Friday, September 16
College Station
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
6-2-0, 2-0-0SEC
1
vs
0
Georgia
3-5-1, 0-2-0SEC
1
2
F
Georgia
0
0
0
Texas A&M
1
0
1
Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics
Aggies Blank Georgia, 1-0
Sep 16, 2016 | Soccer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M defense turned the lights out on Georgia as the No. 8 Aggies notched a 1-0 shutout against the Bulldogs Friday evening at Ellis Field.
The clean sheet marked the fifth consecutive shutout for the Texas A&M defense. The Aggies' fortification included a combination of Grace Wright, Kendall Ritchie, McKayla Paulson, Margaret Schmidt, Grace Piper and Ashlynn Harryman. Goalkeeper Danielle Rice made one save and got a pair of team saves early in the first half to register her fifth consecutive shutout and the eighth of her career.
Texas A&M (6-2-0, 2-0-0 SEC) scored the lone goal of the match in the 26th minute. With Cienna Arrieta sending in a corner kick from the right arc, Bulldogs' goalkeeper Louise Hogrell tried to corral the offering, but it slipped out of her mitts. A scrum between Piper and two Bulldogs sent the ball out towards the penalty spot. Emily Bates beat a pair of Georgia defenders to the ball to get a shot off, but it bounced off a wave of players. A fortuitous carom found an unmarked Sarah Shaw who ripped a left-footed first touch from 18 yards, inside the left post. It marked the first career goal for Shaw, who notched the final shootout goal against Ole Miss that sent Texas A&M to the Elite Eight last season.
Georgia (3-5-1, 0-2-0 SEC) nearly broke the scoring seal in the 11th minute. After the initial attack on a corner kick was snuffed out, Lauren Tanner took a pair of shots in the six-yard box near the right post, but they were both turned back by Ritchie on the goal line.
Bates nearly lit up the scoreboard at the midway point of the first half. She scampered through the Georgia midfield and found open space at the right of the penalty arc. Bates fired a left-footed missile that forced Hogrell to hit the deck for a punch wide of the left post.
Moments later, Harryman nearly drew first blood. From 30 yards out, the Aggie defender boomed a shot towards frame. Hogrell leaped at the last moment to thump the ball over the crossbar.
Hogrell, who had six saves in the match, was forced to snuff out a pair of dangerous free kicks by Arrieta from within 25 yards.
The 1-0 advantage at the intermission belied the amount of pressure the Maroon and White offense was applying in the first half. The Aggies owned the edges in shots (12-4) and shots-on-goal (6-3).
The Maroon and White took nine shots in the second half, but the best opportunity to tack on an insurance goal came in the 89th minute when Mikaela Harvey scorched a shot from distance that Hogrell corralled in the waning moments.
For the match, Texas A&M owned the edges in shots (21-8) and shots-on-goal (7-3), but Georgia held the advantage in corner kicks (8-5). With the exception of the aforementioned two-shot barrage in the 11th minute, the Bulldogs were unable to get a shot-on-goal off a corner kick opportunity.
Texas A&M wraps up their nine-game homestand Sunday when the Aggies host UC Riverside in a 6 pm contest at Ellis Field.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach G Guerrieri
On five consecutive shutouts…
"It's something we've been able to hang our hat on. We know that we can defend well. We have defended well, even tonight, with a lot of different looks. We changed our formation midway through the first half. We came back and changed personnel after halftime. Every player stepped up and did her job. Danielle Rice continues to be absolutely rock solid back there. The confidence they have with Dani behind them right now is really helping us out."
On Texas A&M's offensive showing…
"I thought in the first half we pressed well. We had a lot of chances that we could have, and should have, finished off and this game would have ended a long time ago. We give Georgia a lot of credit. Their goalkeeper made a couple of good saves. Their backline held strong against a lot of pressure that we were putting on them. The win is the most important thing right now."
Senior midfielder Sarah Shaw
On her goal…
"The corner kick popped out, and jiggled around a little bit. I saw Miki (Harvey) go for it, but she stepped back and looked at me. I just shot it with the left foot. When we scouted Georgia we knew that their keeper stayed on her line most of the time, so I had to hit it low and put it in the corners."
On another shutout….
"It's everything. It provides us so much confidence going further into SEC play. Georgia is a really tough team. To shut them out and keep things going was exactly what we were looking for tonight."
Junior Defender McKayla Paulson
On the shutout streak…
"I'm so proud of our backline and Danielle (Rice). We are clicking really well right now. We have a good system going. It starts with our communication. If I miss someone, there's always a teammate to tell me where she is. Even if someone steps up and gets beat you have the backline behind you. If anything does get through, we always have Dani back there to clean it up."
The clean sheet marked the fifth consecutive shutout for the Texas A&M defense. The Aggies' fortification included a combination of Grace Wright, Kendall Ritchie, McKayla Paulson, Margaret Schmidt, Grace Piper and Ashlynn Harryman. Goalkeeper Danielle Rice made one save and got a pair of team saves early in the first half to register her fifth consecutive shutout and the eighth of her career.
