En route to its seventh straight victory, the South Carolina women’s soccer team defeated the SEC’s fourth-ranked team, Texas A&M, Thursday night.
Courtesy of SGTV
Texas A&M entered Stone stadium 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the SEC, with wins over Vanderbilt and the 10th-ranked Florida Gators.
Gamecock senior forward Raina Johnson managed to get two shots on goal in the first half, both of which were blocked, resulting in corner kicks. Johnson pressured Texas A&M’s defense all night, notably attacking through midfield.
Sophomore Savannah McCaskill also got a shot on goal in the first half, but the midfielder’s strength was on defense. McCaskill prevented an early Aggies goal, defending the corner kick.
Twenty minutes into the game, junior forward Sophie Groff exited the field after taking a kick to the face, but returned later in the first half.
The first half concluded with South Carolina trailing 1-0, despite four shots on goal, all saved by Texas A&M goalie Taylor Saucier.
“I feel like we controlled the game. We made a mistake to give up the first goal, but it didn’t deter our play. We knew we had a lot of time left and if we kept chipping away we would get back on top,” Johnson said.
Referees dished out three yellow cards in the second half, one to Aggies defender Ashlynn Harryman and the other two to McCaskill and senior midfielder Stevi Parker of the Gamecocks. The home crowd showered the referees with boos following McCaskill’s yellow card as she too argued the call.
Texas A&M’s offense stagnated in the second half, as opposed to the first half, managing to take just four shots on goal. The Gamecock offense, conversely, was rejuvenated in the second half with 10 shots on goal.
South Carolina went scoreless until the 74th minute of play, when junior forward Daija Griffin struck for the first time. She scored an unassisted goal to tie the game with 16 minutes remaining, making that her third goal of the season.
As the match wound down, overtime appeared imminent until Johnson secured the victory with two minutes remaining. Both Groff and Parker assisted on the game-winning goal, which was only Johnson’s second goal this season.
“I was so happy for Raina Johnson to get that late goal, and it was so great to see her score the game-winner. We played our hearts out, and everyone did their job tonight,” head coach Shelley Smith said.
Thursday night’s win marked the Gamecock’s first victory ever against Texas A&M’s women’s soccer team. The Gamecocks improved to 9-1-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play. They will take on Alabama on Sunday, Sept. 27 in Columbia.