The No. 23 Aggie soccer team continued its stellar form at Ellis Field Friday night after winning their 14th straight home game by defeating Arkansas 1-0.
The lone goal of the match was scored by Mikaela Harvey who found the net for the fifth time this season.
A&M (13-4, 6-3 SEC) dominated the possession throughout the match. The Aggies outshot the Razorbacks 19 to 10 and put seven shots on goal compared to the Razorbacks’ one shot.
Arkansas (5-10-1, 1-7-1 SEC) played well defensively holding the high scoring maroon and white to only one goal, but were not able to get anything going offensively. Most of the match was played in their final third of the pitch.
The Aggies took an immediate 1-0 lead in the 5th minute after Harvey made a run up the right wing. The midfield maestro smashed her shot into the top right corner of the net giving the keeper no chance. Harvey discussed the importance of her goal after the match.
“I knew we had to get one early because usually when we get one in early it’s easier for us to play our game quickly so I just saw an open goal and went for it luckily the ball went right in the back of the net so it was nice.”
The Aggies have now won back to back games by recording shutouts. A&M head coach G Guerrieri was pleased with his team’s defending during the game.
“We knew it was going to be an ugly game and unfortunately we should’ve scored three or four more goals,” said Guerrieri. “They made some clearances off the line and we missed a couple chances which kept it a lot closer than the game actually was. But nonetheless we know we can bank on our defense. Mia [Hummel] had another great game, Ashlynn Harryman [as well], McKayla Paulson, Karlie [Mueller] and Grace Wright were all outstanding.”
In the 32nd minute the Razorbacks thought they had equalized when Rachel Riggs put the ball in the back of the net after a scrum in the box. The referee raised his hand and called offside which took away the goal. Ashlynn Harryman and the Aggie defense were glad the goal didn’t stand.
“There was a huge sense of relief and then we figured out that we need to not give them that opportunity of getting in the position to score and that we just need to keep the ball out of our own half.”
The Aggies will play their last home game of the season on Sunday against Ole Miss. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the match can be seen on the SEC Network.
