Friday, October 12
College Station
7:30 p.m.
Texas A&M
2
vs
1
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Mississippi State
Photo by: Spencer Gnauck
Aggies Top No. 23 Mississippi State, 2-1, on Senior Night
Oct 12, 2018 | Soccer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies moved into second-place in the SEC standings Friday night with 2-1 victory over the No. 23 Mississippi State Bulldogs at Ellis Field.
With the win, Texas A&M moved into a tie with South Carolina at 5-1-1 (16 points), just three points off the pace of first-place Vanderbilt (18 points - 6-0-0). The Maroon & White extended their home win streak to 11 matches.
The Aggies were unable to claim a first-half lead despite owning a 15-5 edge in shots. The persistent play paid off in the second half with both of Texas A&M's starting forward finding the back of the net. Ally Watt scored in the 60th minute and Ásdís Halldórsdóttir knocked in her fourth of the season in the 77th minute.
Watt's goal was her team-leading 12th of season and the 30th of her career. She moved into 13th place on the Aggies' career goals list.
Texas A&M improved to 14-1-1 overall with three victories against Top 25 opponents. Mississippi State dropped to 9-4-1 on the season.
The Aggies owned the edge in shots (26-22), shots-on-goal (10-9) and corner kicks (7-5). Five of Mississippi State's shots and three of their shots-on-goal came in the final 90 seconds of play.
Cosette Morché and the backline played a strong game with Mississippi State's lone goal coming when chaos went unfettered on a throw-in scrum in the 90th minute. Morché made seven saves in the contest and Briana Alston added a team save, clearing a ball off the goal line in the 89th minute.
The Aggies honored their seven seniors before the match – Emily Bates, Brittany Crabtree, Kate Hajdu, Claudette Lassandro, Morché, Kendall Ritchie and Margaret Schmidt.
GOAL SUMMARY
60' – Addie McCain sent in a beautiful long ball from the center stripe into the penalty box with Watt racing between two defenders. Watt got her head on the first bounce, but it went to the right where Bulldogs' defender attempted to head it away. The header was errant and Watt collected the ball near the penalty spot and drove a low, right-footed shot off the mitts of the keeper into goal for the ice breaker. A&M 1, MSU 0.
77' – Tera Ziemer and Watt played a give-and-go down the right side with Watt feeding a one-touch pass to Ziemer racing to the end line. Ziemer sent a cross into the six-yard box finding Halldórsdóttir who punched a shot between the keeper and the near post for an important insurance goal. A&M 2, MSU 0.
90' – The Bulldogs would not go away quietly as they took five shots in the final 90 seconds. The fifth shot found the net when Brooke McKee slipped a ball inside the left post from seven yards out to cap off a throw-in scrum. A&M 2, MSU 1.
UP NEXT
The Aggies travels to Tuscaloosa for a Thursday evening match against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The match will air nationally on the SEC Network with first kick slated for 7:05 p.m.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach G Guerrieri
On his message to the seniors…
"At the end of the game, it was 'Congratulations." It was a great win. It is always great to win on Senior Night. We almost always win on senior night. We almost always win at home, which is nice. This is a big game, and it's nice that a big game is on their big night. We are 11-0 right now at home, and the crowds have been awesome. It was great to see the Corps of Cadets out here, it was great to see so many fans. It was a terrific crowd and it had great energy for our players. It has been a big help for us in our undefeated run at home."
On how important it is to finish the season strong …
"We have a couple goals. One goal is to win the SEC. We are close, but we have to keep winning. We need to win the next game and we need to focus on them one at a time. One of our other goals is to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. We want to play here in front of the 12th Man as deep into the NCAA Tournament as we can. We are unbeatable when we have our crowd out behind us. If we keep winning, we have an excellent chance of getting that No. 1 seed."
Junior forward Ally Watt
On beating a ranked team on Senior Night...
"It was I think a good way to send out our seniors. They've been working really hard these last four years and it's just good to send them off on a good note. It's not their last game here, but to just have a good memory for them is nice."
Senior goalkeeper Cosette Morché
On what the team did well tonight...
"We did well possessing in the top-third. Our midfield did a good job going up top and dropping off whenever we were in a counterattack. All of our midfielders should all get MVP because they were everywhere tonight."
Senior midfielder Emily Bates
On winning on Senior Night…
"It means so much to get a big win with this team and to celebrate these last four years with these girls. It means the world to me."
With the win, Texas A&M moved into a tie with South Carolina at 5-1-1 (16 points), just three points off the pace of first-place Vanderbilt (18 points - 6-0-0). The Maroon & White extended their home win streak to 11 matches.
The Aggies were unable to claim a first-half lead despite owning a 15-5 edge in shots. The persistent play paid off in the second half with both of Texas A&M's starting forward finding the back of the net. Ally Watt scored in the 60th minute and Ásdís Halldórsdóttir knocked in her fourth of the season in the 77th minute.
