Game #3: Texas A&M 1, Texas State 1
Records: Texas A&M (1-0-2, 0-0-0), Texas State (2-0-1, 0-0-0)
Box Score
Wednesday was intense.
Preparation follows.
With a 1-1 final, Texas A&M’s midweek match with Texas State was the third regular-season game of the season for G Guerrieri & Co. Though the Aggies remain unbeaten, the result is not exactly what they had hoped for.
At the start of Wednesday’s game, the Aggies were in a 4-3-3 formation, while the Bobcats were also in a 4-3-3. With the same type of shape on display, the style of play for the Maroon & White was a mixture of constant attack and dropping back throughout the field to attack, falling back when each opportunity arose.
Contrarily, the Bobcats used a mixture of heavy press and tight-knit spacing to control the tempo of the first half.
The match started slow with no goals scored by either team until a couple of minutes before the half.
After being fouled a yard shy of the penalty box, Texas State midfielder Helen Alormenu blasted the ball off a free kick and scored off the set piece to put the Bobcats up 1-0 in the 28th minute.
At halftime, the Aggie attack had taken four shots, and of the four, one was on goal. Additionally, A&M had two corner kicks taken. For the Aggie defenders, while there were three shots taken against them, with one of them passing the line in the goal, only one required a save by goalkeeper Sydney Fuller.
In the 43rd minute, there was a yellow card issued to forward Shea Ryan because of a noted stop to a Bobcat.
“Our first half was just more to hold off and invite the press in, and then we start attacking,” forward Leah Diaz said. “I think we had a slow start.”
The second 45 minutes consisted of the same play style for the Maroon & White attack, which utilized the constant pressure, continued passes and corner kicks, which ended in multiple near misses on the Bobcat goal. Meanwhile, the A&M defense utilized the continued fallback.
On the side, the second half for the Bobcats consisted of heavy press and tight-knit spacing to control the tempo of the second half in an attempt to win the game.
In the 75th minute, the match stopped for an injury to Alormenu after a tackle made by Mia Scranton.
From the many attempted shots from either a corner kick, shots in general or shots on goal, forward Trinity Buchanan gave hope to the Aggies.
With less than 10 minutes to play, Diaz played a pass into the box, where Buchanan’s perfectly-timed run resulted in an 81st-minute equalizer. It was Buchanan’s second goal in as many matches.
In the 85th minute, Texas State midfielder Victoria Meza ended up being sent off with a red card for a dangerous tackle.
With the intensity of the 90-minute game played and only conceding one goal, the Aggies will use the Texas State game to prepare for their upcoming tests.
“We took 16 shots,” Guerrieri said. “We missed the goal nine times. That’s something that we have to clean up, but again, just the fact that we’ve just kept them coming and coming.”
Despite the brand new team A&M has, Wednesday was one of the experiences that could help the Aggies in preparation for the future.
“They have to go through some tough experiences to show that they’re unified and that they can do things,” Guerrieri said.
A&M will host UConn at Ellis Field this Saturday. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. CT.
