Sunday, August 30
College Station
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
4-0-0
2
vs
0
FAU
3-1-0
1
2
F
Florida Atlantic
0
0
0
Texas A&M
0
2
2
Aggies Stay Perfect with 2-0 Win Over Florida Atlantic
Aug 30, 2015 | Soccer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 4 Texas A&M Aggies welcomed second-half goals from Emily Bates and Mikaela Harvey and recorded their third consecutive shutout to register a 2-0 win over the Florida Atlantic Owls Sunday evening at Ellis Field.
The Aggies kept the offensive pressure high throughout the match but were unable to draw blood until the 68th minute. The seal breaking sequence was started when Ally Watt lofted a looping shot in from 12 yards out on the left. The ball hit the top of the crossbar and caromed to the top of the six-yard box where an Owls' defender sent a header out of the penalty box. A fortuitous Bates received the clearance in full gallop, sending a volley in with her right foot to the right netting for the 1-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, Texas A&M doubled the lead with a goal by Harvey. A goal kick by FAU's Sydney Drinkwater found the head of Janae Cousineau 40 yards out. Cousineau's offering went to the feet of Harvey who charged towards the penalty box. With a defender approaching on the right and another defender coming with a frontal blockade, Harvey launched a missile with her left foot through the duo from 22 yards out left of the penalty arc. The shot found the bottom of the crossbar before cascading down the back netting for the 2-0 lead with 21:11 remaining in the match.
In the first half, Texas A&M was unable to scratch out a goal despite owning a 12-3 edge in shots and a 5-1 margin in shots on goal. By the end of the match, the advantages ballooned to 24-7 in shots, 11-4 in shots-on-goal and 8-2 in corner kicks.
Taylor Saucier went the distance in goal for the Aggies to record her first career shutout. She made four saves in the match, including three in the second half.
Since surrendering two goals in the first half of the season opener at Rice, the Aggies have outscored opponents 12-0 in the next seven halves of action.
Florida Atlantic (3-1-0) got nine saves in net from Drinkwater.
The Aggies improved to 4-0-0 for the sixth time in school annals, including each of the last two seasons. With the victory, head coach G Guerrieri recorded his 398th win, edging closer to become the sixth coach in NCAA Division I history to reach the 400-win plateau.
Texas A&M returns to action Friday evening when they travel to Tallahassee for a Top Five Matchup against the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles at 6 pm Central.
Head coach G Guerrieri
On tonight's win against FAU…
"You have to take your hat off to Florida Atlantic. They came in with a good plan. Patrick Baker is a solid coach. His teams are always organized and always prepared for a game. We had to score two great goals to get the win. There are a lot of things that we can point to that we could use as excuses, but the bottom line is I'm proud of our team for finding a way to win. Being tied 0-0 at the half, being a bit frustrated; they did not just sit around and feel sorry for themselves. They went out and made it happen."
On energy post-Fish Camp game Friday evening…
"We expelled a lot of energy on Friday night. Playing in front of that Fish Camp reunion crowd, your adrenaline is pumping, so you have to be able to recover from that. I was worried coming into this game because they are undefeated. They have proven that they can win. They are just a smart team. It makes the win that much more gratifying. "
Freshman forward/midfielder Emily Bates
Thoughts on the victory…
It's been a lot of trying to get everybody together on the same wagon, working hard for each other just working hard for each other. Even when things go wrong, we rely on our hard work and things end up going our way. We've had some great goals and some great defense and a few shutouts so things are going really well."
On her goal…
I saw her (Ally Watt) going down the line and she took a shot. I followed the ball in case I got a rebound or the keeper dropped it. After it hit the post I saw it bouncing and I knew I had to hit it on the first touch. I got lucky and it went in."
On Florida Atlantic…
"They were a good team. They were big and physical and they kept up with us. Going into halftime we were all frustrated because it was 0-0 and we weren't used to that. We all pulled together and worked a lot harder for each other and it payed off for us in the end."