Watt's goal was her team-leading 12th of season and the 30th of her career. She moved into 13th place on the Aggies' career goals list.
Texas A&M improved to 14-1-1 overall with three victories against Top 25 opponents. Mississippi State dropped to 9-4-1 on the season.
The Aggies owned the edge in shots (26-22), shots-on-goal (10-9) and corner kicks (7-5). Five of Mississippi State's shots and three of their shots-on-goal came in the final 90 seconds of play.
Cosette Morché and the backline played a strong game with Mississippi State's lone goal coming when chaos went unfettered on a throw-in scrum in the 90th minute. Morché made seven saves in the contest and Briana Alston added a team save, clearing a ball off the goal line in the 89th minute.
The Aggies honored their seven seniors before the match – Emily Bates, Brittany Crabtree, Kate Hajdu, Claudette Lassandro, Morché, Kendall Ritchie and Margaret Schmidt.
GOAL SUMMARY
60' – Addie McCain sent in a beautiful long ball from the center stripe into the penalty box with Watt racing between two defenders. Watt got her head on the first bounce, but it went to the right where Bulldogs' defender attempted to head it away. The header was errant and Watt collected the ball near the penalty spot and drove a low, right-footed shot off the mitts of the keeper into goal for the ice breaker. A&M 1, MSU 0.
77' – Tera Ziemer and Watt played a give-and-go down the right side with Watt feeding a one-touch pass to Ziemer racing to the end line. Ziemer sent a cross into the six-yard box finding Halldórsdóttir who punched a shot between the keeper and the near post for an important insurance goal. A&M 2, MSU 0.
90' – The Bulldogs would not go away quietly as they took five shots in the final 90 seconds. The fifth shot found the net when Brooke McKee slipped a ball inside the left post from seven yards out to cap off a throw-in scrum. A&M 2, MSU 1.
UP NEXT
The Aggies travels to Tuscaloosa for a Thursday evening match against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The match will air nationally on the SEC Network with first kick slated for 7:05 p.m.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach G Guerrieri
On his message to the seniors…
"At the end of the game, it was 'Congratulations." It was a great win. It is always great to win on Senior Night. We almost always win on senior night. We almost always win at home, which is nice. This is a big game, and it's nice that a big game is on their big night. We are 11-0 right now at home, and the crowds have been awesome. It was great to see the Corps of Cadets out here, it was great to see so many fans. It was a terrific crowd and it had great energy for our players. It has been a big help for us in our undefeated run at home."
On how important it is to finish the season strong …
"We have a couple goals. One goal is to win the SEC. We are close, but we have to keep winning. We need to win the next game and we need to focus on them one at a time. One of our other goals is to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. We want to play here in front of the 12th Man as deep into the NCAA Tournament as we can. We are unbeatable when we have our crowd out behind us. If we keep winning, we have an excellent chance of getting that No. 1 seed."
Junior forward Ally Watt
On beating a ranked team on Senior Night...
"It was I think a good way to send out our seniors. They've been working really hard these last four years and it's just good to send them off on a good note. It's not their last game here, but to just have a good memory for them is nice."
Senior goalkeeper Cosette Morché
On what the team did well tonight...
"We did well possessing in the top-third. Our midfield did a good job going up top and dropping off whenever we were in a counterattack. All of our midfielders should all get MVP because they were everywhere tonight."
Senior midfielder Emily Bates
On winning on Senior Night…
"It means so much to get a big win with this team and to celebrate these last four years with these girls. It means the world to me."
It's Senior Night at Ellis Field!
— Texas A&M Soccer (@AggieSoccer) October 13, 2018
Thanks to our 2018 senior class! #GigEm pic.twitter.com/aYUeEcVxVg
The Starting XI for tonight's Senior Night match! ??#GigEm pic.twitter.com/HdVB9wXeRu
— Texas A&M Soccer (@AggieSoccer) October 13, 2018
What effort by @allymwatt, & the Aggies grab the lead!
— Texas A&M Soccer (@AggieSoccer) October 13, 2018
?? - https://t.co/JBuFu3lPF4#GigEm pic.twitter.com/88opS8Liop
Great possession, movement & passing, followed by a nice finish by Asdis Halldorsdottir for a 2-0 lead! The Aggies are in control on Senior Night!
— Texas A&M Soccer (@AggieSoccer) October 13, 2018
?? - https://t.co/JBuFu3lPF4#GigEm pic.twitter.com/vLVtoPbeJ1
"I'm really proud of our team & the way we played."
— Texas A&M Soccer (@AggieSoccer) October 13, 2018
?? @CosetteTheCouch talks about the Senior Night win. #GigEm pic.twitter.com/VCWagwLDQO
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