Texas A&M
Sam Houston State
No. 13 Aggies Dominate Bearkats, 4-0
Sep 20, 2009 | Soccer
Sept. 20, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Four different players scored and the entire 13th-ranked Texas A&M soccer team saw playing time in a 4-0 shutout of Sam Houston State on a warm, sunny afternoon at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
With a crowd of 2,822 cheering behind the Aggies, junior Cydne Currie struck for her first goal this season.
A&M compiled 41 shots (21 SOG) in its second victory of the weekend and improved to 5-3-0 after upsetting No. 2 Portland, 3-1, on Friday. Head coach G Guerrieri was pleased with the outcome and glad to see every able Aggie on the field.
"Everyone on this team is a very valuable member and they really work hard to get their opportunity to play," said head coach G Guerrieri. "Whenever that comes up we're always happy to put them in. We knew that Sam Houston was going to come in and battle hard, and we got off a lot of shots, but their goalkeeper played outstanding. I mentioned to the players after the win on Friday that we wanted to come in and put an exclamation point on what was a good performance that night and I thought we did that well today."
The Aggies' first goal came in the 12th minute when junior Rachel Shipley sent a cross from the left side into the six-yard box where Castleberry one-timed a shot that went off the top corner of the far post and to the foot of Hooper on the right side. The forward from Houston, Texas, then lifted the ball into the upper 90 on the rebound for what would be the game-winner.
In another great opportunity in the first half, Hooper worked the ball to the end line and earned A&M's fifth corner kick at 29 minutes. Freshman Mary Grace Schmidt by a Sam Houston defender. The midfielder then one-timed a shot that was saved by the head of a SHSU defender on the line.
A&M enjoyed a 1-0 lead at the half and the shot count was 17-2, with both of the Bearkats' strikes being blocked by the Aggie defense.
After a throw in on the right flank four minutes into the second period, Shipley slid a pass to Skelton who dribbled a few steps, saw that she had room, and blasted a shot into the back of the net from 25 yards to put A&M up 2-0.
Several substitutions were made as the game continued and the Aggies maintained their possession and kept the ball in their attacking third.
In the 68th minute, Skelton was defended with the ball in the penalty box, but found freshman Christina Navalta open at the top of the 18. Navalta quickly slid a pass to Hamilton in the center of all the action. From Spring, Texas, Hamilton turned a struck a low-driving ball past an outstretched Sam Houston goalkeeper to increase A&M's lead to 3-0.
Fifteen Aggies fired off shots in the match, with an exceptional strike coming from sophomore Kat Armstrong in the 71st minute. The Dime Box, Texas, native had served several balls in from long distance, but decided to launch a hard shot from 40 yards that SHSU keeper Jenny Pence could barely knock over the crossbar with one hand.
Eight minutes later, Currie, a forward from Irving, Texas, found the upper 90 on a laser from just inside the box. Navalta fed her the ball from the end line to record her second career assist.
Currie led the team with five shots, four of which were on goal. Schmidt also tallied five shots, while Castleberry and sophomore Lisel Kraus and Megan Majewski struck three times and combined for a dangerous chance in the 78th minute that forced Pence to make back-to-back diving saves.
A&M gave Pence a work out all match, forcing her to make 16 saves. A&M keepers Kristin Arnold and Kelly Dyer did not have make a stop on the day and combined for their third shutout. The Aggie defense held the Bearkats shotless for the final 58 minutes of the game.
The Aggies begin Big 12 play on the road next weekend traveling to Baylor on Friday and Oklahoma on Sunday.
