That was not a problem Sunday as the No. 13 Aggies advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time with a 3-1 victory over Washington at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
A&M (17-4-1) will play at No. 8 Florida in the next round at 1 p.m. Sunday. Washington, which was picked to finish eighth in the Pac-10 and tied defending national champion Southern Cal for third, finished the season at 15-6-1.
Laura Grace Robinson found the back of the net on A&M's first shot of the match, substitute Rachael Balaguer's first touch beat Huskie goalkeeper Kan Davidson and Whitney Hooper was rewarded for all her hustle up front with a late goal.
The final tally was three goals on 14 shots, only one of which Davidson saved.
"Today was a great example of if you put them on frame they have a chance," A&M coach G. Guerrieri said. "The goal on the set piece was a big energy boost for us and big confidence boost."
Washington had come from 2-0 down to beat LSU, 3-2 in overtime, in the first round of the tournament on Friday. But it was the Huskies' start that was more impressive on Sunday.
Washington had more of the play early and was unlucky when Jenna Robison's shot from 25 yards out beat A&M goalkeeper Kelly Dyer but hit the crossbar and bounced straight back out into the field of play.
The Huskies only other quality opportunity came late in the first half when Melissa Beal got behind the defense and tried to tuck a shot inside the right upright from 10 yards out, but Dyer went to the ground and saved it with her left hand and corralled it.
"I think we even took the goal a little bit against the run of play," Washington coach Lesle Gallimore said. "I think we had the better of the play up until they scored and A&M is the kind of team that in their attack, once they are confident and smell blood in the water they kind of get after it."
The Aggies were dangerous in the air and on set pieces the final 70 minutes of the match and took advantage of both aspects on the first two goals.
After Laura Grace Robinson was taken down on a hard tackle that Cari Ceamal received a yellow card for, Rebecca Herrera sent a long free kick into the penalty box.
Raven Tatum got a head on the ball and angled it toward the far post, where Robinson redirected it into an empty net to make it 1-0 in the 27th minute.
"I figured someone would be there to head it back across and Raven did a good job of getting her head on it. It's something we work on a lot so it's nice to score on something you practice," said the senior Robinson, who scored her seventh goal of the season in what was likely her last home match. "Hopefully there are lot more to come in the next two weeks or three. It's always good to get the goal and advance to the Sweet 16."
Balaguer stepped on the field before an Aggie corner kick and the ball dropped to her feet at the top of the box. She sent it on a line past numerous players, including Davidson, to make it 2-0 in the 57th minute. It was Balaguer's first goal of the season. She has played right defender for most of the season before moving up to midfield in the postseason.
"It does make you look good [making a move that results in a goal] but it wasn't like we said, 'OK Rachel [Shipley], come on off because Balaguer is going to go in and score,'" Guerrieri said.
A&M put the match away on a hustle play by Micah Stephens, who kept the ball in the Huskies' end. Robinson headed the ball into the penalty box and Whitney Hooper, as she did all afternoon, beat a Huskie defender to the ball. It paid off for her sixth goal of the season and put A&M up 3-0 with less than 22 minutes remaining.
"I figured if I just got a head on it Hooper would be able to get control and score it," said Robinson, who also had an assist in A&M's 5-2 first-round victory over Texas State. "She did that a lot today. [If you] just hit it in her general direction she will get there and make something dangerous out of it. She did a great job of finishing."
The Huskies avoided being the Aggies' eighth shutout victim of the season on a corner kick that bounced around in the box and eventually off an Aggie into the goal.
The Aggies will face a tough test against Florida.
"[They are] very athletic, very skilled, very organized and they are very good," Guerrieri said of the Gators. "This [A&M] has been an excellent road team all year long. We've gone on the road and beat some very good teams in their back yards and that experience will be very valuable for us."
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NOTES -- Dyer thought she had an assist late in the game when her punt released Hooper 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper. Hooper lifted a shot over the keeper, who had come off her line, but it went wide. ... The Aggies were last in the Sweet 16 in 2006, when they made it through to the Elite 8 before losing to eventual champion North Carolina. ... A&M is the lone Big 12 team to make it to the Sweet 16. The Big 12 had six teams in the tournament. Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas and Missouri all lost on Sunday, with OSU and Missouri being ousted on penalty kicks.
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