SAN ANTONIO - The Texas A&M soccer team made an uncharacteristic and unceremonious exit from the first round of the Big 12 championship tournament Wednesday at Blossom Soccer Stadium. The No. 2 seed Aggies were upset 4-2 by the No. 7 seed Kansas Jayhawks.
"We feel a little bit inconsistent at times, but when we've been on, we've been really good," said Kansas Head Coach Mark Francis. "The character of this group is amazing, and it's not just beating A&M, it's beating A&M after Missouri absolutely spanked us last week."
The young Aggies were unable to produce anything offensively until it was too late. They were overwhelmed by the fiery Jayhawks and junior forward Shannon McCabe, who had two goals.
"We're disappointed in our performance, especially at the start of the game," said A&M Head Coach G Guerrieri. "We gave up a soft goal to start, and a lot of soft goals today. There were some great shots by KU, finding some spots in there, but in the critical part of the field, between the goals, we didn't do a good enough job."
The Jayhawks, who handed A&M its first Big 12 conference loss earlier in the season, took the lead almost immediately and did not let up on the favored Aggies. Kansas absorbed two yellow cards and almost got a red card. Monica Dolinsky, a forward for Kansas, threw a fist at A&M freshman Beth West in the 54th minute, drawing a vehement reaction from the Aggies. Dolinsky was yellow carded.
"I just think Beth's a good player and she plays a lot like I do," Dolinsky said. "I think our tempers just flared and got the best of us."
McCabe was the first to light up the scoreboard. In the 10th minute, Dolinsky cleared the ball from a cluster of players near the goal. McCabe was left open and punched the ball past A&M goalkeeper Kelly Dyer. Dolinsky had two assists in the game. It was the only offense in the first half for either team.
"I think we all came into this game on the same page with intensity," McCabe said. "Especially after the loss we had to Missouri. We had nothing to lose. We just came in with that mindset and went at them."
Midway through the second half, Kansas separated from A&M. The Jayhawks notched three goals in a five-minute span, putting the game out of reach at 4-0 with less than 30 minutes remaining.
McCabe put the exclamation mark on the run in the 66th minute. She took control of a long pass in the open field and lined a low bullet past Dyer.
"I had a lot of chances, and I actually got mad that I didn't make more," McCabe said. "But I was glad I got two."
The Aggies made a run, pulling back two goals in the second half, but were unable to complete the comeback. Alyssa Mautz and Laura Grace Robinson knocked in goals to cut the lead to 4-2 in the 73rd and 81st minutes.
Because A&M did not win the regular season championship, being eliminated from the tournament precludes A&M from a Big 12 title for the first time in four years.
"It's disappointing to not win a trophy in the Big 12 this season," Guerrieri said. "We'll go and regroup and tighten things up a bit and try to be able to score more when it counts."
After beginning the seasons 14-1-1, the Aggies struggled down the stretch, finishing the season with a 2-2 record. Wednesday's loss to the Jayhawks might hurt A&M's NCAA tournament seeding status.
"We came into this event in a pretty good position," Guerrieri said. "I think we're still standing in a strong position as a top team in this part of the country, so we have a chance to go home and heal up a bit."
The NCAA selection committee will select the 2008 NCAA tournament participants on Monday.
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