Eagle Staff Report
It was quite a weekend for Alyssa Mautz.
The Texas A&M senior midfielder scored the decisive goal Sunday in a 1-0 victory over No. 21 Washington State at the Aggie Soccer Stadium. It was Mautz's fourth goal in her team's last two games, both victories for ninth-ranked A&M (3-1) in the Aggieland Invitational.
After beating No. 16 Virginia Tech 5-3 on Friday, A&M came close to getting on the scoreboard several times against Washington State (1-3) before Mautz found the back of the net in the 63rd minute. Sophomore Raven Tatum found senior Rachel Shipley on the left side in A&M's attacking third, and Shipley's cross from near the end line was buried at the far post by Mautz.
"The goal was set up with nice combination play on our left flank," A&M coach G. Guerrieri said. "Shipley got [to the] end line and really threaded the needle to get the ball through the Cougar defense to Mautz. Mautz's hustle and dedication to get on the end of that ball was the difference in today's game."
Senior goalkeeper Kristin Arnold made four saves, earning her second shutout of the season.
"To come in and beat a quality Pac-10 team that has been in several NCAA tournaments recently was a good accomplishment for our team," Guerrieri said. "To shut them out was even better.
"This was a good weekend for us to gain some winning experience, and it was two good games for us to continue to build on."
The Cougars held possession for the first 10 minutes Sunday, but except for a few counter attacks it was all Aggies for the remainder of the match. Washington State had just two shots in the last 35 minutes as A&M led in that category, 26-8.
In a 10-minute period in the middle of the first half, A&M earned six shots and five of its 10 corner kicks. Hard strikes by junior Merritt Mathias and Shipley were stopped by Cougar goalkeeper Ariana Byrd, while an attempt by sophomore Mary Grace Schmidt hit the near post.
"We had some great serves on some of our flank play and were just an inch off here and there," Guerrieri said.
Washington State had its most dangerous opportunity in the 56th minute.
A casual pass by the Aggies in their defensive third was picked off by a Cougar and sent into the six-yard box to Brandi Vega. From point-blank range, Vega one-touched a shot that Arnold deflected out of bounds.
Seven minutes later, the Aggies had their winner.
The Aggies peppered the Cougar defense with eight more shots in the final 27 minutes. Mathias hit the crossbar from 23 yards out, senior Kat Armstrong brought the keeper to her knees with a one-touch strike in the six-yard box and Mautz blasted the post from just inside the penalty area.
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NOTES -- Long Beach State beat Virginia Tech in Sunday's early game, 2-1. ... The Aggies close out a five-game homestand against Davidson at 7 p.m. Friday.
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