No. 12 Texas A&M soccer lost in overtime against the unranked Rice Owls Monday night at Holloway Field in Houston, leaving even A&M coach G Guerrieri stunned.
With A&M up by two goals, Rice mounted a comeback starting in the 45th minute, culminating with a last-second score in overtime for the Owls’ win. Guerrieri said it was unlike his team to let the Owls rally like they did.
“I can’t remember the last time we gave up a two-goal lead to lose,” Guerrieri told 12thman.com.
After 30 scoreless minutes in the first half, A&M junior defender Macie Kolb broke the stalemate and scored the first goal of the match from close range after a sharp left cross assist from sophomore defender Katie Smith.
The maroon and white wasted little time celebrating and immediately went back on the offensive, allowing A&M senior midfielder Taylor Ziemer to score a short 13 seconds later with an assist from freshman forward Laney Carroll.
The Owls managed to trim A&M’s lead with a six-yard goal by junior midfielder Delaney Schultz just before the buzzer, making the score 2-1 going into halftime.
“We set up a lot of great chances,” Guerrieri told 12thman.com. “Their keeper and defenders played awesome to limit us to two goals.”
Rice struck again in the 57th minute to tie the score with a 40-yard long bomb by senior defender Mijke Roelfsema that sailed directly over A&M keeper Kenna Caldwell.
Still tied at two at the end of regulation time, the Aggies and the Owls headed into overtime. After a competitive nine minutes, Rice senior defender Caleigh Page headed in a corner kick in close traffic with 13 seconds left in the overtime period, securing the win for the Owls.
“You have to give Rice credit,” Guerrieri told 12thman.com. “[Rice Head Coach] Brian [Lee] and his crew did a super job of keeping them in the game and found a way to win at the end.”
The team had hoped to use Monday’s spring opener to build off of their SEC regular season championship run in the fall, said Guerrieri.
“I’m really disappointed with the result,” Guerrieri told 12thman.com.
This meeting marks the first time the Owls have ever bested the Aggies in soccer competition, settling the score after their 4-1 loss to the maroon and white in 2016. The Aggies still hold a 5-1 all-time record in the series.
A&M falls to 8-3-0 on the season, while Rice’s record improves to 5-2-0. The Aggies return to action Saturday at 7 p.m. at Ellis Field when they host the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.
“We need a better performance from all 11 on the pitch,” Guerrieri told 12thman.com. “That’s a tough lesson for us to learn tonight.”