Texas A&M
Virginia
Soccer in Elite Eight after 2-1 Win over Virginia
Nov 17, 2006 | Soccer
November 17, 2006
Ashlee Pistorius and Elizabeth Jones each scored goals in the first half to lead the 8th-ranked Texas A&M soccer team into the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship Tournament on Friday by beating the Virginia Cavaliers 2-1 in front of 1,958 fans at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
The Aggies got on the scoreboard first when sophomore midfielder Laura Grace Robinson drove a low, hard pass across the face of the Virginia goalmouth, finding All-American forward Ashlee Pistorius poaching on the back post. Pistorius buried her team-leading 15th goal of the year, putting A&M up 1-0 in the game?™s 20th minute.
A&M made it 2-0 just three minutes later when All-Big 12 midfielder Amy Berend played a 40-yard diagonal pass from the far left side of the field through an open gap in the Virginia defense to a streaking Elizabeth Jones. Jones collected the pinpoint pass at full gallop and lifted her shot over the onrushing Cavalier goalkeeper, Christina deVries.
The game was played at an incredibly fast pace as both teams quickly possessed and attacked each other.
Virginia pulled back to within one goal with just over six minutes remaining in the half, when sophomore midfielder Jen Redmond one-timed a Kristen Weiss cross perfectly into the far corner of the A&M goal. The first half ended with A&M up 2-1.
In the second half, both teams had a few good opportunities to score, but each team?™s defense was equal to the test. And, as the game moved closer to the end, the Cavaliers upped the pressure on the A&M defense more and more, forcing Aggie midfielder Allison Martino to clear a shot out of her own goal box.
On the night, the Cavaliers held a 14-11 shot advantage and took five corner kicks against A&M; holding the Aggies to zero corner kicks in a game, the only time this season which that has occurred.
?This was a big win for us,? said Texas A&M coach G Guerrieri. ?Virginia is a great team and they really stretched us to the limit tonight. They played well enough to win, which makes me really proud of the way our players kept their cool and dug deep to preserve the win.?
Texas A&M?™s Allison Martino was named the State Farm Player of the Game for her outstanding work ethic, controlling play and relentlessly attacking down the Aggies?™ left flank.
With the victory, Texas A&M advances to the NCAA Elite Eight for the third time in the past six seasons. The Aggies now await the result of Saturday?™s Tennessee/North Carolina match in Chapel Hill, N.C. If Tennessee wins, the Aggies would host the Lady Vols next weekend in College Station. If North Carolina wins, then No.1 Tar Heels would host Texas A&M next weekend in Chapel Hill.
