The spring continued for the Texas A&M soccer team on Wednesday as it hosted the Houston Dash of the National Women’s Soccer League in the third exhibition game of the spring.
After marking the scoring tally in the second minute of the match, the Aggies were held 88 scoreless minutes as they fell to Houston, 3-1. A&M head coach G Guerrieri was pleased with his team’s composure and liked how his players handled the moment.
“That’s what our spring is about,” Guerrieri said. “It’s about player development. We’ve always said that a lot of times you learn a lot more about yourself and about the team in adverse situations, and I was really pleased with the way our girls handled it.”
A&M jumped out to a quick start as senior Allie Bailey drew first blood in the second minute of the match. Bailey redirected a ball from freshman Mikaela Harvey that was just out of the reach of Dash netminder Erin McLeod. However, the Dash would quickly answer with a goal of its own just seven minutes later.
“I thought we scored a great goal,” Guerrieri said. “The way that the goal was set up and the way that it was finished by Allie [Bailey] – and she had another great chance later on. Mikaela Harvey really showed some people how special of a player she is going to be for us.”
Wednesday’s match was the second meeting between the two squads this spring – the first resulting in a 1-0 victory for the Dash on March 22 in Houston. Senior defensive anchor Leigh Edwards said that playing against professional-level talent is a whole different challenge and is going to prepare them for the upcoming season.
“I would definitely say the level of intensity is ramped up, like, times 100,” Edwards said. “Playing the Houston Dash – they are so composed, they work so hard and they’re also technical – it’s literally the best competition we could play.”
Houston controlled the pace for much of the first half, outscoring A&M by a count of 15-5, including 7 shots on goal, as the Dash continuously tested the A&M backline with thru balls leading to multiple opportunities on goal.
“We’re not used to seeing that type of pressure,” Guerrieri said. “If you think about the alternatives of who we’d be playing against in the spring season, or in college games, we don’t get a chance to see that. I thought it was great for our backline, I thought that Meghan Streight did a great job with it.”
The Dash picked up the intensity in the second half and added two goals to their lead on A&M goalkeeper Renee McDermott, who replaced starter Jordan Day at the half.
Houston would finish the game outshooting the Aggies 27-8, including an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal.
The Aggies will travel back to Houston on Saturday to play a doubleheader of spring games against Rice and LSU at Rice University. A&M will kick off against the Owls at 2 p.m. and finish with a 5 p.m. kickoff against the Tigers.