leading scorer Melissa Garey waiting to head the ball past Nichols, extending her goals scored to 12 and A&M's lead 4-2.
The Aggies continued to push forward and attack offensively in the second half as Probst nailed her third goal of the season, in the 43rd minute, off a rebound from a Pistorius shot that had ricocheted off the bottom of the left post.
Not content with just one goal on the night, Probst, standing closed to six yards out, sent a cross from Pistorius, in the 39th minute, directly into the back middle of the net, recording her fourth goal of 2005, second of the match and putting the game even further out of reach for the Sooners, 6-2.
"I'm really proud of the players in the second half, I think we came out and really made a statement, said Guerrieri. "Melissa Garey continuously put herself in a great position and Ashlee Pistorius is in another class, she connects with people, she brings people in to the game, she has a nose for the goal. I mean she had three assists and two goals, that's not a bad night's work. Laura Probst got very active in the attack. Madison Klovstad had her best game of the season and Carrie Berend had her best game of the season. When those guys are playing together like that, we're a pretty dangerous side."
After registering two goals on the night, along with three assists, Pistorius was named State Farm Player of the Game.
"This was definitely a team-win," said Pistorius. "Coming into the second half we just took their defense out. In the first half we sat back and let them go at us. In the second half we were like no we're not going to do that anymore, we're taking it to them and I think that was a huge key, they weren't expecting us to do that so it totally turned the momentum around."
The Aggies travel to Stillwater on Sunday to face the OSU Cowgirls at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex. A&M leads the all-time series 10-0-1. Game-time is set for 1:00 p.m. You can access live audio and stats by logging on to AggieAthletics.com.