Texas A&M (6-2-0, 2-0-0 SEC) scored the lone goal of the match in the 26th minute. With Cienna Arrieta sending in a corner kick from the right arc, Bulldogs' goalkeeper Louise Hogrell tried to corral the offering, but it slipped out of her mitts. A scrum between Piper and two Bulldogs sent the ball out towards the penalty spot. Emily Bates beat a pair of Georgia defenders to the ball to get a shot off, but it bounced off a wave of players. A fortuitous carom found an unmarked Sarah Shaw who ripped a left-footed first touch from 18 yards, inside the left post. It marked the first career goal for Shaw, who notched the final shootout goal against Ole Miss that sent Texas A&M to the Elite Eight last season.
Georgia (3-5-1, 0-2-0 SEC) nearly broke the scoring seal in the 11th minute. After the initial attack on a corner kick was snuffed out, Lauren Tanner took a pair of shots in the six-yard box near the right post, but they were both turned back by Ritchie on the goal line.
Bates nearly lit up the scoreboard at the midway point of the first half. She scampered through the Georgia midfield and found open space at the right of the penalty arc. Bates fired a left-footed missile that forced Hogrell to hit the deck for a punch wide of the left post.
Moments later, Harryman nearly drew first blood. From 30 yards out, the Aggie defender boomed a shot towards frame. Hogrell leaped at the last moment to thump the ball over the crossbar.
Hogrell, who had six saves in the match, was forced to snuff out a pair of dangerous free kicks by Arrieta from within 25 yards.
The 1-0 advantage at the intermission belied the amount of pressure the Maroon and White offense was applying in the first half. The Aggies owned the edges in shots (12-4) and shots-on-goal (6-3).
The Maroon and White took nine shots in the second half, but the best opportunity to tack on an insurance goal came in the 89th minute when Mikaela Harvey scorched a shot from distance that Hogrell corralled in the waning moments.
For the match, Texas A&M owned the edges in shots (21-8) and shots-on-goal (7-3), but Georgia held the advantage in corner kicks (8-5). With the exception of the aforementioned two-shot barrage in the 11th minute, the Bulldogs were unable to get a shot-on-goal off a corner kick opportunity.
Texas A&M wraps up their nine-game homestand Sunday when the Aggies host UC Riverside in a 6 pm contest at Ellis Field.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach G Guerrieri
On five consecutive shutouts…
"It's something we've been able to hang our hat on. We know that we can defend well. We have defended well, even tonight, with a lot of different looks. We changed our formation midway through the first half. We came back and changed personnel after halftime. Every player stepped up and did her job. Danielle Rice continues to be absolutely rock solid back there. The confidence they have with Dani behind them right now is really helping us out."
On Texas A&M's offensive showing…
"I thought in the first half we pressed well. We had a lot of chances that we could have, and should have, finished off and this game would have ended a long time ago. We give Georgia a lot of credit. Their goalkeeper made a couple of good saves. Their backline held strong against a lot of pressure that we were putting on them. The win is the most important thing right now."
Senior midfielder Sarah Shaw
On her goal…
"The corner kick popped out, and jiggled around a little bit. I saw Miki (Harvey) go for it, but she stepped back and looked at me. I just shot it with the left foot. When we scouted Georgia we knew that their keeper stayed on her line most of the time, so I had to hit it low and put it in the corners."
On another shutout….
"It's everything. It provides us so much confidence going further into SEC play. Georgia is a really tough team. To shut them out and keep things going was exactly what we were looking for tonight."
Junior Defender McKayla Paulson
On the shutout streak…
"I'm so proud of our backline and Danielle (Rice). We are clicking really well right now. We have a good system going. It starts with our communication. If I miss someone, there's always a teammate to tell me where she is. Even if someone steps up and gets beat you have the backline behind you. If anything does get through, we always have Dani back there to clean it up."
Team Stats
UGA
TAMU
Goals
0
1
Shots
8
21
Shots on Goal
3
7
Saves
6
3
Corners
8
5
Fouls
8
6
Scoring Plays
Shaw, Sarah (1)
Assisted By: Bates, Emily
Put back from 15 off blocked shot
25:52
Game Leaders
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
4
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ SoccerM/F
/ Soccer
D/M
/ Soccer
M
/ Soccer
D
/ Soccer
M
/ Soccer
GK
/ Soccer
D
/ Soccer
D
/ SoccerM
/ Soccer
D
/ SoccerHighlights: Texas A&M 1, Texas 0
Thursday, October 02
Texas Postgame: G Guerrieri, Hattie Patterson, Trinity Buchanan
Thursday, October 02
The Aggie Soccer Hour (Ep 5)
Wednesday, October 01
Weekly Press Conference: G Guerrieri
Monday, September 29
