In what was an overall quiet match, the Texas A&M soccer team fell to the TCU Horned Frogs on Sunday, Sept. 3, 1-0 at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
In a low-scoring affair, the Aggies and the Horned Frogs were in a defensive battle until the 87th minute, when TCU scored the game-winning goal off the foot of sophomore forward Seven Castain. This match was the first time this season that the Aggies have been shut out.
In the first half, the Aggies’ fifth-year goalkeeper, Kenna Caldwell, took the first shot of the match a minute in, but it was saved by TCU’s senior goalkeeper Lauren Kellett. Both teams traded goal shots in the first half, but neither squad was able to cash in.
It was a game of chess between head coach G Guerrieri and TCU’s head coach Eric Bell, with substitutions aplenty throughout the first half. The Aggies finished the first half with four shots on goal and one corner kick. Junior forward Maile Hayes took the final shot of the half for A&M in the 37th minute; however, it was saved once again by Kellett.
The second half began with a foul on the Horned Frogs’ junior defender Maddie Mooney in the 48th minute. The second half was much like the first, as each team was still unable to score and substitutions were made several times by each squad.
After TCU took two corner kicks at the 85th and 86th minutes, the first and only goal of the game was knocked in from Castain, with help from an assist from sophomore forward A.J. Hennessey. Hennessey weaved her way through the Aggie defense through the corner, and she found Castain facing the goal. Castain found a gap in the defense and scored the game-winner. TCU hung on for the 1-0 victory, handing A&M its third loss of the season.
The Aggies took a total of 12 shots during the match, with seven of these being on goal. Hayes, who earned All-SEC First Team honors and was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week three times last season, took five of the seven shots on goal for the Maroon and White.
One of Hayes’ shots was a penalty kick in the 79th minute, but it was blocked by Kellett; after this, Hayes was given another kick, but it was saved yet again. The Horned Frogs took seven total shots during the match, with just four being on goal.
Caldwell finished the match with three saves. Kellett ended the match with an impressive seven saves, including two point-blank shots starting from a penalty kick by Hayes.
The Aggies and the Horned Frogs finished with seven fouls each, and TCU junior defender Brenna Brosam was given a yellow card in the first minute for committing a foul on junior forward MaKhiya McDonald. This was the game’s only booking.
Despite being shutout, the Aggies were aggressive in attempting to score, as they had four corner kicks in the match. The Horned Frogs finished with three.
“I thought that we again did an incredible job at creating chances,” coach Guerrieri said. “It’s another tough lesson for us to learn, and we’ve got to be able to learn from it.”
With the loss, the Maroon and White drop to 1-3-1 just over a month into the 2023 campaign. A&M will try to turn it around in its next match against Grambling State on Thursday, Sept. 7, at Ellis Field.