Florida Gulf Coast Beached on Monogue?s Seventh Goal of the Year, 2-1

Thursday, September 11

College Station

7:00 PM

Texas A&M

5-1-1

FGCU

4-2-0

FGCU

Texas A&M

Sep 11, 2014 | Soccer

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

The Texas A&M Aggies extended their consecutive home match win streak to 13 with a 2-1 win over the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in a rare Thursday night affair at Ellis Field.

High tide came for the Aggies in the 49th minute as Kelley Monogue broke a 1-1 tie with her seventh goal of the season. Just under four minutes into the second half, Mikaela Harvey dribbled from left to right across the top of the penalty box and dumped a pass off to Annie Kunz 12 yards out. Kunz knocked a one-touch pass to Monogue unmarked at the right corner of the six-yard box and the Aggies' leading scorer sent it into the left side netting for the 2-1 edge.

The A&M defense put up a seawall for the entire second half, allowing just two shots with neither Florida Gulf Coast effort endangering the goal. The Aggies held large margins in shots (6-0), shots-on-goal (4-0) and corner kicks (6-0).

The Maroon and White missed on a couple of opportunities to add some hurricane insurance in the second half. In the 64th minute Allie Bailey sent in a low line drive that required a diving save to the right by FGCU netminder Brittany Brown. On a free kick in the 72nd minute, Janae Cousineau's header sailed inches north of the crossbar. The best unfinished opportunity of the second stanza came in the 85th minute as Harvey surfed through the Eagles' defense and sent a torpedo in from six yards out, but Brown made a save in self-preservation mode to keep the match tally at 2-1.

The Aggies' struck oil early in the contest, scoring in the fifth minute. Karlie Mueller did the spudding, serving up a free kick from 30 yards out. The offering found the head of Meghan Streight in the six-yard box and the senior captain drilled it into the back of the net for the 1-0 advantage on her first goal of the season.

A&M controlled the current in the first half, but got caught in a riptide as Florida Gulf Coast posted an equalizer in the 14th minute. A collision between a pair of Aggies' caused a dispossession of the ball in the defensive third and the Eagles' Shannen Wacker collected it just outside the penalty box. Wacker took two dribbles and launched a shot from 15 yards out to the left of goalkeeper Renee McDermott to knot the match at 1-1.

The halftime tally belied the action with A&M holding a 14-3 advantage in shots, including a 6-2 cushion in shots-on-goal.

Texas A&M planted beach towels and umbrellas on the Florida Gulf Coast end of the pitch for much of the contest, producing wide gulfs in shots (22-5), shots-on-goal (10-2) and corner kicks (8-0).

McDermott made one save in goal for the Aggies and FGCU's Brown registered eight saves.

The Aggies return to action on Sunday when they host the Marquette Golden Eagles in a 7 pm contest at Ellis Field.

TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach G Guerrieri
On the game…
“It's good to be home. I thought for keeping possession, it was the best we have looked all season. I was pleased with the way our midfield played. Both the goals we scored were quality goals. We've still got to finish off those sentences. The sentences got longer and longer, and more dangerous and more dangerous as we were able to keep play. We were just a half step off here and half step off there on the last touch, but that's a good step up for us.

On Florida Gulf Coast…
“Florida Gulf Coast is a good side. Jim (Blankenship) does a good job with them. I thought that we were in control in the first half. They turn around, they get one shot and score, which is our game sometimes. But, I was pleased with the way our team continued to fight and continued to stick with the plan. I'm looking forward to seeing if we can finish off a higher percentage of chances on Sunday night against Marquette.”

On the crowd…
“It was a great to have members of the Corps of Cadets out to Ellis Field. They always provide a great environment. We were also excited to host a lot of First Responders from the area. There is no way to properly express how much their service is truly appreciated.”

On Janae Cousineau…
“Play got a little chaotic with about 20 minutes remaining. The way the game was being called, Florida Gulf Coast was allowed to play aggressive and physical and they started to gain some possession. Janae put an end to it. She returned the favor and started to take control in the midfield and it helped us get back on the attack.”

Senior Defender Meghan Streight
On the game…
“It's always good to come out with a win, especially after the weekend we just had. We looking to just keep moving forward and not look back. It's important for us to be at home. It's good for us to win here, so we are excited about it.”