The No. 2 Aggies looked to celebrate captain Grace Piper’s birthday by remaining invincible. They would also look to extend their winning streak to 11 on the season and 26 overall which would tie the SEC unbeaten record. In order to do this the Aggies would have to go to Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks, in a rematch of the 2017 SEC championship game.
The Aggies got off to a slow start in the first half and the physical high press from Arkansas made them pay early as they conceded a goal 14 minutes into the match. That was only the third goal the Aggies have conceded all year.
Fortunately for the Aggies that goal seemed to spark them a little bit as they wasted no time finding the equalizer. Two minutes after conceding, Kendall Ritchie, the Aggie’s set piece specialist dispatched a lighting bolt of a free kick into the roof of the net in the 30th minute. Despite the tied scoreline the Aggies continued to struggle against the high press and were forced into playing long balls over top.
Coach Guerrieri told ESPN during an interview in the first half that he was worried about the way his team was playing stating that the Aggies ‘had to have more possession of the ball in the middle of the park”.
The teams went into halftime tied but the Aggies were fortunate to not be behind.
The second half started the same way the first did, as the Aggies almost conceded instantly. The Aggies struggled with the physical style of play for a majority of the night. Arkansas’ Tori Cannata was too much for the Aggies as she bagged a brace, scoring in 14th and 62nd minute. In the 75th minute Arkansas gets their third to make it 3-1, but the Aggies refused to quit.
The Aggies continued to create chances but couldn’t find the back of the net, the most glaring of those was a missed shot by Jimena Lopez from the six yard box that would have tied the game. The Icelandic international Ásdís Halldórsdóttir scored the Aggies second goal off another direct free kick in the 85th minute to give them a ray of hope.
Despite the last minute push from the Aggies they weren’t able to find an equalizer and suffered their first loss since September 15th 2017 and their first loss to the Razorbacks since their first ever meeting in 1993.
During the post game interview with the 12thman.com, Coach Guerrieri praised the Razorbacks and talked about missed opportunities.
“It is especially tough to play here because they play so differently than everyone else,” Guerrieri said. “We had a couple wide open looks at goal that we didn’t finish”.
The Aggies will look to bounce back in their return to Ellis Field on Sept. 23 against Georgia at 6 p.m. in their Turn it Gold match.