Fans at Ellis Field saw free soccer on Friday night as Texas A&M and Notre Dame went to overtime and then penalty kicks in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The reason there was free soccer was A&M’s own Emily Bates.
With just two minutes left in regulation, Bates split two defenders and scored to tie it up at 2. Then, after two scoreless overtime periods, Notre Dame advanced to the regional semifinals with a 4-1 penalty kick win.
“I thought we created some good chances, had some good looks,” head coach G Guerrieri said. “I’m proud of our players and the grit of our team to come from behind. Emily Bates got the tying goal and it was the typical way this team has gone about things all season. They don’t let the things happen. They take every opportunity they can to get as much out of the event as they can.”
The first half saw aggressive play from both sides as both A&M and Notre Dame put one in the other team’s net. It was scoreless until the 38th minute, when Aggie senior captain Mikaela Harvey hit a beautiful shot with her right foot while falling down that floated into the side net over Notre Dame’s keeper Lexi Nicholas. Then, Notre Dame answered quickly in the 43rd minute when Irish freshman Eva Hurm scored on Aggie keeper Cosette Morche with a right-footed shot.
The second half was similar to the first half in that neither team scored for a while until Notre Dame started the second half scoring in the 83rd minute when sophomore Natalie Jacobs netted a penalty kick for the Irish. Then, A&M answered and sent it to overtime with Bates’ clutch goal.
“They have a very talented front line and a very talented midfield,” junior Kendall Ritchie said. “We knew that going into this game that we were going to have to pay special attention to their runners. They are very dangerous and very tricky and we knew that going in so we just tried to hold the ball as best we could. All credit to Notre Dame, they have a really great offense.”
Notre Dame made all four of its penalty kicks, with A&M making just one of three to advance in the tournament. The Irish finished with 24 shots, four saves, and two corners, while the Aggies finished with 17 shots, 8 saves, and nine corners.
“We worked on them every day for the past seven weeks,” Guerrieri said. “It’s a little uncommon for us to not bury them. You have to give their goalie a lot of credit. She was quick and she did a great job making saves. She did the same thing on a couple of those corners that i was sure were going in. She did a great job in keeping them out.”
A&M’s stellar season ends with an 18-3-1 record, while Notre Dame will now play Baylor on Sunday at Ellis Field for a spot in the regional finals.