Box Score
COLLEGE STATION, Texas --- No. 13 Texas A&M’s Whitney Hooper scored once in the first half and again in the second as the Aggies held off the second-ranked Portland Pilots 3-1 on Friday night in front of a capacity crowd at Aggie Soccer Stadium. Hooper’s second-half goal came after UP’s Keelin Winters had made it a 2-1 game with a header in the 52nd minute.
Down two, Portland was rewarded with a free kick just outside the right side of the box. Danielle Foxhoven took it and drove the ball low and towards the far post, where Winters was able to head it into the left side of the net.
A&M had the answer moments later, in the form of Hooper who seemed to be all over the field. In the 57th minute, Hooper took a feed from Rachel Shipley before weaving her way through the Portland defense. Hooper then buried a shot from 10 yards out to push the lead to 3-1.
The Aggies would hold on from there with the help of two saves from goalkeeper Kristin Arnold, a second-half sub. Kelly Dyer played the first half and made three saves.
The Pilots (7-1-0) drop their first match of the season and allow three goals for the first time since the 2007 NCAA Quarterfinals, a 3-2 loss in overtime to UCLA. The Aggies move to 3-2-2.
Portland found itself in unfamiliar territory trailing the host Aggies 2-0 at the half.
A&M’s first goal came with a little controversy as the referees were unsure if the ball crossed the goal line on an Aggie header. After the ball was sent into the area on a perfectly placed corner kick from Becca Herrera, Jen Kmezich rose high in the air to head a shot off the cross bar. The ball bounced straight down where Portland keeper Kelsey Davis was able to grab it after it took a bounce. The Aggies ran the other way, thinking they had scored the first goal of the game, while Davis waved her arm to signify the ball did not cross the goal line.
After about a minute-long conversation with the side judge, head referee Kyle Born signaled that indeed it was a Texas A&M goal, making it 1-0.
There was no doubt about the second goal as Hooper was able to sneak one past Davis. After a nice feed from Alyssa Motts, Hooper was able to get around the UP defense to create a one-v-one opportunity. The forward then went low with a shot inside the left post to give the Aggies the 2-0 lead.
The Aggies finished with a 21-12 advantage in shots and a slim 8-7 edge in corner kicks. Davis made nine stops on the night.
Portland next heads to Dallas for a non-conference match against Southern Methodist on Sunday. The Pilots and Mustangs are set to kick off at 11:30 a.m. (Pacific).
