Women's Soccer 2014 NCAA Tournament #1 Texas A&M Region 2nd and 3rd Round Game Breakdowns
Texas A&M had their experienced senior class step up and account for all 14 points in a 5-0 first round victory of over Houston Baptist. Shea Groom’s goal in the fourth minute set the tone for the Aggies and they did not look back. Kelley Monogue notched two goals and inches ever so closer to 50 goals for her career. She now has 48 heading into the second round. Texas A&M with the win over the Huskies has now advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 17th year in a row.
Arizona punched their ticket for a rematch with the Aggies by going into Stillwater and grinding out a 1-0 win over a tough Oklahoma State side. In the earlier match in Tempe against Texas A&M, OSU was able to generate some nice things with their attack and battled the Aggies to a 2-2 draw. They will need another great performance from Gabi Stoian up front and the back line will need to stay tough against the pressure of Texas A&M like they did in the regular season.
#4 Notre Dame vs. Texas
Notre Dame moved on to the second round by staying patient and finally breaking through against Valparaiso. Kaleigh Olmstead put away a tremendous cross from Anna Maria Gilbertson with 50 seconds left in regulation to send the Fighting Irish through to College Station. The ability to win tight games has been a huge asset for Notre Dame and this will help greatly heading into the hostile environment of College Station.
Texas continues it surge back on to the national scene by advancing to the second round after taking the best punch from Rice early but pulled away for 3-0 victory. Midfielder Sharis LaChapelle scored the game-winner in the 29th minute and the Longhorns kept the pressure on the Owls from that point and were not to be denied. The ability to be aggressive against a tough Notre Dame backline is going to be very important in the upcoming second round match with the Fighting Irish.
This is going to be a very entertaining region as you can make a case for all four teams pulling out a result in the second round. However, the home field advantage for Texas A&M should push them through to the Sweet 16 and, if Texas can come out on fire against Notre Dame, we could have a Lone Star state showdown for the right to go to the quarterfinals.
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