Texas A&M
Nebraska
A&M Falls to Nebraska, 2-1
Oct 18, 2009 | Soccer
Oct. 18, 2009
LINCOLN, Neb. - Texas A&M junior Rachel Shipley scored on her second consecutive penalty kick in the 69th minute, but it was not enough as Nebraska's Morgan Marlborough netted the game-winning goal at the 82:29 mark to take a 2-1 victory at the Nebraska Soccer Field on Sunday afternoon.
The loss drops the No. 14 Aggies to 10-5-1 and 4-2-1 in the Big 12, while the Huskers improve to 9-3-4 and 3-2-2 in conference play.
"Hats off to Nebraska," said head coach G Guerrieri. "They out-fought us all over the field. We held possession for massive stretches of the match, but we couldn't put that last ball into the back of the net. It's a tough loss for us, but it's one that we've got to be able to learn from and understand that we're going to play against teams that are going to come in with a great deal of desire and fight. We've got to be able to out-fight and out-play them."
The Aggies came out strong with their first dangerous scoring opportunity in the eighth minute. Freshman Mary Grace Schmidt found Shipley on the right flank and Shipley worked the ball into the box before serving sophomore Katie Hamilton. A one-timer by the sophomore forward went just high of the crossbar.
On a counter in the 16th minute, junior Whitney Hooper had a breakaway directly off the hands of Kristin Arnold in goal, but the ball was taken away by NU goalkeeper Jessica Mills in the six-yard box.
The Huskers put themselves on the scoreboard after A&M was called for a foul in Nebraska's attacking third at the 20-minute mark. After a header on the initial serve, Marlborough picked up the rebound and her shot hit the crossbar and went into the goal for the game's first score.
The Aggies faced another scare six minutes later when Marlborough drilled a shot over the A&M wall and off the crossbar on a free kick from 19 yards.
At the start of the second half the Aggies maintained possession and Hooper won a ball from a Husker defender in A&M's attacking third. The forward from Houston, Texas, fired off a hard shot that Mills gathered at the near post.
The Aggie attack continued and in the 60th minute, Schmidt's free kick from 45 yards was dead on, but Mills knocked the strike over the crossbar.
A&M's pressure finally paid dividends nine minutes later as a shot from Shipley just inside the box was blocked and a hand-ball foul was called on Nebraska. Shipley connected on the subsequent penalty kick to even the score, 1-1.
The Aggies pushed the ball right back into attack and minutes later freshman Kim Castleberry shot into open net from 30 yards, but the strike went just high of the goal.
With seven-and-a-half minutes remaining, Nebraska's Marlborough intercepted a misplayed ball in the A&M midfield and scored from 10 yards, across the goal and into the left-side netting.
The Aggies managed three shots in the final minutes, but could not find the equalizer.
Hooper and Marlborough each tallied a game-high five shots, while Arnold made three saves in goal.
A&M returns to the Aggie Soccer Stadium next weekend for a pair of matches against Colorado and Texas Tech.
