Aggies Headed to 15th Sweet Sixteen

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 16 Texas A&M Aggies earned the 15^th Sweet Sixteen spot in program history with a 2-0 victory over the TCU Horned Frogs in NCAA Division I Championship second round action Friday afternoon at Regal Soccer Stadium.
 
With the win, the Maroon & White extended their unbeaten string against Lone Star State opponents to 34 matches. The Aggies are 29-0-5 against in-state opponents with the last loss coming at the end of the 2007 campaign.
 
Ally Watt and Addie McCain accounted for the Aggies' goals in the second half with Watt scoring her 15^th of the season to break the ice in the 52^nd minute. McCain's goal came on a corner kick as Texas A&M notched their 22^nd set piece goal of the season.
 
Cosette Morché made two saves in goal to record her 12^th shutout of the year, two off the Aggies' single-season record set by Jordan Day in 2012. The Maroon & White backline of Jordan Hill, Kendall Ritchie, Karlina Sample and Callyn Walton held TCU to eight shots and two shots-on-goal in the match.
 
Texas A&M had two scoring opportunities thwarted in the first five minutes. A Watt shot from 12 yards out in the second minute and an Emily Bates offering from eight yards out in the fourth minute were stopped with outstanding efforts by Horned Frogs' goalkeeper Emily Alvarado.
 
After the early fireworks, the Aggies' assault tapered off and the teams went into halftime tied at 0-0. The Maroon & White held the edges in shots (6-3), shots-on-goal (3-0) and corner kicks (1-0).
 
The Aggies overwhelmed the Horned Frogs in the second half, owning wide margins in shots (12-5), shots-on-goal (7-2) and corner kicks (6-3) after the intermission.
 
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies will face either Arizona or Tennessee on Sunday for a spot in the Elite Eight. First kick in Knoxville is slated for 4:05 p.m. Central.
 
 
SCORING SUMMARY
52' – Watt stole the ball from a defender near the left corner of the penalty box. She worked the ball to the left of the penalty arc and ripped a shot into the right upper 90 for the ice breaker. A&M 1, UT 0.
 
76' – TCU attempted to clear a corner kick, but the ball rolled out to McCain who was settled in 25 yards out. She used her second step to rip a missile from 20 yards out for the insurance goal. A&M 2, UT 0.
 
 
QUOTES
Head Coach G Guerrieri
Opening statement
"This will be our 15th trip to the Sweet Sixteen, which I think all of our former players helped set up. It wouldn't have happened today without some incredible performances from a lot of players all around the pitch."
 
On the defense...
"I was very proud of the way we defended. Karlina Sample was great once again in the middle of the backline. And Callyn (Walton), Jordan (Hill) and Kendall (Ritchie) did great in 1-v-1 situations. Cosette (Morché) was outstanding in her leadership back there. You could hear her throughout the stadium, marshaling the backline. And when we needed saves she made them.
 
On TCU…
"TCU is a team we have tremendous respect for. Their coaching staff is friends of ours. They've had a tremendous season. They are a very tough team to play against. Their goalkeeper made several great saves to keep them in early."
 
 
Junior forward Ally Watt
On scoring the winning goal…
"Their keeper was making amazing saves. I haven't shot from distance in a while, so I thought I'd give it a shot. She was stopping all my shots inside the box and I watched the England match yesterday (vs. USA) and I saw a goal from outside the box and thought 'Why not?'"
 
On what the halftime message was...
"We just we weren't performing our best, and knew we were capable of so much more. I think it was us reflecting and knowing that we just needed to get the ball down and play our soccer. We did that in the second half and got the win."

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