The No. 10 Texas A&M soccer team suffered its first loss of the year Friday night to Butler by a score of 2-0. The Aggies fall to 3-1-1 with the loss, while Butler improves to 5-1-1 with the win, making it the Bulldogs’ fifth-straight win.
“They’re a very well-coached team,” Aggie head coach G Guerrieri said. “We knew that they were a team that was going to keep a lot of numbers back and it was going to be really hard to break them down, and I thought that from the 18-yard box to the 18-yard box we were terrific, but in the 18 yard boxes is where they won the game.”
The Aggies dominated possession in the first half, outshooting the Bulldogs nine to four, despite being down 2-0 at halftime. In the third minute, the Aggies had a big chance when sophomore forward Ally Watt broke free, but her shot was saved by Butler keeper Hannah Luedtke. The first Butler goal was scored by junior Paige Monaghan on a beautiful no-look assist from junior Halle Stelbasky in the 33rd minute. Then, Butler added its second goal when Stelbasky snuck a shot by Aggie keeper Cosette Morche, completing the scoring for the game.
“Not finishing a multitude of chances hurt us,” Guerrieri said. “We had a chance in the first couple of minutes that would’ve obviously changed the game and forced them to come out and play, but when they got the first goal it changed the complexion.”
The second half was eventful even though there was no scoring. The Aggies dominated possession again, eventually outshooting the Bulldogs seven to one in the half. In the 75th minute, Aggie senior Mikaela Harvey went down hard in the box on what could’ve been a penalty, but the referee didn’t call it. Then, in the 78th minute, Watt ripped a shot that hit the crossbar. Shortly after Watt narrowly missed, things started to get even worse for the Aggies. In the 81st minute, Harvey was given two yellow cards and a red card to disqualify her from the game, and shortly after, Guerrieri was given a red card.
“This is my first red card in fourteen years,” Guerrieri said. “I’m embarrassed that somebody would do that, but now I’ll have to pay the price and stay out of the next game and serve my penalty.”
The Aggies will be back in action on Sunday as they travel to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the No. 19 Kansas Jayhawks. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
