Texas A&M
Iowa State
No. 7 Soccer Takes Iowa State in Overtime
Oct 15, 2010 | Soccer
Oct. 15, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M junior Merritt Mathias netted a goal in the sixth minute of overtime to give the No. 7 Aggie soccer team its fourth consecutive shutout with a 1-0 victory over Iowa State on Friday evening at the ISU Soccer Complex. It marked the 300th win in Texas A&M soccer history.
From Birmingham, Ala., Mathias' golden goal came off of a deflected shot by senior Whitney Hooper. From 10 yards, Mathias one-touched her seventh goal of the season just inside the near post. The match went into overtime after several close shot attempts by the Aggies in regulation play. Mathias led the team in shots with six, including a game-high three shots on frame.
With their fifth straight win, the Aggies improve to 12-3 overall and remain in second place with a 5-1 record in the Big 12. Iowa State drops to 6-8-2 overall and 1-5 in the conference.
"It was a great way to finish off such a tough night," said head coach G Guerrieri. "It was a fantastic first-time shot. We hadn't really challenged their goalkeeper, even though we had 19 or 20 shots. We weren't really dangerous enough with our chances, but I thought Merritt was relentless in her pursuit of that goal. Whitney Hooper was outstanding tonight. It is the best we've ever seen Whitney and we really needed her."
Redshirt sophomore Raven Tatum was an early threat with the first shot on goal in the 20th minute. The midfielder also set up a dangerous opportunity with a serve into senior Amber Gnatzig at the 36-minute mark. Gnatzig's header skimmed just over the crossbar.
The Aggies held possession of the ball for much of the first half and entered the 15-minute break leading in shots, 10-4.
Gnatzig wasted no time getting back on the attack with a strike in the first few seconds of the second period. Gnatzig was close again seven minutes later with a one-timer from 10 yards that sailed high. The midfielder from Humble, Texas, then forced the ISU goalkeeper to make a diving save at the near post on a serve by senior Rachel Shipley in the 53rd minute.
Gnatzig posted five shots in the winning effort and the Aggies ended the match with 21 shots, nine of which were on target.
Iowa State's Caitlin Grabowski had the team's most threatening chance in the 65th minute, but her shot went closely over the crossbar. The Cyclones had 11 attempts on the night, while the Aggies forced ISU goalkeeper Maddie Jobe to make eight saves.
With a strong defensive effort by the A&M, senior keeper Kelly Dyer made just one save in the match in the 72nd minute. This was Dyer's fifth shutout of the season.
"This is our fourth shutout in a row, which is quite an accomplishment," said Guerrieri. "I was also told after the game that this is the 300th win for the program which is really neat, not just for this team, but for all of the incredible people who have represented Texas A&M soccer over the years. Hopefully we can get out and make it 301 on Sunday."
Texas A&M ends a quick two-game road trip on Sunday in Columbia, Mo., when the team faces the Missouri Tigers at 4 p.m. in a nationally televised match on ESPNU.
