This might be my last Aggie Soccer game of the season. There’s only one more home game left and I may be going to an Aggie Baseball exhibition instead. Honestly, this might be my last Aggie Soccer game, period. Unlike other times where I’ve said that, this time it might be serious. I’ll get to that at the end.
There was storm last night and more weather scheduled for today. In the morning, it was alternating between clouds and bright sunlight. I reluctantly put on sunblock, but then decided I didn’t need sunglasses. That was a good decision and a bad decision there. I didn’t get sunburned, but spent the whole game squinting.
It was hot, sunny, and breezy at the Soccer Complex. Inside, I met Rito from AggieVision (and the son of a co-worker) and had a chat. While talking, a former classmate of Rito’s came by and Rito gave him a job lead. It was a friendly sort of day. I was offered a giveaway flag going out to the field. Once again, I turned it down. The guy seemed to have plenty there, as there wasn’t much of a crowd. It was listed at 500, but I wonder if they were counting the dragonflies that were buzzing over the field.
Actually, the Liberty Flames, today’s opponent, brought several fans. They set up in the center of the grandstand, I guess because it was kind empty. At least one of them had a flag. The travelling parents love the opposing swag.
The rain really greened up the field. The field and the football stadium berm looked magnificent. Fresh cut grass clippings were everywhere with a wonderful smell. The Band was here for today’s game. The Liberty fan in front of me was really enjoying the music for the game. The LU team looked small, even the goalie. Their record was 5-3-4, and in conference play, they’d only tied twice, like the Aggies. Size, at least in Women’s Soccer, is a bit overrated. Speed is where it’s at.
First Half
A minute into the game, Meredith Scott headed a ball into the Band. She’s so cute, I’m sure they were okay with it. The Flames pressed in on the attack. 40’ left in the half, defender Kennedy Herrera kicked away a shot. Liberty took another shot a couple of minutes later. Keeper Valerie Guha stopped it. 37’ Meredith was pushed down by the stands. How dare they do that to our adorable forward! (They’re smaller, but still effectively aggressive.) Liberty got a warning, though they got the ball back.
“Kick that ball!” chanted the Band. Val made a goalie kick and nearly put it into the stands. She put her head in her hands in irritation with herself. 32’ Liberty got a throw in from that and that led to a corner. Meredith headed the shot out, but Flamer Gabby Miranda got it and sent it to Avenley Monteith, who rolled a kick by the post. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Regardless, 1-0 Liberty.
26’ Liberty had another corner. Their shot went out. Right after, Marlee Cavitt made a popup shot into the stands. 23’ Liberty had a shot across the Aggie goal. The Aggies then sent in mass subs. Though it was hot and humid, apparently it didn’t hit the threshold for a hydration break.
17’ two Flamers charged on a breakaway. They got past two defenders and had an open shot at the Aggie net. It went high. Liberty did their own mass subs. They made another attack. It was just out. They followed that with a shot that went wide. More Aggie subs came in.
9’ Milana Eyrich and a Liberty defender went down in a heap. Millie came up with the ball. The Aggies had their best chance there, but still didn’t get a shot off. Back the other way, Liberty got off an awkward shot right by the Aggie net. Val managed to corral it. Liberty had another attack right after. One of the girls made a clever header bounce pass across the net. The ball got kicked away.
4’ the Aggies had a free kick in the Liberty end and went all in. Only Val stood at midfield on defense. They did that again with a minute left. With under a minute left, Janae Shaklee finally got off a shot for the Aggies. It went high.
Halftime
It was 1-0 Liberty at the half, but it felt like complete domination. They had 2 corners and 4 shots on goal. The Aggies had nothing. I was glad I’d brought my radio to listen to the Rangers game during this.
The Hot Marketing Girl came out in a little pair of yoga shorts and a tank top to toss t-shirts. She even came back for another round before the second half. This was the best entertainment at the game. A close second was the Aggie Pride Outlaw Band performing. I couldn’t hear my Rangers game for a few minutes, but that was okay.
Across the field, I saw Val laid out getting a rub down. I noticed another little kid in the crowd with the same Wave the Wonder Dog shirt I have. I love the shirt, but maybe that wasn’t a smart adult purchase for me. Another little kid was shagging balls for the Liberty backup goalie.
