The Aggies dominated Sam Houston State on Sunday winning 9-0 against the Bearkats.
The Sept. 18 matchup started strong with A&M scoring seven goals in the first half. In the slower second half, the Aggies had possession for less time and gave the Bearkats a better chance at scoring, but the Bearkats remained scoreless. Game highlights included a Bearkat miscommunication that resulted in a kick to their own goal giving the Aggies a free point and an illegal body slam called against Sam Houston. The maroon and white will continue their season on Friday, Sept. 23, at home against the University of Texas.
A&M started the game with a strong hold on possession for the first three minutes. With one shot missed, the Aggies kept up the attempts until junior midfielder Madi Rogers scored from afar in the top left corner of the goal, too high for the Bearkats’ goalkeeper to defend.
Junior midfielder Maci Hubbard shot over the goal for the second missed attempt in the first half. To fight back against the errors, junior forward Brooke Brown shot and scored, continuing to run up the Aggies’ lead. Senior midfielder Sarah Noble scored immediately after Brown despite a few strides being pressured by Bearkat defense.
Three shots were missed by the Aggies, one of which was blocked by the Bearkats’ goalkeeper. A&M came back with a wide-angled goal by Noble. They continued to beat the Bearkat defense to the goal, with Brown tapping the ball in the net. As Sam Houston struggled to defend, miscommunication resulted in an own goal, giving the Aggies a free point.
After the confusing play by Sam Houston, an assist by A&M’s junior midfielder Maia Rondinelli in front of the goal to sophomore midfielder Cassidy Heineman added another goal to head into halftime with the Aggies dominating 7-0.
In second half play, the Aggies struggled to clear their attempts. Rondinelli ran strong up the field with pressure from the Bearkat’s defense but shot and missed. A penalty was called against Sam Houston’s midfielder for an illegal body slam against Rogers.
In a pressured cluster of Bearkats, Noble placed the ball to the left of the goalkeeper for Rondinelli to tap it in. The final goal of the game was made by Brown from 15 yards away, giving the Aggies a 9-0 win.
Aggie Women’s Club Soccer will face Texas at home Friday beginning at 7 p.m. at Penberthy Rec Sports Complex. Games are free for all spectators.
Hayden Carroll is a journalism senior and contributed this piece from the course Journalism 359: Reporting Sports to The Battalion.