Texas A&M
Florida State
Aggies Fall in Double Overtime at Sweet 16
Nov 20, 2009 | Soccer
Nov. 20, 2009
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The No. 22 Texas A&M soccer team saw its season come to an end with a heart-breaking, 2-1, double overtime loss to top-seeded and fifth-ranked Florida State on Friday night at the Seminole Soccer Complex.
In the third-round match, A&M got out to a 1-0 lead, but a goal by the Seminoles 10 minutes later evened the score. Then, with 2:01 remaining in the second overtime period, Jessica Price found the back of the net for the game-winner.
The Aggies finished the season with a 15-7-3 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 10th time in program history. FSU (19-4-1) won its 18th straight home match and continued its undefeated streak at home in the postseason (18-0). The Seminoles will host Notre Dame in the quarterfinals next weekend.
"I'm incredibly proud of our players," said head coach G Guerrieri. "They proved to be a pretty worthy adversary for a terrific Florida State team. To be able to keep our discipline and play out of the pressure they put on us in certain parts of the field took some special efforts. Every one of the players on our team has a lot to be proud of. Our team has been able to battle through a lot of adversity this year and our players have been able to step up to different challenges."
Junior Whitney Hooper got the Aggies going offensively and put the ball on target two-and-a-half minutes into the match with a strike from the left side of the penalty area into the arms of FSU goalkeeper Erin McNulty at the near post.
The Seminoles controlled the majority of the possession in the first 10 minutes, but A&M pushed the ball into its defensive third for the second time in the 14th minute and earned its first corner kick. The bender by junior Rachel Shipley was aimed towards the goal but was punched out by McNulty before an Aggie could get their head on it.
A quick counter by A&M a minute later saw sophomore Katie Hamilton sending a cross to an on-running Hooper who one-timed a shot high of the crossbar from eight yards.
Florida State pushed the ball back into the Aggies' defensive third at the 20-minute mark and earned its second corner. Junior goalkeeper Kristin Arnold poked the ball away on the kick, but it went directly to Tiffany McCarty 14 yards out and she struck a one-timer that was stopped on the line by Schmidt. A rebound shot in the six-yard box was blocked by the A&M defense.
The Aggies started to maintain possession in the final 10 minutes of the half. One sequence of passes with three minutes remaining ended in a shot from the top of the box by Hooper that went wide of the goal.
FSU held a 7-4 shot advantage at the 15-minute break, but the Aggies came out strong in the second period.
In the 55th minute, Hamilton ran at the FSU back line and found freshmanNora Skelton wide open on right side. Skelton's shot from a step inside the box bounced off the bottom of the crossbar. After a couple of headers, Shipley came up with it at the top of the box and blasted a low shot that bounced off the far post and into the back of the net. Her ninth goal of the season put A&M up 1-0.
Despite constant pressure from the Aggies, FSU held possession and in the 65th minute, Casey Short sent a long chip into the six-yard box that Lauren Switzer headed inside the far post from five yards out. The goal evened the score, 1-1.
Florida State kept pressing the ball into its attacking third and Arnold came up with a huge save in the 85th minute. A through ball to Switzer left her 1v1 with Arnold and a shot to the far post was pushed wide of the goal by a diving Arnold to force extra minutes.
In the first overtime period an attempted clear by A&M in the penalty area was blocked by an FSU player and went to the feet of McCarty at the penalty mark. McCarty's shot missed wide of the far post.
The Aggies fended off two more shots by FSU to force a second overtime and the first real threat by either team ended in the game in the 108th minute.
"It was a tough game and it took some great play from Florida State to get it done," Guerrieri said. "The winning goal was a terrific counter attack from them and a great individual effort to get into some tough places. It was a quality finish by Price."
