Eagle Staff Report
SAN ANTONIO -- Sophomore Katie Hamilton led the second-seeded Texas A&M soccer team into the Big 12 tournament final with two goals in a 5-1 victory over sixth-seeded Texas on Friday night at the Blossom Soccer Stadium.
The 20th-ranked Aggies (14-5-2) scored on every shot they put on frame in their second four-goal victory over the Longhorns (9-9-3) this season. The win also extended their unbeaten streak to five matches.
A&M will face fifth-seeded Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. Sunday in a match televised on FSN. The Cowgirls upset top-seeded Missouri, 3-2, in the earlier semifinal match.
"I'm very pleased with the way we defended tonight," A&M coach G. Guerrieri said. "Texas did a good job; they came out with a different type of scheme against us, but the adjustments we made at halftime definitely worked. It was just some clinical finishing by our attacking players."
Junior Rachel Shipley scored the Ags' first goal in the 34th minute, striking a low-driven shot past a diving Alexa Gaul.
On a counter attack by A&M in the 56th minute, freshman Nora Skelton fired a shot that deflected off the body of a diving Gaul right to Hamilton in front of the goal. Hamilton stopped the ball and kicked it into the open net to put the Aggies up 2-0. A minute later, Whitney Hooper picked off a lazy pass and scored to make it a 3-0 match.
The Aggies didn't stop there. Ten minutes later, sophomore Bri Young sent a cross to Hamilton, who one-timed a strike into the back of the net from 11 yards out. The Longhorns scored on a penalty kick by Erica Caminelli in the 83rd minute, but A&M answered six minutes later with a goal by Young off a free kick.
A&M goalkeeper Kelly Dyer made three stops in the first half, and Kristin Arnold recorded one save. The Aggies put 5 of 8 shots on frame and held a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.
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