After a slow start to the match, the No. 21 South Carolina women’s soccer team battled from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw against Texas A&M Thursday night at Stone Stadium.
Despite holding a 15-4 shot advantage over 90 minutes and a 12-2 advantage in the second half, the Gamecocks’ offense was kept at bay after a spectacular individual performance by the Aggies senior goalkeeper Kenna Caldwell.
“It ends up feeling disappointing to not get the win, but at the same time, a lot of credit to the team to get back the goal we needed and come from behind,” head coach Shelley Smith said. “A tie’s better than a loss any day, but, overall, a good performance by the team to stay together and do what they did.”
The opening minutes of the match were characterized by back-and-forth play between the two sides in the midfield. Both teams employed a high press to prevent its opponents from attacking close to the goal, and South Carolina forced Texas A&M into turning the ball over quickly after the Aggies gained possessions.
Momentum slowly started shifting in favor of the visitors as the half went on. The Aggies were rewarded with the match’s opening goal in the 21st minute. Freshman defender Carolyn Calzada lofted a ball toward the head of freshman defender Mia Pante, who placed the ball in the top left corner of the net.
Pante was originally awarded the goal, but it was ruled an own goal by the South Carolina defense after further review.
The Gamecocks mustered some chances of its own late in the half and finished with three shots (two on goal) to the Aggies' two (one on goal) at the break, but its best offensive display was yet to come. South Carolina opened the second half with six shots in the first 10 minutes, including two by junior forward Catherine Barry, who registered seven total shots, including five on goal.
The Gamecocks' attack remained persistent and they eventually found an equalizer after Barry and sophomore forward Payton Patrick passed their way through the Aggie defense. Barry’s give-and-go pass found Patrick behind the Texas A&M backline, where she fired the ball into the goal.
“(Patrick) works really hard … and I was really glad her work was rewarded,” Smith said. “She made a great run, the final pass was good, (and) that’s what we need – you need to connect on those things, and they did that on that goal, which makes a big difference.”
South Carolina continued pressing for a go-ahead goal — firing five more shots after Patrick tied the game — but each of those efforts was stopped by Caldwell, who finished the match with nine saves.
“You got to place balls to beat good keepers, and she had a good game tonight to make those saves and keep them in it,” Smith said.
One of those saves came in the 86th minute and became the subject of controversy and intense protests on the South Carolina sideline. A shot off the head of Patrick appeared to cross the goal line before Caldwell punched it away, but the referees did not notice and let play continue until the final whistle was blown.
The draw against the Aggies marked the seventh consecutive match which has been decided by one goal or fewer. Smith said she sees the team’s recent run as something to improve on as the regular season draws to a close.
“We defend teams really well, for the most part, and we don’t score a lot of goals, so we got to make sure we don’t give up goals, so that’s something we know we got to be better at,” Smith said.
South Carolina (9-3-4, 4-3-1 SEC) returns to action on the road in its penultimate match of the regular season against No. 18 Tennessee (10-3-2, 6-1-1 SEC). Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.