A&M Tops Tulsa 2-1 in Saturday's Exhibition Match

Saturday, August 15

College Station

7:00 PM

Texas A&M

Tulsa

Texas A&M

Aug 15, 2015 | Soccer

Box Score

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies won a 2-1 decision over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in an exhibition match Saturday evening at Ellis Field.

The Aggies scored a pair of goals midway through the first period and appeared headed to the shutout before Tulsa notched a set piece tally late in the second half. Texas A&M owned advantages in shots (24-10), shots-on-goal (10-5) and corner kicks (6-3) for the match.

Texas A&M unloaded nine shots in the first 18 minutes, including four shots-on-goal, to no prevail, but they were able to break the scoring seal in the 19th minute. Karlie Mueller sent a corner kick in, from the right arc, finding McKayla Paulson just outside the six-yard box. Paulson sent the ball to the far post where Brittany Crabtree redirected it into the goal for the 10-0 lead.

The Aggies inflated the cushion to 2-0 in the 22nd minute. With the Maroon and White applying pressure in the penalty box, Tulsa rushed a clearance that found the feet of A&M's Emily Bates 20 yards out. Bates wasted no time ripping a shot sending a rocket to the right of a diving keeper for the two-goal lead.

Taylor Saucier played the first half in goal for the Aggies, making thee saves as A&M went into the intermission with a 2-0 lead. The Maroon and White owned the first half stats with edges in shots (12-6), shots-on-goal (7-3) and corner kicks (3-1).

The Golden Hurricane broke up the Aggie shutout hopes in the 77th minute. Roman Edwards uncorked a corner kick from the right arc, finding Danielle Hoover 12 yards out. Hoover sent a low driving ball under A&M relief netminder Mia Hummel who was diving to her right.

The Aggies had several chances to score in the second half with 12 shots. The best opportunity came when Haley Pounds unleashed a free kick from 20 yards, but Tulsa backup keeper Courtney McKeon made a diving stop to keep the ball from finding the goal.

Texas A&M opens the regular-season Friday when the Aggies travel to Houston for a 7 pm match at Rice.

TEXAS A&M QUOTES

Head Coach G Guerrieri
On the match: We saw some good things. The team has only been together practicing for 10 days, but they were able to do some good things on both ends. The freshmen contributed both goals and they looked confident doing it. I know they're excited that two-a-days are over and now we can just concentrate on getting better every day and preparing for Rice next Friday.

On the defense: For the most part they looked really good. We'll have to go back and see where things broke down on Tulsa's corner kick goal, but in the run of play the defense was really good and they kept Tulsa's offense from taking shots in the danger zone.

Freshman forward Emily Bates
On scoring a goal in her first college match: It's definitely a big weight off my chest. I felt more relaxed after that. It was good showing what I can do.

On how the team has bonded over the first two weeks of practice: We bonded a lot over a lot of running and a lot of sweating and a lot of hard work. It's been an incredible experience. We have an amazing group and I'm excited to see what we can do.