Texas A&M
Baylor
Hooper Strikes Again; No. 10 Aggies Blank Bears
Sep 25, 2009 | Soccer
Sept. 25, 2009
WACO, Texas - Texas A&M junior Whitney Hooper struck again and scored the game-winning goal as the 10th-ranked Aggie soccer team shutout Baylor, 1-0, on Friday evening at Betty Lou Mayes Field.
Hooper (Houston, Texas) netted her third straight game-winner in the 59th minute to lead A&M (6-3-0) to its third consecutive win and eighth victory in-a-row against the Bears (4-2-2).
"Whitney's really playing with a lot of confidence," said head coach G Guerrieri. "She's starting to come into her own which she absolutely deserves because she works really, really hard.
"There were several really gritty performances out there. Baylor is a very difficult team to play at their place. It's a slow field and they are a very physical and athletic team. Style points ... maybe not tonight, but any win in the Big 12 is a beautiful win."
The first shot of the match came in the 10th minute after an Aggie defender slipped and the Bears managed a strike that junior goalkeeper Kristin Arnold easily scooped up. A minute later, A&M answered with a shot from junior Alyssa Mautz that was blocked in the box.
On the first corner kick in the ninth minute, sophomore Becca Herrera served a ball in the box that bounced treacherously in front of the goal, but was eventually cleared by the Bears' defense.
A&M continued to produce several dangerous opportunities in the half. Junior Rachel Shipley had the ball at the corner of the box in the 19th minute before she cut in and fired a firm one-hopper into the arms of the Baylor goalkeeper.
In the 24th minute, Mautz sent a cross to the top of the sixth that Baylor keeper Gianna Quintanna punched out to top of the penalty box to an awaiting Shipley. The Plano, Texas, native faked and then lined a hard shot at Quintanna in goal.
Two minutes later, Hooper received a long pass and broke away from the Baylor defense. She was 1v1 against Quintanna, who was nearly 12 yards out, but Hooper's shot went just wide of the far post.
The Aggies held a 7-3 shot advantage at the half and the two teams were scoreless.
Possession changed feet often in the first 10 minutes of second period, but in the 59th minute, Shipley had little to no pressure from the Bears and dribbled down the right flank before sliding a pass to freshman Mary Grace Schmidt at the corner of the box. Schmidt's shot bounced off a BU defender, but Hooper then picked up the loose ball, turned, and put the ball into the left-side netting from 12 yards out.
With the 1-0 lead, A&M continued to push the ball in its attacking third, while stifling any attempted attacks from Baylor.
Freshman Cydne Currie in front of the near post. Currie's one-timer went just wide right.
Hamilton produced another opportunity in the 84th minute sending a pass to Mautz at the top of the box for a shot on frame.
Baylor kept pushing the ball up in the final minutes and junior goalkeeper Kelly Dyer made a clutch save with four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the match. The Bears were awarded a free kick just outside the box and the initial kick was blocked by an Aggie wall and went to the feet of BU's Dana Larsen. Larsen fired a shot through traffic from the top of the box that Dyer caught on the fly to keep Baylor off the scoreboard.
Texas A&M outshot BU, 12-4, and took seven corner kicks compared to just three from the Bears. The Aggie offense forced Quintanna to make four saves.
A&M now travels to Oklahoma to play their second Big 12 match Sunday at 1 p.m.
