The Texas A&M soccer team traveled to Durham, N.C., this weekend to play in the Duke Nike Classic. The Aggies were upended by No. 6 Duke on Friday, 7–2, but bounced back on Sunday to pull off an overtime upset against No.1 North Carolina, 4–3.
The first half of Friday’s match with the Blue Devils was hard fought, where A&M took a 2–2 tie into the half.
In the 41 minute of the first half, the Aggies showed resilience when freshman Katie Perry delivered a corner kick to the Duke penalty area, putting freshman Allie Bailey in position to redirect the ball into the net.
Duke was penalized with 35 seconds remaining in the first half, when the Aggies capitalized on a free kick. Freshman Meghan Streight’s kick was headed out of the penalty area, where senior Megan Majewski delivered a one-time volley into the net to tie the game 2–2 at the half.
The second half was all Duke, as the No. 6 Blue Devils shut out the Aggies to go on and win the match, 7–2.
“We made some terrible defensive mistakes throughout the game, and Duke punished us for every one,” head coach G Guerrieri said. “This is a tough loss against a very good team.”
A&M bounced back on Sunday with one of the biggest upsets in program history, as the Aggies stunned No. 1 North Carolina in overtime, 4–3.
The Aggies stared down a 1–3 deficit with just 20 minutes remaining in the game, to tie the score 3–3, sending it into overtime.
“Obviously, I’m really happy for our girls,” head coach G Guerrieri said. “I just couldn’t be more proud of them for the fight that they put in today.”
The Tar Heels struck first in the sixth minute, but Aggie senior Merritt Mathias led the attack to keep defenders on their toes. Mathias shot two of three shots on frame throughout the match, and assisted on two goals.
Freshman Bianca Brinson set up a goal for freshman Annie Kuntz in the 32 minute, where Kuntz netted an offensive rebound for a 1–1 tie.
“From a defensive standpoint, we were disappointed to give up three goals on set pieces, but our team defending all over the field was pretty solid all day long,” Guerrieri said.
The second half started with a Tar Heel goal in the 48 minute, when North Carolina capitalized on a corner kick to go up 3–1. In the 71 minute, Matthias set up a goal for junior Nora Skelton , cutting the North Carolina lead, 3–2.
In the next seven minutes, A&M earned three corner kicks. After three attempts by Mathias, freshman Meghan Streight was able to wrangle a lob and headed the game-tying shot at 3–3.
Majewski won the throw in to begin the 10-minute overtime period. The ball found freshman Shea Groom, who blazed past defenders and delivered the golden goal inside the left post.
Groom’s game winning shot signifies the Aggies second victory in program history over the 21-time national champion Tar Heels—the other victory was in 2006.
The Aggies out shot North Carolina 20-13 throughout the match, en route to the second time in North Carolina history that the team has given up three consecutive goals.
“I think we’re probably part of a really small club, the club that can say that they were down to North Carolina, 3-1, and were able to come back and win, 4-3,” Guerrieri said. “UNC is such a talented and well coached team. It’s quite an accomplishment for our young talented team.”
The Aggies return home this Friday to play the Baylor Bears at 6:30 p.m.