Aggies Frustrated in Mizzou
By Austin Wall
St. Louis, MO (March 7-9, 2008) -- Texas A&M entered their spring break with high hopes of having a three win weekend in St. Louis Missouri. However, they saw three tough opponents standing in the way of that goal. Slated for the weekend’s action were the University of Illinois, #20 Simon Frasier University, and #14 Lindenwood University. Unfortunately these three teams were not the only obstacles that the Aggies had to try and overcome, as the harsh winter weather in Dallas and St. Louis postponed departure a day and made travel a nightmare.
After arriving in St. Louis the Aggies were slated to take on the Fighting Illini in a nine o’clock game. The Aggies started off strong, taking control of the game with a 2-0 first quarter. Illinois seemed to regain some momentum in the second, countering a three goal quarter by A&M with three goals of their own. At halftime the score was 5-3 in favor of the Aggies. Coaches Tony Scazzero and Ryan Hanrahan must have inspired the Aggies to come out firing in the second half. In the chilly 25 degree weather the Aggies blazed the back of the net four times in the third quarter and frustrated the Illini. The A&M defense caught fire as well, allowing no goals in the third. Illinois, however, refused to give up and surged in the fourth for what would have certainly been an incredible comeback. After scoring four straight goals, Illinois drew within two goals of the Aggies. With five minutes left in the game the Aggies were able to stop the Illini charge and finish the game with a 3-1 run, topping Illinois with a final score of 11-8.
Saturday’s game against the 20th ranked Simon Frasier Clansmen began much of the same way as the last. A&M jumped out to a two goal lead in the first ten minutes of the game despite lengthy Clansmen possessions. Simon Frasier was able to score two late goals in the first quarter to tie the game up heading into the second. In the next quarter, Simon Frasier continued their run, outscoring the Aggies 3-1 and going into halftime with a 5-3 lead. A&M came out in the second half hoping to get themselves back into the game. It became clear that Simon Frasier’s game plan was to hold the ball on offense in an attempt to slow the tempo of the game down and keep the ball out of the hands of the Aggie’s high powered offense. They were successful in this tactic, posting a three goal quarter and only allowing A&M one goal. The Aggies attempt at a comeback was cut short in the fourth. Simon Frasier was able to gain possession off of many loose ball situations and passing it around in their meticulous offense. Despite A&M winning the fourth quarter goal margin, 3-2, they were handed a 10-7 defeat in a very frustrating game.
For the last game of their rough trip, the Aggies faced the #14 Lindenwood Lions who were looking to avenge their own loss to Simon Frasier on Friday. The Aggies appeared to be lacking energy in this game compared with the Lions and were hard pressed to find the back of the net in a first half that ended with A&M trailing 7-3. A&M played well in the third quarter, only allowing two Lindenwood goals, but were only able to net two themselves. It seemed as if the opportunities were slipping through the Aggies hands as the fourth quarter saw Lindenwood post five goals. The A&M team looked physically exhausted and mentally frustrated with their inability to win battles at the face-off “X” and unusually sub-par offense. The final score was 14-6 in favor of Lindenwood in a game that A&M wishes that they had brought their best game to.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
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