Texas A&M soccer’s hope of conquering the SEC West was dashed on Thursday, Oct. 26 as it finished 0-0 against LSU in Baton Rouge.
Both teams produced offensive opportunities during the first half, but neither could break the seal as the 45th minute approached.
The Aggies totaled seven shots with four of them on goal, while the Tigers tallied six with only one on target.
LSU graduate student Mollee Swift was all over the Fightin’ Farmers’ best efforts, coming up with four big saves in the first half.
A&M had more opportunities in the half with four corner kicks, while the Tigers also failed to secure one set piece.
“We created a lot of great chances [during] the first half,” coach G Guerrieri said. “We [have] got to do a better job of finishing … we have done a good job in setting ourselves up, good passing, good attack [and] good everything [but] the last piece of it.”
In the 57th minute, the Maroon and White defense collapsed, as Tiger senior forward Mollie Baker weaved in and out through defenders until she was finally fouled in the box by graduate forward Sammy Smith.
Despite this, Swift could not capitalize on the Aggies’ mistake, as her penalty shot was reflected off the top of the goalpost and immediately cleared by A&M.
Fifth-year goalkeeper Kenna Caldwell earned her third save of the night off a power shot by Tiger sophomore midfielder Kelsey Major from the left side of the box.
Junior defender Macy Matula received her first yellow card of the game in the 89th minute after attempting to block Swift as she tried to punt the ball down the field.
Despite several last-minute runs on both sides, time expired before either team could punch in the first goal.
Both LSU and A&M totaled 13 shots each, with the Fightin’ Farmers leading the Tigers eight to two in corner kicks.
Smith was the leader in shots for the Maroon and White with three in the game. For the Tigers, sophomore midfielder Ida Hermannsdottir, freshman forward Ava Galligan and Baker all tied each other with three shots each.
The Aggies finish the regular season and enter the SEC Tournament as the sixth-ranked seed. They will play in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Oct. 31st against South Carolina at 2:30 p.m. in Pensacola, Florida at Ashton Brosnaham Park. The game can be seen on the SEC Network.