Aggies Take Kansas in 3-0 Shutout

Sunday, October 2

Lawrence, Kan.

1:00 PM

Texas A&M

9-5, 3-1Big 12

Kansas

8-5, 1-2Big 12

Texas A&M

Kansas

Oct 02, 2011 | Soccer

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Freshman goalkeeper Jordan Day never let a ball near the net as the 13^th-ranked Texas A&M soccer team (9-5, 3-1 Big 12) blanked Kansas (8-5, 1-2 Big 12) Sunday at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. The match was the first time this season that Kansas was on the losing end of a shutout.

"I thought it was another good Sunday squad victory for us," head coach G Guerrieri said. "We used a lot of players. When you play as physically-demanding a game as we had to play on Friday, responding with a pretty resounding 3-0 victory was a pretty good wrap-up for the weekend."

A swift-footed Aggie squad maintained possession for much of the match, working to complete passes. In the ninth minute junior Mary Grace Schmidt fired a laser that was blocked by a KU defender. Just thirty seconds later Perry blasted a shot that ricocheted off of the right post.

The Aggies' perseverance paid off quickly as the team took an early lead in the 10^th minute. Freshman Katie Perry dribbled into the A&M attacking third from the midfield and found senior Merritt Mathias wide on the right side. Mathias took the ball low and bent it into the far-side netting to put the Aggies up, 1-0.

A&M continued to fight for offensive chances. With 30 minutes remaining in the first period, senior Rachael Balaguer gathered a defensive deflection by Kansas 30 yards from the net and slammed a shot back to the goal that KU goalkeeper Kat Liebetrau scrambled to catch for a save.

In the 33^rd minute after a foul by the Jayhawks, senior Bri Young took a free kick from 25 yards in the center of the pitch. The shot was perfectly on target as KU made another save.

Just one minute later the Aggies hit the bull's-eye again, and Liebetrau couldn't get there in time as A&M took a 2-0 lead. Looking to complete a pass in the final third, Balaguer slipped a ball to Edwards, who one-timed a pass back to an overlapping Balaguer. Balaguer found what she was looking for as she slotted a cross to freshman Allie Bailey who attacked from the left. Bailey took the ball with ease and guided it into the six-yard box before firing for the 2-0 goal.

With seven minutes left in the half, freshman Meagan Streight took one last shot, blasting the ball from 35 yards and barely topping the crossbar.

After the 15-minute halftime break, the Aggies came out ready to defend their lead. Kansas took an early possession and began their nine-shot second-half rally, but Day was ready in goal. The freshman made six saves on the match and grabbed several more balls before they could be shot in her direction.

"I thought Jordan had her best game of the season today," Guerrieri said. "I thought she had a really good game on Friday, and unfortunately they got one goal on the counterattack. She keeps getting better and better, and more and more confident in her skin as a big-time college goalkeeper."

The Aggie defense also had a successful match, tangling with the Jayhawk offense to make numerous tackles and keep the ball moving away from the goal. In the 49^th minute Balaguer, sandwiched between two KU players, won the ball and sent it bounding into the Aggie offensive half.

A&M mainly played defense in the first 10 minutes of the half, but got back into an offensive groove in the 55^th minute. Monogue shot and was blocked, but Mathias regained control and shot wide.

Two minutes later, Mathias took a corner kick that was punched away by the KU keeper before an Aggie could head it into the goal mouth.

Monogue took another shot that was blocked in the 62^nd minute. The ball was redirected over the end line, creating another corner kick for the Aggies. A&M had another close call when with eight minutes left in the match, senior Bri Young took a shot from 18 yards that hit the cross bar and flipped over the net.

Two minutes later Monogue worked to free herself from the Jayhawk defense and was fouled in the box. The freshman forward, also took the penalty kick for the Aggies. With 6:02 on the clock, Monogue netted the penalty kick and A&M took its final 3-0 lead.

With the win, the Aggies improve to 9-5 on the season and 3-1 in Big 12 play. The Aggies outshot Kansas, 20-to-16 and placed seven shots on frame, forcing four saves by the KU keeper staff. The match marked the first time Kansas was shutout in 2011.

The Aggies will continue their Big 12 campaign Friday at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. The match is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff. To learn more about Texas A&M soccer, log on to AggieAthletics.com.