Texas A&M
Missouri
Aggies Clinch Third Straight Big 12 Title, Down Mizzou 4-2
Oct 22, 2006 | Soccer
October 22, 2006
Four different Aggies scored goals to lead the 7th-ranked Texas A&M soccer team to a 4-2 win over the University of Missouri (9-9-0, 1-8-0) in front of 3,285 fans on Sunday afternoon at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
With the win, the Aggies clinched their third straight Big 12 regular-season championship and secured the No. 1 seed at the Big 12 Soccer Championship tournament in San Antonio (Nov. 1-5). The win also extended A&M?™s (13-3-1) winning streak to 10 games and a perfect 9-0-0 in the Big 12 standings.
A&M has now won nine Big 12 soccer championships in the 11-year history of the conference. No other program has won as many trophies as the Aggies, and no other Big 12 soccer program had ever won three consecutive championships until the Aggies clinched this season. A&M has now won the past five Big 12 trophies that they have competed for (2004, 2005 and 2006 regular season and 2004 and 2005 tournament).
Today?™s game had a physical edge to it, as Mizzou was called for 23 fouls, compared to just 14 for A&M. The match also saw three Mizzou players yellow carded on the afternoon. Yet, A&M responded by moving the ball from player to player and kept the Tigers in a chasing mode for most of the game.
All-Big 12 forward Melissa Garey got the Aggies on the scoreboard first when she stroked a volley past Missouri goalkeeper Mallory Forst in the game?™s 22nd minute. The goal was set up by a Paige Carmichael free kick into the Mizzou penalty area, which was headed across the face of the goal by A&M midfielder Laura Grace Robinson to Garey who put the ball in the net.
A&M went up 2-0 12 minutes later when Garey received a pass approximately 25 yards for the Tiger goal and played a through pass into an open space on her left for a streaking Kat Krambeer. Krambeer coolly ran onto the pass, and guided an inside of the foot shot past Forst into the far corner of the goal, sending the Aggies into the halftime intermission comfortably in control of the game.
Carmichael would factor into the scoring again, as she made it 3-0 on a direct free kick from 30 yards, following another Tiger foul. The shot dipped over the Tiger?™s four-player wall and into the side netting. Carmichael?™s goal and earlier assist earned the Aggie defender State Farm Player of the Game honors.
?This was a tough game,? commented Texas A&M head coach G Guerrieri. ?Mizzou really came in and made it uncomfortable for us today. They scrape and battle you all over the field, so we had to be technically sharp and disciplined to keep with our game plan.?
Down 0-3, Missouri kept fighting, and was awarded a free kick of their own 35 yards from the Aggie goal. Lindsay McCoy served a ball into the Aggie penalty area and Mo Redmond ran through her Aggie defender to beat A&M goalkeeper Kristin Arnold to the ball, heading it into the goal, and bringing Mizzou back within two. But, just four minutes later, the Aggies would extend their lead once again.
Robinson received a pass near the top of the Tiger?™s penalty area, dribbled to her right and blasted a shot toward the goal, which Forst saved, but couldn?™t hold. Aggie All-American forward Ashlee Pistorius then pounced on the loose ball and clipped it into the open net, making the score 4-1.
Mizzou added another goal in the 85th minute when Arnold came out to collect a loose ball. As she lay on the ground with control of the ball, Mizzou forward Breanna Thornton nudged an Aggie defender, who fell on top of Arnold, which knocked the ball free. As Arnold scrambled to collect the loose ball, Thornton sat on her, allowing her Missouri teammate, Kristin Andrighetto to collect the ball and push it into the open net. Thornton was yellow carded for the affair, but the goal stood, making the final score 4-2 in favor of the Aggies.
?Like I said, this was a tough game. Missouri is a good team with good athletes and a terrific coaching staff,? said Guerrieri. ?I?™m really pleased to see our players celebrate another championship. And, it?™s especially gratifying to win it at home, where our fans have been so great all season long.?
The Aggies will close out regular season play on Friday when they travel to Austin to face the Texas Longhorns. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
NOTE: The Aggies have had 41, 479 fans enter the Aggie Soccer Stadium for 11 home games this season, a new NCAA Women?™s Soccer single season record.
