In the cold, wind and rain, the Aggies lost to the Longhorns in Austin for the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore defender Macy Matula defended against a Texas forward to deny the orange and white a corner kick in the maroon and white territory within the first minutes of the game.
“Macy Matula is one of those people that teams, for whatever reason, think that they can pick on, and you just don’t beat her one versus one,” coach G Guerrieri said.
In the 8th minute, senior goalkeeper Kenna Caldwell slid across the wet grass to grab the ball before an approaching Longhorn could attempt to score. Caldwell, in the 10th minute, blocked a rising shot from Texas’ sophomore forward Trinity Byars.
Senior defender Katie Smith was awarded a yellow card in the 12th minute of play for a foul on Byars just outside of the 18-yard box. The free kick was taken by Longhorn sophomore midfielder and forward Jilly Shimkin, and was shot just past Caldwell’s hands and into the left side of the net.
The Aggies attempted a quick response in the 13th minute with a shot by sophomore midfielder Carissa Boeckmann. The ball went wide right of Texas graduate goalkeeper Savannah Madden’s goal.
Redshirt freshman forward Andersen Williams subbed in during the 34th minute, and made an impact immediately off the bench. Williams shot at the center of Madden’s goal in the 36th minute, but it was saved by the Longhorns keeper.
Within the first minute of the second half, Byars tripped up Caldwell and shot into graduate defender Karlina Sample who was positioned in goal. Sample saved the Aggies from going down 2-0 by staying just in front of the goal line while her goalie was further up the field.
A penalty kick was awarded to Texas A&M in the 58th minute from a foul on sophomore forward Maile Hayes committed by Texas sophomore midfielder Ashlyn Miller. Hayes was taken down in the box, and took the kick herself. She scored her 10th goal of the season against Madden in goal.
“The biggest thing is stepping up to the ball and being confident. So, I tell myself that it’s going in, and it goes 99.9% of the time,” Hayes said.
Texas regained control of the game with 25 minutes left in the game when Byars cut across Caldwell’s goal and scored in the bottom right
Matula gave up a free kick off of a handball in the 71st minute. Longhorn sophomore forward Lexi Missimo took the kick, and sophomore center back EmJ Cox sent the ball straight to the Aggies’ right post. The ball was then smothered by Caldwell.
“I think as a team we can work a little bit better together,” Matula said.
A yellow card was awarded for unsporting on Texas sophomore forward Holly Ward, after she took too long to throw the ball deep in A&M territory.
A corner kick by Texas was redirected into the maroon and white’s goal by Miller with assists from Missimo and fifth-year senior midfielder Carlee Allen. The lofting ball found its way into the top left corner of Caldwell’s goal.
The 3-1 loss ends both the Aggies’ 27th run in the NCAA tournament and their 2022 season. The team finished 9-7-5 overall this season, an improvement from the 7-9-2 finish in the 2021 season.
