Texas A&M
Missouri
Soccer Advances to Big 12 Championship Match
Nov 09, 2007 | Soccer
November 09, 2007
The 2nd-ranked Texas A&M soccer team advanced to Sunday?™s championship match of the 2007 Big 12 Soccer Championship in San Antonio after beating the fourth-seed Missouri Tigers 4-1 in front of 1,838 fans at the Blossom Soccer Stadium.
?We came here with our eye on trying to take home another title,? A&M head coach G Guerrieri said. ?We knew that we had a tough draw. Iowa State always gives us a hard time, especially having to play 10 vs. 11 against them made it that much more difficult. We thought Missouri was the most dangerous team we?™ve seen the entire regular season, so we weren?™t terribly excited about having that potential match up in the semifinal. I?™m really proud of our ladies to be able to follow through and get these two wins. It?™s not going to get any easier for us on Sunday whoever the opponent.?
Both teams came out with a vengeance in the first half fighting for control of the game. The Tigers were able to draw first blood as Alysha Bonnick got a head on her 11th goal of the season when Kristin Andrighetto and Michelle Collins connected from the near right sideline drawing Kristin Arnold out of the goal allowing Bonnick an open look in the 15th minute.
?I thought Missouri came out and played a little better than we did the first seven or eight minutes of the game,? Guerrieri said. ?When they scored and when they had a couple of other chances where they could have scored, I was scared we would be in for a long day. Our players got their feet underneath them and we are able to ride out Missouri?™s early energy.?
Ten minutes later the Aggies were awarded a corner kick from the right side that Allison Martino sent perfectly into the far left side of the box where a leaping Amber Gnatzig headed home the equalizer.
Over the next 15 minutes the Aggies would begin to take command of the match forcing Mizzou keeper Mallory Forst to make a series of exceptional saves.
Freshman forward Rachel Shipley would give the Aggies the go-ahead goal in the 32nd minute launching a rocket from about 25 yards out on the far right side that flew over the outstretched hands of Forst.
A&M took a two-goal lead just seven minutes later after Laura Grace Robinson bounced a free kick off the crossbar. The ball deflected back out to the arc where Missouri tried to clear it further but Amy Berend collected the ball and fired a hard shot in the back of the net for her third goal of the year.
A&M held the shot advantage taking 12 to Missouri?™s seven and took a comfortable 3-1 lead into the intermission. The two teams combined for 15 fouls in the first half while each team took three corners.
The Aggies continued to dominate the field of play logging an additional six shots in the second period. A&M?™s defensive backs held the Tigers to just seven shots on frame.
?Missouri is such a dangerous team because they are always looking to play balls in behind and get the ball forward,? Guerrieri noted. ?The best way to deal with that is for us to be able to attack. The best defense for us tonight was going to be the success of our attack.?
With 28 minutes left in the second half, Missouri nearly scored but Aggie defender Micah Stephens made a phenomenal slide tackle in the six-yard box that kept a Tiger attacker from having a wide open shot.
Senior Elisabeth Jones took Mizzou defender Lindsay McCoy one-on-on in the 67th minute, beat her to the right and then drew Forst out of the keeper box. After a scuffle for possession Jones spun to her left and found the ball at her feet and the net wide open for her sixth goal of the season, second of the tournament. The goal sealed the 4-1 victory for the Aggies, sending A&M to its third championship match in four years.
?Once we got our rhythm going and we were able to kind of get things moving some of the talent we have on this team really started to show,? Guerrieri ended. ?Four goals, three of them brilliant goals and the last one was just pure heart from Elisabeth, to be able to run it down and not quit.?
The Aggies will face the winner of the Texas/Oklahoma State game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The championship match will be telecast tape-delayed by FSN. Check local listings for FSN broadcast times in your area.
