Texas A&M
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Kansas
No. 8 Soccer Downs Kansas in OT, 1-0
Oct 08, 2006 | Soccer
October 08, 2006
The 8th-ranked Texas A&M soccer team needed three extra minutes of extra time to defeat the Kansas Jayhawks (7-6-0, 2-3-0), 1-0, in a very evenly contested Big 12 battle.
Juniors Ashlee Pistorius and Amy Berend connected on a give-and-go move approximately 30-yards from the Jayhawk goal, creating enough time and space for Berend to take a preparation touch toward goal and then bury a 25-yard rocket past KU goalkeeper Julie Hanley into the lower left back corner of the net for the golden goal victory for the Aggies.
The game was a back and forth affair. Each team controlled different stretches of the match on a hot, still Sunday afternoon in Kansas, with a game-time temperature 81 degrees. A&M controlled most of the first half, outshooting the Jayhawks 8-3, including a shot from Linda Pierson, which caromed off the KU crossbar. However, KU cleared the rebound and the teams went into halftime scoreless.
In the second half, KU had more chances at goal, but A&M?™s freshman goalkeeper Kristin Arnold was equal to the challenge, making 5 saves in the period, and sending the game into overtime.
A&M kicked off the overtime period and pressured the KU defense from the kick-off, never letting Kansas out of their half of the field for the remainder of the game.
?This is has been a great weekend for us,? said A&M head coach G Guerrieri. ?Playing Kansas and Colorado is always tough. It?™s even tougher to go on the road and play them in a Friday-Sunday run. So, to get two wins against real quality opponents is a big accomplishment for our players. We didn?™t play the most beautiful games of the season, but our ladies found ways to win, and win with shutouts, so we?™re obviously excited to remain undefeated and get back home and prepare for our next game.?
With the win, the back-to-back Big 12 Champion Aggies remain undefeated in conference play (6-0-0) and have an overall season record of 10-3-1.
Arnold was named State Farm Player of the Game after posting seven saves on the afternoon.
This Thursday evening, the Aggies will be hosting another free youth clinic for local boys and girls, ages six and seven, at the Aggie Soccer Stadium from 6-7 p.m.
A&M returns to Big 12 action this Friday night at the Aggie Soccer Stadium as they face the Nebraska Cornhuskers at 7:30 p.m.
