The No. 7-ranked Texas A&M soccer team (4-0, 0-0 SEC) concluded its four game home stand with a 4-1 victory against the Illinois State Redbirds (3-1, 0-0 MVC) Sunday afternoon. The win gave the Aggies their first 4-0 start since 2003.
The Aggies gave the fans at Ellis Field something to cheer about early into the match as senior midfielder Allie Bailey scored within the first five minutes. The Redbirds were quick to respond with a goal of their own from sophomore midfielder Dagny Olsen to tie the game at one apiece.
The game continued as a back and forth affair until the second half, where senior Shea Groom broke the stalemate with a goal and followed up with an assist to forward Kelley Monogue, giving the Aggies a 3-1 lead. The Aggies capped off the contest with a goal on a header by midfielder Haley Pounds. Bailey said the team as a whole played much better in the second half.
“I thought we did a really good job responding in the second half,” Bailey said. “Our first half wasn’t the best half we’ve had in a while but I’m really proud of our team to come back and totally dominate the second half.”
Monogue has been a key player for the Aggie offense this season, with two multi-goal games along with her score Sunday. Head coach G. Guerrieri said the success of Monogue and Groom is important for the team to be successful this season.
“We’ve got some special players,” Guerrieri said. “If the other team lets down for a moment, we can make them pay for it. Shea is just incredibly explosive and same with Monogue. When they’re both on, they’re a handful. It was a nice second half and I was pleased with our effort.”
Groom said it’s a great accomplishment to begin the season without a blemish on the record.
“I think it’s pretty special for us,” Groom said. “We have had some really good teams that haven’t started 4-0. This is where we want to be. My first three years we always lost a game on opening weekend. We always started 1-1. So it was great to start 2-0 and that momentum carried into this weekend.”
The Aggies go on the road to participate in the Sun Devil Classic this weekend, where they face Arizona on Friday at 8:30 p.m. and Arizona State on Sunday at 3 p.m.