Texas A&M
Missouri
Soccer Draws 4-4 Tie Against Mizzou
Oct 04, 2009 | Soccer
Oct. 4, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - In an action-packed, nationally televised match Sunday, the No. 15 Texas A&M soccer team played to a 4-4 draw against Missouri in front of a crowd of 2,211 on a humid, rainy afternoon at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
With seven-and-a-half minutes remaining and the Tigers up 3-2, junior Rachel Shipley buried a goal into the far upper 90 from 20 yards out to even the match at three scores apiece. Nine seconds later, Aggie fans gasped as Mizzou's Kristin Andrighetto countered and repositioned Missouri into the lead.
Junior Whitney Hooper then came through clutch with the equalizer in the 86th minute. The 5-foot-4 forward jumped up and drove home a header on a corner kick from Shipley that forced two scoreless overtime periods.
"It was a great fight all the way around by both teams," said Texas A&M head coach G Guerrieri. "I'm disappointed that we didn't win, because I thought we were the better team, but Missouri really battled and fought hard.
"Last year against Kansas and Missouri we came out with zero points. This time we came out undefeated, with four points, so we feel pretty good about where we are."
The Aggies put pressure on the Tigers from the get-go, with two dangerous opportunities coming at the feet of junior Alyssa Mautz. The midfielder from O'Fallon, Mo., forced Mizzou goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore to make two tough saves that kept A&M off the scoreboard in the first 10 minutes.
It was Missouri, however, who put their first shot in the back of the net as Michelle Collins scored on a header from 12 yards out at 10:10.
Four minutes later, the Aggies earned a corner kick. On a serve by Shipley, sophomore Bri Young headed a shot on goal that was knocked out by Dittamore. Sophomore Katie Hamilton then drilled the rebound into the back of the net to tie the game, 1-1.
Just 1:27 into the second half, Texas A&M took its only lead of the match with a header to the far post by Mautz off of another corner kick from Shipley. The goal marked Mautz's second of the weekend.
Missouri answered just over a minute later as junior Kelly Dyer made a one-handed, diving save on a shot from Collins, but the ball deflected right to Bree Thornton who tapped in her fifth goal of the year to make the score, 2-2.
It was a back-and-forth battle for the next 20 minutes, until MU's Kendra Collins took a chance and blasted a goal from 30 yards out to put the Tigers in the lead, 3-2.
Mautz fired off the most dangerous shot in the two overtime periods, forcing Dittamore to make a diving save to her right, but neither team was able to break the deadlock in the final 20 minutes.
Mautz took a game-high six shots, five of which were on goal. Hamilton also fired off six strikes. The Aggies outshot Missouri, 21-16, including an 11-6 edge in shots on goal. A&M shutdown the Tigers' attack in the first half and limited them to just two shots.
The Aggies return to action next weekend traveling to Oklahoma State for a 7 p.m. match Friday, before returning home Sunday for their final non-conference game. The contest is set for 4 p.m. and is televised nationally on the Fox Soccer Channel.
