Groom Dons Hat for Tennessee Waltz, A&M Wins 3-0

Thursday, September 18

College Station

6:00 PM

Texas A&M

7-1-1

Tennessee

4-4-0

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Sep 18, 2014 | Soccer

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M senior Shea Groom notched the second hat trick of her career to lead the No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies to a 3-0 win over the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC opener for both squads at Ellis Field on Thursday.

The win improved Texas A&M to 7-1-1 overall while Tennessee dropped to 4-4-0.

On an emotional day in which the Aggies were holding a cause game for a native of her hometown, Sioux Falls, South Dakota native Karlie Mueller served up the assist on Groom's first goal. Taking a free kick from 30 yards out in the 20th minute, Mueller boomed a service into the six-yard box where Groom put it home with her head for the 1-0 lead.

Despite a 13-2 advantage in shots and 5-0 edge in shots-on-goal, A&M carried the precarious 1-0 lead into halftime.

The Aggies continued to pepper the shots at the Volunteers coming out of the intermission and it paid off in the 59th minute. Bianca Brinson sent in a throw-in 10 yards off the end line on the right side. The offering found the crown of Janae Cousineau at the right corner of the six-yard box. Cousineau headed the ball across the six-yard box to the feet of Groom, who sent at the ball into the back netting as Tennessee netminder Jamie Simmons was drawn towards A&M forward Allie Bailey who was flying in for a clean-up header.

A&M missed a pair of chances to demoralize the Volunteer troops midway through the second half. Meghan Streight was unable to convert on a penalty kick in the 69th minute and in the 70th minute, Haley Pounds drilled a shot past Simmons, but Tennessee defender Amy Neal cleared it off the goal line for the save.

Groom finally found the hat to trump the Tennessee tuxedo in the 89th minute, giving the Aggies the 3-0 edge. The senior collected a long clear just outside the offensive third and spent 20 yards trying to outmuscle Volunteer defender Gabby Santorio. After escaping a jersey tug that would draw a yellow card for Santorio, Groom righted her ship and sent in a shot from just left of the penalty kick spot for the capper with 1:22 remaining in the game.

It marked the second career hat trick for Groom, who also accomplished the feat in a 3-1 win over Massachusetts on September 13, 2013.

The Tennessee offense found its development arrested by the stout backline of the Aggies. A&M wasn't feeling charitable, holding the Volunteers to just two shots-on-goal for the contest and the Maroon and White held leading scorer and All-American Hannah Wilkinson without a shot.

Texas A&M owned titanic advantages in shots (26-5), shots-on-goal (13-2) and corner kicks (10-5).

The Maroon and White notched their 15th consecutive win at home, the fifth-longest string in program history and the fourth-longest stretch at Ellis Field.

The win got a monkey off the back of the Aggies, who had lost all three of their meetings against Tennessee, dating back to 2011. All three of the defeats came by 1-0 margins, including two matches decided by a penalty kick.

There were a flurry of yellow cards handed out as Tennessee was issued four cautions and Texas A&M drew two.

The Aggies were hosting the family of Quinn Pesicka, who is currently in her fourth round of chemo therapy. The Sioux Falls clan are hometown friends of Mueller and spent the day with A&M soccer family who greeted the Pesickas at Easterwood airport on Thursday morning. Information on fund-raising can be found at www.GoFightQuinn.org.

Texas A&M returns to action on Friday, September 26 when the Aggies travel to Baton Rouge to play the LSU Tigers.

TEXAS A&M QUOTES

Head Coach G Guerrieri
On beating Tennessee…
“Brian (Pensky) does a great job with them. They are a tough team to play. The other three times we've played them the statistics were not very much different than this; it is just that they scored. They came really close to scoring on their first shot in first half, and they dangerous throughout the game. With that, I'm really pleased with the way we played. I thought we looked good in possession. I thought we were very dangerous at times. When Shea (Groom) is on a roll, she's pretty fun to watch. In general, it was a good, tough battle. We knew that they were going to be physical. Throw in the weather conditions and it makes it that much more difficult.”

On playing for Quinn (Pesicka)…
I just told Quinn that she was our good luck charm. The girls have been excited about this for a long time. I didn't know how they would handle the energy. I didn't know if it was going to be something that was going to be overwhelming for them. We have some real pros here that can manage themselves, and they did a great job of keeping their emotions in check.”

Senior Midfielder Shea Groom
On opening SEC play with a win…
“Tennessee has always been a tough matchup for us. Last year they beat us in the conference opener. It was great to start off with a win. It's great to come out get a decisive 3-0 win. Renee McDermott had a great shutout, and I thought Bianca Brinson had a great performance also. It was a good team win. It was a complete game for us—for the first time this season.”

On her hat trick…
“This week we put in the practice on the defensive side. I think that relaxed me on the offensive side. I was really excited. It was really cool for Karlie (Mueller) to get the assist when Quinn (Pesicka) was here. Opening up the scoring like that was really exciting.”