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Goal flurry gives Aggies win

A&M's 4 goals in 12 minutes top Colorado

By LARRY BOWEN
Eagle Staff Writer

The south wind had something to do with it, but that wasn't the main reason the Texas A&M soccer team rallied to beat Colorado 4-2 on Sunday afternoon.

A&M's record comeback wasn't about the Aggies having the wind at their backs. It was about them having wind in their sails.

The Aggies overwhelmed Colorado in the second half, scoring four goals in 12 minutes as they matched the biggest comeback in A&M soccer history. The Aggies, who trailed 2-0 at halftime, also overcame a two-goal deficit in a 4-3 victory over North Texas on Sept. 15, 2000.

Weekend wins over Texas and Colorado, combined with Missouri's loss to Oklahoma State on Sunday, gave A&M a share of the Big 12 lead.

The Aggies came roaring out of the dressing room and right through the Colorado defense in the second half. A&M scored all of its goals at the north end of the Aggie Soccer Stadium, finding the same goal the Buffaloes hit twice for their stunning halftime lead.

"We knew the second half was either going to make or break our season," said forward Ashlee Pistorius, who scored the tying goal. "We just had to take it to them."

The Aggies peppered Buffaloes goalkeeper Kirstin Radlinski with 17 shots in the second half, but it was 20 minutes into the frame before A&M scored. Forward Melissa Garey stole the ball at the top of the penalty area and fired a shot that curled inside the far post to pull the Aggies within 2-1.

"We were dominating the whole game and we just couldn't believe we were down by two goals," Garey said. "But we were calm and didn't really freak out about it."

Pistorius delivered the tying goal less than 5 minutes later, giving her 71 career goals to extend her Big 12 record. Pistorius got a nice lead pass from Rachel Shipley and sent a blast into the upper left corner of the net.

Less than 3 minutes later, the Aggies seized the lead on a goal by Amber Gnatzig, who left the field in the first half for treatment of a cut over her right eye. Pistorius sent a corner kick in front of the goal, where Gnatzig scored on a header.

"She got her head on it, probably right on her stitches," Pistorius said. "We knew once [we scored], the floodgates were going to open."

A&M got an insurance goal with just under 12 minutes remaining when Shipley banged home a rebound after a strong run and shot by Amy Berend.