PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Texas A&M soccer team was doomed by Mississippi State’s goal in the 10th minute of overtime, as the Aggies dropped a 2-1 decision to the Bulldogs in Sunday’s SEC Tournament first round match at Ashton Brosnaham Park.
The one-goal loss for the Aggies belied the 29-9 advantage Texas A&M owned in shots for the match, including 17-2 in the second half and 20 minutes of overtime. The Aggies also held the edge in corner kicks (6-1) and shots-on-goal (10-8).
Trailing 1-0 coming out of the intermission, the Aggies outshot Mississippi State 11-0 before finally knotting the match in the 86th minute with Mia Pante scoring with an assist from Jai Smith.
Four minutes into the first overtime period, Texas A&M had an opportunity to claim its first lead of the match. Maile Hayes collected to ball 10 yards off the defensive penalty box and raced 60 yards past and through Bulldogs’ midfielders and defenders before uncorking a missile that sailed a cat’s whisker north of the crossbar.
The Bulldogs scored the winning goal in the 100th minute.
Hayes and Carolyn Calzada both got shots off in the final 10 minutes of overtime, but were unable to tie the match.
After having a 90-minute cap on all games this year with the overtime rule lifted for the regular-season, seven Aggies played over 100 minutes, including Calzada, Macy Matula, Karlina Sample and Katie Smith playing the full 110 minutes.
Kenna Caldwell made six saves in goal for the Aggies while Mississippi State needed nine saves from Mac Titus to preserve the victory.
SCORING SUMMARY
38′ – Juliet Moore played a ball into the 6-yard box. Gwen Mummert delivered a hip check on Aggie goalkeeper Kenna Caldwell to dislodge the ball and finished it for the goal. MSU 1, A&M 0.
86′ – Jai Smith made a sliding tackle near the end line outside the left side of the 6-yard box, popped to her feet and delivered a cross to Mia Pante who finished inside the right post with a right-footer. MSU 1, A&M 1
100′ – Maggie Wadsworth rushed to the end line on the left side of the 6-yard box to track down a long ball played from the center stripe. Wadsworth sent a cross that Jojo Ngongo chested in for the go-ahead goal. MSU 2, A&M 1
UP NEXT…
The Aggies await word of an NCAA Tournament bid. The selection show is set for Monday, November 7.
Story by Thomas Dick, Texas A&M Athletics Communications