The Texas A&M soccer team played to a 1-1 draw on the road against No. 21 South Carolina Thursday, Oct. 10, at Stone Stadium in Columbia, S.C.
The maroon and white picked up another point on the road that could come to be crucial for its chances of qualifying for the SEC Tournament. The Aggies’ lone goal came from sophomore midfielder Quinn Cornog in the 21st minute. South Carolina received its goal from sophomore forward Payton Patrick in the 59th minute.
“This is a tough place to come and play,” coach G Guerreri said. “You’ve got to give South Carolina a lot of credit, they really have made Stone Stadium a real fortress for them, it’s a hard place to come and get any points.”
Coming into the match, the Aggies had won two straight and the Gamecocks had just dropped their last match, ending a three-game winning streak.
The match got off to a slow start for both sides as neither team were able to produce any quality chances in the first 20 minutes.
However, A&M switched that as they went up 1-0 in the 21st minute when Cornog headed a cross from sophomore defender Mia Pante that went off the head of a Gamecock defender into the goal.
The Gamecocks had an opportunity to equalize in the 32nd minute when junior forward Catherine Barry headed a cross from freshman forward Shae O’Rourke that senior goalkeeper Kenna Caldwell had to jump up and save.
In the 45th minute, freshman defender Carolyn Calzada almost snuck a long-range shot past senior goalkeeper Heather Hinz, but Hinz punched it over the crossbar.
The maroon and white were unable to score off the ensuing corner kick, and both teams went to the locker room at the half with A&M up 1-0.
South Carolina had the first shot on goal in the second half when fifth-year midfielder Claire Griffiths, in the 50th minute, fired one from inside the box that Caldwell had to reach to her left to save.
Another opportunity came for the Gamecocks in the 53rd minute when junior forward Corinna Zullo’s shot inside the box forced Caldwell to dive to her right to make a save. Zullo had another chance in the box a minute later, but her shot went just left of the goal.
The pressure from the Gamecocks finally paid off as they tied up the match 1-1 in the 59th minute when Patrick chipped a through ball from Barry over the right hand of Caldwell into the net.
O’Rourke came close to giving the Gamecocks the lead in the 73rd minute with a shot from outside the box that went off the left knee of Caldwell and just wide of the goal.
A&M was once again tasked with making another save in the 77th minute as Caldwell had to drop down to her knees to save a free kick outside the box from Barry.
South Carolina was given one last chance in the 86th minute when Patrick received a cross from Zullo inside the box and forced Caldwell to bail the Aggies out once more.
Neither team recorded a shot the rest of the match, and the teams played to a 1-1 draw.
Caldwell recorded nine saves in the match, seven of those saves coming in the second half.
“Kenna Caldwell, I thought, was super in goal for us,” Guerrieri said. “She did a great job as far as keeping a level head for our defense.”
The Aggies will come home for their next and last home match of the season Sunday, Oct. 23rd against Missouri at 4 p.m.
“The 12th Man is really needed this Sunday, 4 o’clock, when Missouri comes to town and we’re trying to get 3 points to get ourselves in the SEC Tournament again,” Guerreri said.