Texas A&M
Illinois
Aggies Blank Illinois, 3-0
Sep 01, 2006 | Soccer
September 01, 2006
Senior forward Madison Klovstad netted two goals on the night to pace the No. 4 Texas A&M Aggies (3-0-0) to a 3-0 victory over the No. 13 Illini of Illinois (1-2-0) in the opening match of the 2006 Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge, before a crowd of 3,679 at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
The Aggies controlled the pace of the game against a very athletic Illini squad, outshooting Illinois 19-11 on the evening. Freshman Amber Gnatzig scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal with just over a minute remaining in the first half when senior forward Kat Krambeer dribbled past three opponents on her way into the right side of the Illinois penalty area. Krambeer then drove a low cross into the goalmouth, where Gnatzig slid past the Illini defense to bury the ball into the net from five yards out.
?Kat did a wonderful job tonight,? said Aggie head coach G. Guerrieri. ?She came in and made an immediate impact on the game. She created lots of scoring opportunities. She caused a lot of havoc on the Illini backline.?
The assist served as Krambeer?™s fifth in the past two matches.
The Aggies came out of halftime ready to add to their lead, outshooting Illinois 11-4 in the second period, but it wasn?™t until the game?™s 69th minute that Klovstad put the game away. Laura Grace Robinson sprinted 35-yards to run down a ball that seemed destined to roll over the sideline and served it into the front of the Illini goal, where junior forward Ashlee Pistorius guided the ball towards Klovstad, who hit a one-time blast into the bottom of the crossbar, and then beat the Illinois defense to the rebound, guiding it over the goal line.
Klovstad made it 3-0 just two minutes later with a highlight reel type of goal. Amy Berend collected a loose ball in the center of the midfield and served a diagonal pass in behind the left side of the Illinois defense which Klovstad ran onto and one-timed a 25-yard bullet into the far upper corner.
?In practice this week we?™ve been working a lot on shooting and just getting ourselves into a dangerous position,? noted Klovstad. ?I think that is all that I tried to do. I aimed correctly and it went in.?
The Aggie defense has not allowed a goal in the 290 minutes played this season. Linda Pierson was named State Farm Player of the Game for her tireless efforts in the backfield against a very physical Illini attack.
The Aggies will conclude the Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. when they host the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
