March 03, 2008
Less than 24 hours after defeating the Mexico U20 National Team, the defending Big 12 champion Texas A&M soccer team handed LSU its first loss of the spring exhibition season, 1-0, on a windy Sunday afternoon at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
?This was a good weekend for our ladies. We had nice weather, quality opponents, and two nice wins,? A&M head coach G Guerrieri said. ?LSU is a good team, but I thought we showed glimpses of being very good and we seemed to get better and better as the afternoon progressed.
?It's hard to play two tough opponents in a 24-hour span but I was pleased to see our players fight through the physical and psychological hurdles to get the positive results.?
The lone goal of the afternoon came in the game?â„¢s 34th minute when a LSU foul awarded freshman Sarah Pierson a free kick 25 yards out against the wind. The newcomer viciously bent the ball over the defensive wall and into the upper left ?'90.
?It's great to see our freshmen score goals, especially for a goalkeeper turned field player like Sarah Pierson, Guerrieri said. ?She really strikes the ball well and that was a well-taken free kick.?
A&M finished the day with a 10-5 shot advantage over the Tigers. Freshman goalkeeper Kelly Dyer recorded three saves on the afternoon for A&M, while the Aggie attack forced LSU keeper Mo Isom to make six saves.
The Aggies?â„¢ goal was the first Isom, a freshman, has allowed since enrolling at LSU for the spring semester.
With the win A&M remains undefeated in spring exhibition play. LSU dropped to 0-1-2 after battling to 0-0 draws against ACC powerhouses North Carolina and Duke prior to its trip to College Station.
Following their 4-1 loss to A&M on Saturday, the Mexico U20 National team went on to defeat the University of Houston, 2-0, Sunday at Robertson Stadium in Houston.
The Aggies will continue spring exhibition play against reigning Big 10 tournament champion Purdue on Mar. 29. Game-time is set for 7 p.m.
?We won't play another game for almost a month, when the Big 10 champs Purdue come to town, Guerrieri ended. ?So we'll use the experiences and game film collected from the Mexico and LSU games' teachable moments to further educate and develop our young players.?
Admission to all spring exhibition matches is free to the public.