Texas A&M
SMU
Aggies Gain Berth to Sweet 16 With Win Over SMU
Nov 13, 2005 | Soccer
November 13, 2005
Ashlee Pistorius scored her second hat-trick of the season to give the No. 9 Texas A&M soccer team its seventh trip to the Sweet 16. The Aggies beat the SMU Mustangs 4-2, Sunday in front of 1,274 fans at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
?SMU did a great job today. They kept us off balance a little bit,? commented A&M head coach G Guerrieri. ?Their three forwards do a good job of opening the game up a little bit in the passing lanes. I thought we played well. We played well in a lot of spurts today. To be able to take 32 shots, their goal keeper played great to keep it from going into double digits. There were a lot off good shots on frame that either hit the post or she made a miraculous save to keep the game as close as it was.?
The win improves A&M?™s season record to 18-3-2 while the loss finishes SMU?™s season at 15-5-2.
Pistorius?™ 20 and 21st goals of the season came in the first 45 minutes. The first, a header off a deflection from an SMU defender at the 35:19 mark and the second, was off a Linda Pierson free kick that rolled off Pistorius?™ back and into the net with 11 minutes remaining in the first period.
SMU countered in the 23rd minute, adding a goal of their own between the two Pistorius netted. A quick pass from Kimber Bailey found Oliva O?™Rear ready in the lower right end of the box, to tie the score at one.
The Aggies took a 2-1 lead into the half. After one period of play, A&M had outshot SMU 12-3, taking five corners to the Mustangs?™ zero.
Pistorius completed her hat-trick with her 22nd goal of the season in the 64th minute off a free kick from about 20 yards out. In a moment that saw three Aggies open for a shot, it was Laura Probst who recorded A&M?™s fourth goal of the afternoon. Kat Krambeer sent a rebounded pass into the box and Probst put it away, giving the Aggies a 4-1 lead with just under four minutes left in regulation.
However, the Mustangs gave it one last attack as Bailey found Allison Brill in the lower left end of the box for SMU?™s second goal of the game and Bailey?™s first of the season. The match ended with A&M on top 4-2.
With her third career hat-trick, Pistorius was named State Farm Player of the Game.
?Ashlee [Pistorius] in front of goal, creating and finishing is world class,? said Guerrieri of his leading scorer.
More details of who, where and when the Aggies will be playing their Sweet 16 match will be released in the next few days. Check www.AggieAthletics.com for the most updated information regarding the 2005 NCAA Women?™s Soccer Tournament.
Texas A&M will be serving as the host institution for the 2005 Women?™s College Cup, Dec. 2 and 4. For a fan guide and ticket information, go to www.AggieAthletics.com.
