DURHAM, N.C. - Despite tying the game with two quick goals in the final minutes of the first half, the Texas A&M soccer team fell, 7-2, to No. 6 Duke Friday at Koskinen Stadium.
A determined Aggie squad took the game back after trailing for the first 41 minutes of the match. Two goals within the final three-and-a-half minutes of the first period pulled the match to a 2-2 draw.
The first goal for A&M came in the 42nd minute when freshman Katie Perry sent a corner kick into the Duke penalty area, which the Blue Devils struggled to clear. The ball bounded around in the air and landed on the left edge of the goal box, where freshman Allie Bailey redirected it through traffic just inside the left post and into the net.
Trailing by just one goal, the Aggies gave Duke no chance to run the clock out and intercepted a pass near the halfway line, where a foul by the Blue Devils gave the Aggies a free kick with just 35 seconds left in the first period. Freshman Meghan Streight drove the free kick toward the Duke goal, where the ball was headed out of the penalty area by a Duke defender. Senior Megan Majewski then sent a one-time volley from 30 yards searing into the back of the net to put the Aggies back in the game.
"I was proud of the way our players fought back to tie the match before halftime," head coach G Guerrieri said.
With the match locked in a 2-2 draw at the start of the second half, Duke was able to break the tie with two early goals.
"We made some terrible defensive mistakes throughout the game, and Duke punished us for every one," Guerrieri said. "They really made us pay for our errors."
The game ended with each team taking 14 shots at the other team's goal, but Duke put 10 of their 14 shots on goal, while the Aggies only hit the target six times.
Freshman goalkeeper Reneé McDermott started the game for the Aggies, but was not able to take the field in the second half due to illness. She was replaced by fellow freshman keeper Jordan Day.
"This is a tough loss against a very good team," Guerrieri said. "We have to rebound quickly because we play the top-ranked team in the nation on Sunday."
Up next, A&M will take on No. 1 Carolina in the final match of the Duke Nike Classic on Sunday at 11 a.m. CST at Koskinen Stadium. The game will be broadcast on AggieAthletics.com, radioaggieland.com and 95.1-3 The Zone HD. For more information on Texas A&M soccer, log on to AggieAthletics.com.