Texas A&M
UCLA
Soccer Falls at No. 3 UCLA, 2-1
Sep 08, 2006 | Soccer
September 08, 2006
The 3rd-ranked Texas A&M soccer team suffered a hard fought 2-1 road battle to the No. 3 UCLA Bruins in the first day of the UCLA Women?™s Cup at Drake Stadium.
The Aggies (3-1-1) suffered their first loss of the 2006 season despite outshooting the Bruins 9-7 in the second half and registering six corner kicks to four over UCLA on the night.
UCLA (4-1-0) posted the opening goal of the game in the 13th minute as Danesha Adams netted her first goal of the season from just eight yards from goal when the Aggies miss-cleared a UCLA free kick..
"We came out and played a terrible first half," commented Aggie coach G Guerrieri. "When you play a team as gifted and talented as UCLA, you can't afford to spot them 45 minutes and a goal. The way we played in the first half, we were fortunate not to be down more than 0-1 at the half. But, I think we made some good adjustments at halftime and the players really looked good in the second half."
The Aggies came back to tie the match early in the second half as Cyndi Currie played a give-and-go at the top of the UCLA penalty area with Ashlee Pistorius. Pistorius then played a diagonal ball to an overlapping Amy Berend 12 yards from goal, who then calmly beat UCLA's Val Henderson with a low shot into the net. Berend was named the State Farm player of the game for her efforts.
"We emphasized the importance of our forwards combining together at halftime," said Guerrieri. ?That goal was one of the first great attacks we had in the game, and it set the stage for a solid team performance in the second half.?
The Aggies had a golden opportunity to take the lead a few minutes later when freshman forward (Cydne) Currie ran in behind the UCLA defense and beat Henderson, only to have another Bruin defender run back and clear the ball off the goal line. Currie collected the rebound, but sent her left footed shot just wide of goal.
The Bruins?™ game-winner was scored against the run of play in the game?™s 71st minute when the Aggie defense failed to properly clear a UCLA serve into the box. The Bruin's Lauren Wilmoth collected the loose ball on the right flank and drilled a low pass to Lauren Cheney six yards from the Aggie goal, where she finished the game-winner.
It's unfortunate to give up a goal like that," said Guerrieri. "Kristin Arnold and our defense had a solid second half, but UCLA really made us pay for a couple mistakes."
The Aggies will conclude the UCLA Women?™s Cup on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (CST) with a match against No. 5 Santa Clara, who beat 12th -ranked Connecticut 2-1 in overtime of the tournament's opening match.