Second Half
Rachel Haan and Blakley Edgar came in to start. Coach Baarts seemed to be wanting to use the whole bench. The Aggies came out attacking, unfortunately they didn’t get a shot off. 42’ left in the game, another ball went into the Band. Were the players not liking the music? 40’ Liberty had a clear shot on the Aggie goal, but were offsides. 38’ the shot of the game, a ball got kicked out and went over the locker room building. That was truly impressive. I wish I’d seen who did it to properly credit them.
37’ a Liberty player had a clear shot on the Aggie goal, but passed on it. Instead, a Liberty attacker was knocked down at the top of the Aggie box, they got a free kick on the spot. Halle Engle fired an easy rolling shot around the Aggie wall into the net. 2-0 Liberty. Did I see and hear a Liberty fan ringing a cowbell for the shot? They’re beating us and stealing our traditions?
34’ Liberty had a corner, but didn’t get off a shot. A minute later, Rachel leveled a Flamer that was a foot shorter than she was. The ref gave her a lecture, but no card. Maybe it was a legit body check, but it looked bad. 33’ there was a wide shot on the Aggie goal. Val went airborne and horizontal diving for it. Great effort.
Finally, an Aggie attack. 32’ Ariana Leamons seemed to be by herself dribbling in front of the Liberty net with a box full of defenders. She couldn’t find anyone to pass to and had to settle for a weak shot into traffic. 29’ Val came out to stop a shot and had to fall on a follow up. A wave of Aggie subs came in. 27’ off a disrupted Aggie attack, Ariana Ellison took a shot outside of the Liberty box. The goalie had to catch it, but somehow this wasn’t a shot on goal according to the stats.
27’ Liberty sent in their subs. 25’ the Aggies had a free kick near midfield. I think Esme Arenas took the shot. It went wide. A minute later, Yayu Wu took a shot and tried to curl it into the post. It went just wide. She was a spark on offense when she came in.
21’ Aggie Ainsleigh Thomson and Flamer Brooklyn Jenkins both headed a ball at the same time in front of the stands. It was a momentary “ball sandwich” between them. Jenkins got the worst of it and clearly had her bell rung. The ref should have taken her out if he saw it. The Aggies brought in another wave of subs.
12’ a solo Flame breakaway attack. Val caught the shot. 8’ another Liberty solo attack. Kennedy was the only one back, but thankfully the shot went wide. Another group of Aggie subs came in. 6’ Liberty missed a connecting shot in front of the Aggie net for what would have been an easy tap in. The Band started playing Country Roads. It felt like an odd choice, but the Liberty fan in front of me was singing along with it.
That was my last game note. Liberty wins, 2-0. They had 3 corners and 7 shots on goals. Shots were 11-2 for Liberty. Liberty goalie, Peyton Huber, had 0 saves. She barely had to get out of her rocking chair and finished three glasses of lemonade during the game. Gameballs to Avenley Monteith and Halle Engle for scoring for Liberty. Aggie keeper Valerie Guha gets a Gameball for having 5 saves. That final score could have been worse. The Aggies never really mounted any offense today.
After the game, both teams made a prayer circle at midfield. It’s a Liberty tradition. It was a long prayer and was followed by Coach Baarts giving the Aggies a long talk. The girls didn’t have the opportunity to wave to the crowd or salute the Band. They may not have felt like it anyway.
I saw Tom the Fan on the way out and greeted him. I hadn’t heard him cheering during the game. I noticed broadcaster Jack Nixon on field. He went over and talked to the coach. In the parking lot, I found out he was parked next to me. I finally couldn’t resist saying, “Hello,” and asking how he was enjoying retirement.
He was okay and felt it was time to go when he did. I told him we missed him. His voice is amazing in person, even more than over the radio. Graciously, he asked how I was doing. I said, “I’d be doing better with a win.” Jack said the Coach was inconsolable, like a “death in the family.” It wasn’t my imagination Coach Baarts looked depressed. I think Jack was calling it that the coach is about to leave when he compared him to Coach Jans in Men’s Basketball.
I apologize for this recap. It’s terrible. Not that the rest of them are that great, but the effort wasn’t there on this one. Maybe if I hadn’t been listening to a baseball game the whole time, I’d paid better attention taking notes. On the other hand, I can only report what happened and it wasn’t much.
In any case, this is getting a bit too heartbreaking. I feel like the slide for Aggie Sports is underway and the crash will come if their conference affiliation comes apart. It’s hard not to see more major disruption in the shifting landscape of college sports coming. Except for Baseball and maybe Volleyball, I don’t know if I can dedicate myself to this reporting past this season. It was always going to end at some point.
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