Whitney Hooper headed in a goal with 4 minutes, 10 seconds left in regulation Sunday to give Texas A&M a 4-4 tie with Missouri.
It was the least surprising goal in a high-intensity Big 12 showdown in front of 2,211 at the Aggie Soccer Stadium, where midfield was just a short passageway to the next attack. Rachel Shipley, who delivered the corner kick to Hooper on the tying goal, had provided pressure all day. Shipley scored one goal and added two assists on corners.
The second was delivered perfectly on to the head of Hooper, who directed it past Missouri goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore.
"I got a clear look at the ball and goal and where the keeper was," Hooper said. "So that was my job, just to head it in."
Missouri (6-4-3, 1-0-2 Big 12) finished a two-match Texas swing with ties against the Texas Longhorns and Texas Aggies. A&M's record is 7-4-1 overall and 2-1-1 in Big 12 play.
"I think it was a great fight all the way around by both teams, but I was disappointed we didn't win because I thought we were the better team," A&M coach G. Guerrieri said of the physical match. "Missouri came in it with more than twice as many fouls as us and five times as many cards as us. They are a physical, aggressive ... team. We knew we were going to have to deal with that. You can't let a bully come in and knock you around."
While the A&M coach was referring to Missouri's defense, shear strength helped the Tigers on the offensive end as well, positioning them for shots. Guerrieri blamed defensive letdowns for most of the goals.
"We can't give away goals, and we gave away three," Guerrieri said. "In attack, we deserved to score more than four, but in defense, we absolutely handed them goals and that's frustrating."
The Aggies took 21 shots. Missouri had 16, including the final two in the second overtime period. By that time, both teams were physically spent. The field held up beautifully, but it was heavy and wet and legs grew weary in the long match.
Approaches by Hooper and Nora Skelton provided chances for A&M late, but no one could get in position for a potential winning shot.
In this match, no one could feel secure for long. Bree Thornton needed just 1:13 to fashion a 2-2 tie for the Tigers, who fell behind on a header by A&M's Alyssa Mautz to open the second-half barrage.
Missouri's Alysha Bonnick passed to Collins. Her shot was knocked away by Kelly Dyer, who played the second half in goal for the Aggies, but Thornton easily knocked the follow into the open net.
After Kendra Collins turned and planted a high 30-yard shot over Dyer, Missouri appeared in control until Shipley stopped just outside the right front of the penalty area and delivered her own high shot for a 3-3 tie.
A&M fans and players celebrated -- for 11 seconds.
Kristin Andrighetto weaved down the field, dodging one defender, and put the Tigers back on top, 4-3, with 7:23 left in regulation.
A&M began the six-goal second half with an impressive header by Mautz in the same general location where Hooper would get the game-tying goal. Mautz, whose non-stop, high-energy play boosted the Aggies early in the game, gave them a 2-1 lead on Shipley's first assist. Marked tightly by Missouri's Michelle Collins, Mautz had to lay out to position herself for the header.
"I was cramping up at the end, but I left it all out on the field, I thought," Mautz said. "I think our whole team played with passion. I was trying to be dangerous most of the time, trying to get anything on ball."
Shipley nearly had the winning assist, positioning Mautz for a shot near the end of regulation and setting up Hooper for a free kick. Hooper leaped high over the Missouri defense but was unable to finish.
The match was tied 1-1 at halftime. Missouri's Collins opened the scoring, taking a high pass and redirecting the ball with a header. Her shot went off the post and into the Aggie goal ahead of a diving Kristin Arnold with 34:50 left in the first half.
A&M responded quickly, with Katie Hamilton tying the score on a follow shot with 30:59 left in the opening half.
In the heaviest rain of the first half, Bri Young nearly planted a header for a goal, but it was knocked away by Dittamore. Hamilton was able to slide through and one-touch the ball high into the net to knot the score at 1-1.
There were few other scoring chances for either team in the opening half. The best was a ball that glanced off the Tigers' Michelle Makasini and onto the right foot of Shipley. Her hard-hit shot went just over the crossbar.
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