The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas A&M
Soccer falls in Big 12 semifinals to Texas A&M, 5-1
11.06.2009 | Soccer
Nov. 6, 2009
SAN ANTONIO -- The University of Texas Soccer team fell in the Big 12 Championship semifinals Saturday night with a 5-1 loss to Texas A&M at Blossom Soccer Stadium. Junior defender Erica Campanelli netted the Longhorns' lone goal when she scored on a penalty kick in the 82nd minute.
Texas A&M's Rachel Shipley got the Aggies on the board in the 33rd minute when she sent in a shot from 25 yards out into the upper left corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.
Texas' best look of the game came with 19 minutes remaining in the first half when freshman Sophie Campise broke away from the Aggie defense and had a one on one with A&M keeper Kelly Dyer. Campise fired a shot that bounced right off Dyer and back out of the A&M penalty box.
The Aggies posted their second goal in the 55th minute when Nora Skelton brought the ball up the left side of the field going one on one with junior defender Erica Campanelli. Skelton fired a shot that bounced of UT keeper Alexa Gaul right into the center of the six-yard-box where Katie Hamilton was waiting to fire it into the open net for the 2-0 lead.
Whitney Hooper scored A&M's third goal just one minute later in the 56th minute when she intercepted a failed clearance that was intended to go back to Gaul. Hooper took Gaul one on one and was able to volley it over the UT netminder for the 3-0 advantage.
A&M extended their lead in the 67th minute when Bri Young sent a long cross into the box from the right goal line where Hamilton connected for her second goal of the night by sending it into the lower right corner of the net.
Texas posted its goal in the 82nd minute when Texas A&M was called for a penalty in its own box. The Longhorns selected Campanelli who was successful on her attempt.
With just two minutes left in the match, Texas A&M connected once more when Young sent another cross into the middle of Texas' box where Cydne Currie one-touched it to the back of the net for the 5-1 final.
Despite the score, Texas outshot the Aggies 9-8 and held a 5-1 advantage on corner kicks. Texas lost its second-straight to the Aggies and its five goals allowed were the most since Nov. 2, 2001 (6-0 loss to A&M).
POST MATCH QUOTES
Junior Defender Erica Campanelli
On the game overall: You have to give credit to their offense because they scored five goals against us. But at the same time, I think our team as a whole gave them a lot of chances, and those chances were inside the 18 yard box and that's a tough place to give them up.
On the team's performance: I think we actually had a very good first half. I think when the second goal went in things changed a little bit but even through the end of the game we played fairly well in the middle of the field, it was in the back and the top where we lost the game. We didn't put away our chances and we gave them their chances and in the end that is not good enough to win the match.
Head Coach Chris Petrucelli
On the game overall: They had four or five chances in the game and finished them all. I think we had the same but didn't finish them. Between the 18 yard boxes we were pretty good. Inside the penalty area is where we weren't that good.
On where the team will go from here: We've been up and down all year long. Some days we've been ready to play and other days we weren't. But the big message that we need to take away from this is that we have work to do. We have got to better. It's certainly not fun right now, but in the long run, this could be good for us.
