Nov. 7, 2014

Final Stats | Printable Box Score

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – No. 17 South Carolina (13-5-3) forced a defensive battle against No. 7 Texas A&M (17-2-2), but ultimately fell after an 87th minute Aggie goal in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Friday evening at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.

After a foul on Texas A&M in the 34th minute, the Gamecocks saw their first solid chance of the night off of a free kick on the edge of their attacking third. Andie Romness’ serve connected with Taylor Leach, and the senior centerbacks nearly put the Gamecocks up early. The opportunity was high though.

On their first corner kick of the night in the 36th minute, the Gamecocks earned their first corner kick of the match. Sophomore Chelsea Drennan and Leach connected, but the header went over the crossbar.

Just before the half, South Carolina again saw a good chance on a header from junior Bay Daniel, but the shot bounced wide of the right post and the teams went to the locker room scoreless.

Out of the break, the Gamecocks came out aggressive. Both Drennan and freshman Savannah McCaskill fired shots that went just high of the bar in the first 60 seconds.

In the 86th minute, Texas A&M’s Shea Groom took a short range shot that Gamecock goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo instantly reacted to for the save. The deflection gave the Aggies a corner kick. Kelley Monogue served to the far post and Brinson snuck the ball in for the late 1-0 lead that held up as the game-winner.

GAMECHANGER

On a corner kick service from Kelley Monogue, Bianca Brinson snuck the game-winner inside the right post with just 3:18 on the clock.

KEY STAT The Gamecocks allowed just two Texas A&M shots on goal and outshot the Aggies 10-8 in the match.

NOTABLES

• All five South Carolina losses this season have been 1-0 decisions.
• The Gamecocks have never defeated Texas A&M. The Aggies hold a 5-0-1 series lead.
• Texas A&M had just three shots in the first half.

QUOTABLE South Carolina Head Coach Shelley Smith
I’m proud of the girls, but obviously, I’m disappointed with the result. We wanted to make the finals and put ourselves in position to win a championship. I’m proud of the heart and fight we saw from this team. We played a tremendous team in A&M; they showed how strong they are. I thought we battled. We didn’t have the best first half, but we came back and battled in the second half to get in a position to win the game. We just couldn’t find the back of the net on a couple of opportunities. I thought overall, we played very well. We’ll build off of that going into NCAA’s next week.

UP NEXT The Gamecocks await their fate in the 2014 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament. The online selection show is set for Mon., Nov. 10, at 4:30 p.m.