The Aggies kept the offensive pressure high throughout the match but were unable to draw blood until the 68th minute. The seal breaking sequence was started when Ally Watt lofted a looping shot in from 12 yards out on the left. The ball hit the top of the crossbar and caromed to the top of the six-yard box where an Owls' defender sent a header out of the penalty box. A fortuitous Bates received the clearance in full gallop, sending a volley in with her right foot to the right netting for the 1-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, Texas A&M doubled the lead with a goal by Harvey. A goal kick by FAU's Sydney Drinkwater found the head of Janae Cousineau 40 yards out. Cousineau's offering went to the feet of Harvey who charged towards the penalty box. With a defender approaching on the right and another defender coming with a frontal blockade, Harvey launched a missile with her left foot through the duo from 22 yards out left of the penalty arc. The shot found the bottom of the crossbar before cascading down the back netting for the 2-0 lead with 21:11 remaining in the match.
In the first half, Texas A&M was unable to scratch out a goal despite owning a 12-3 edge in shots and a 5-1 margin in shots on goal. By the end of the match, the advantages ballooned to 24-7 in shots, 11-4 in shots-on-goal and 8-2 in corner kicks.
Taylor Saucier went the distance in goal for the Aggies to record her first career shutout. She made four saves in the match, including three in the second half.
Since surrendering two goals in the first half of the season opener at Rice, the Aggies have outscored opponents 12-0 in the next seven halves of action.
Florida Atlantic (3-1-0) got nine saves in net from Drinkwater.
The Aggies improved to 4-0-0 for the sixth time in school annals, including each of the last two seasons. With the victory, head coach G Guerrieri recorded his 398th win, edging closer to become the sixth coach in NCAA Division I history to reach the 400-win plateau.
Texas A&M returns to action Friday evening when they travel to Tallahassee for a Top Five Matchup against the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles at 6 pm Central.
Head coach G Guerrieri
On tonight's win against FAU…
"You have to take your hat off to Florida Atlantic. They came in with a good plan. Patrick Baker is a solid coach. His teams are always organized and always prepared for a game. We had to score two great goals to get the win. There are a lot of things that we can point to that we could use as excuses, but the bottom line is I'm proud of our team for finding a way to win. Being tied 0-0 at the half, being a bit frustrated; they did not just sit around and feel sorry for themselves. They went out and made it happen."
On energy post-Fish Camp game Friday evening…
"We expelled a lot of energy on Friday night. Playing in front of that Fish Camp reunion crowd, your adrenaline is pumping, so you have to be able to recover from that. I was worried coming into this game because they are undefeated. They have proven that they can win. They are just a smart team. It makes the win that much more gratifying. "
Freshman forward/midfielder Emily Bates
Thoughts on the victory…
It's been a lot of trying to get everybody together on the same wagon, working hard for each other just working hard for each other. Even when things go wrong, we rely on our hard work and things end up going our way. We've had some great goals and some great defense and a few shutouts so things are going really well."
On her goal…
I saw her (Ally Watt) going down the line and she took a shot. I followed the ball in case I got a rebound or the keeper dropped it. After it hit the post I saw it bouncing and I knew I had to hit it on the first touch. I got lucky and it went in."
On Florida Atlantic…
"They were a good team. They were big and physical and they kept up with us. Going into halftime we were all frustrated because it was 0-0 and we weren't used to that. We all pulled together and worked a lot harder for each other and it payed off for us in the end."
Team Stats
FAU
TAMU
Goals
0
2
Shots
7
24
Shots on Goal
4
11
Saves
9
4
Corners
2
8
Fouls
13
15
Scoring Plays
Bates, Emily (1)
Volleyed with right foot to right nettin
67:05
Harvey, Mikaela (3)
Assisted By: Cousineau, Janae
Launched shot from 22 yards, hit bottom
68:49
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
4
SOG
3
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
6
SOG
3
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
M/F
/ SoccerM
/ SoccerM
/ Soccer
GK
/ Soccer
The Aggie Soccer Hour (Extra)
Wednesday, September 17
The Aggie Soccer Hour (Ep 3)
Wednesday, September 10
Weekly Press Conference: G Guerrieri
Monday, September 08
Highlights: Texas A&M 1, TCU 2
Sunday, September 07
