Texas A&M
Oklahoma State
Soccer Falls 1-0 in Championship Match
Nov 08, 2009 | Soccer
Nov. 8, 2009
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The No. 20 Texas A&M soccer team put seven shots on goal, but could not find the equalizer in a 1-0 loss to Oklahoma State in the title match of the Big 12 Championship at the Blossom Soccer Stadium on a wet Sunday afternoon.
In front of a crowd of 1,563 and intermittent rain, the Cowgirls' won their eighth consecutive game and posted their 13th shutout to improve to 15-7 and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies are now 14-6-2 and await the announcement of the 64-team bracket on the NCAA selection show Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPNews.
Junior Emily Peterson, freshman Mary Grace Schmidt, junior Whitney Hooper and Shipley were all named to the All-Tournament team.
"We have to play for 90 minutes and I think we played for about 40, and that's not good enough for a team of this caliber," said head coach G Guerrieri. "Oklahoma State did a good job of battling and scraping to keep us off the scoreboard and their goalkeeper was great. The second half we came out and created some good chances and their goalkeeper came out and made some big-time saves that you have to give them credit for that."
In the first 25 minutes, the Aggies sustained early pressure from the Cowgirls, but only allowed one shot on goal. A&M did have a few counters and Shipley fired off two shots from around the 18 that both went wide.
The Aggies arguably had their best opportunity of the half in the 33rd minute. Freshman Chelsea Jones controlled the ball in A&M's attacking third and dribbled to the top of the penalty box before striking a one-hopper into the arms of Oklahoma State goalkeeper Adrianna Franch.
With six minutes remaining in the first period, A&M moved the ball into its attacking third again and served in two crosses, but were denied a shot.
The Cowgirls held a 6-3 shot advantage at the half, but just a 2-1 edge in shots on goal.
Five minutes into the second period, the Aggies switched on. Sophomore Katie Hamilton collected the ball at midfield and dribbled all the way into the box, fending off a defender the entire time. Hamilton found freshman Nora Skelton on the left side and Skelton was 1v1 with the keeper outside the six-yard box. She drilled a shot right into the arms of Franch from close range.
The Cowgirls' Carson Michalowski headed in the only goal of the match on Oklahoma State's first corner kick of the second half in the 54th minute. Colleen Dougherty took the corner and earned the assist.
The Aggies poured on the pressure in the 68th minute. An initial cross from Hooper just missed Skelton at the far post, for what would have been a shot into an open goal. Skelton instead gathered the ball and dribbled into the six-yard box where she was surrounded by defenders, but got off a strike from point-blank range that was stopped by Franch on her knees.
A shot by Skelton from 20 yards in the 75th minute was again saved by a diving Franch at the far post.
Two minutes later, Hamilton sent a through ball to Hooper that resulted in a dangerous cross to freshman Kim Castleberry who was in a perfect position to score, but the serve was picked off by Franch.
In the 83rd minute, Hooper served another ball to Castleberry in the box, but it was cleared out by the OSU defense to the foot of sophomore Bri Young. The Castle Pines North, Colo., native sent a driving ball back in and Hamilton got touch on it at the penalty kick marker, but Franch stopped the shot.
A one-hopper by Hooper with less than two minutes remaining was kept out of goal by Franch for her seventh save. It was the Aggies' last chance of the match.
A&M outshot OSU, 12-11, including a 9-5 edge in the second half. The Aggies also held the advantage in shots on goal, 7-3.
