The No. 6 seeded Texas A&M soccer team took the first step in defending its SEC crown for a third straight year after defeating No. 3 Ole Miss 2-0 in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
The “fantastic freshmen,” Ally Watt and Emily Bates, provided two late goals to help send the Aggies to the semifinals and secure revenge against a Rebels team who got the better of them Oct. 25.
Texas A&M (15-5-1, 1-0 SEC Tournament) kept another clean sheet which helps extend their record to 402 minutes in SEC Tournament action without allowing a goal. The Maroon and White dominated the Rebels, outshooting them 19-7 and putting 10 shots on target compared to their one shot.
Ole Miss (14-5-0) scored four goals against A&M in their previous outing but struggled to create chances throughout the match. CeCe Kizer, who had 14 goals entering the game was kept at bay by A&M’s superb defensive performance.
A&M head coach G Guerrieri told 12thman.com watching the Aggies play was almost like watching another team against Ole Miss.
“If you look at this game compared to the last time that we played them I thought that we defended much better,” Guerrieri said, according to the article. “I thought we were better in possession and we did a really good job of transitioning going from defending to breaking out [on attack].”
Ally Watt scored the opening goal for the Aggies in minute 75 which gave the Aggies the 1-0 lead. The forward made a darting run with ball inside the left side of the box and slotted the ball past the keeper on the ground from a difficult angle. The goal was Watt’s sixth of the season.
“This time we were just ready,” Watt said. “We were not going to let them try to beat us again. We were going to be adamant no matter what. We don’t care that they’re Ole Miss, we’re going to be adamant and let them know that we’re A&M.”
Emily Bates gave the Aggies a huge cushion and doubled the scoring six minutes later in the 81st minute by scoring a clinical goal on her only shot of the match. Bates made her way past two defenders and fired blasted a shot at the left side of goal. The keeper dove and got her hands on it but the shot was too powerful and found the back of the net. The Melissa, TX native has made a name for herself this season, scoring six goals this season and registering five assists in 16 games.
Junior goalkeeper Danielle Rice, who was the hero against Missouri, was named the starting goalkeeper for the match and began her career as a starter with a shutout.
“This is huge,” said Rice. “This is actually my first ever [postseason] game that I’ve ever been to and to come out and dominate the way we did was phenomenal.”
The Aggies will continue play in the semifinal match on Friday as they take on No. 7 LSU who upset No. 2 Missouri earlier in the day. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.