The Florida Gators (10-3-1, 7-1-0) fought through the rowdy cries of the 12^th man at Ellis Field in College Station to upend the talented Texas A&M squad that hadn’t lost since their first week of the season. In fact, TAMU (12-2-1, 6-1-1) hadn’t lost at home in 18 games, dating back to the 2011 campaign.

The Aggies dropped their first SEC match to the visitors by a score of 2-1 after pummeling Alabama 5-0 just two days earlier. Despite a similar production on the offensive end (19 total shots), A&M struggled to get past Florida’s Taylor Burke who recorded eight saves on the day.

“My hat's off to Florida. They played fantastic,” Texas A&M Head Coach G. Guerrieri said.

The Aggies came out the aggressor in the first half but failed to convert on opportunities before their sixth corner finally broke the deadlock. Sophomore forward Shea Groom scored her fourth goal of the season and third of the weekend when she flicked a Beth West service from the corner past Burke to take the lead 1-0.

Eight minutes later, against the run of play, Florida earned a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. Jo Dragotta sent a ball with pace across the goal mouth that sneaked its way into the back of the net when TAMU’s sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Day found her view obstructed by Florida runners.

“The goals that they scored were well conceived and well finished,” Guerrieri said.

The Gators went into halftime with the eventual gamewinner providing the lead when in the 39^th minute Notre Dame transfer Adriana Leon gathered a pass originating from a short corner and slipped it in for the 2-1 advantage. All three of the match’s goals came from set pieces.       

“This was a good game for people to see what SEC soccer is all about,” Guerrieri said. “We just need to make sure that we win these games.”      

Finding a way to win close matches has been Coach Guerrieri’s mantra for the 2012 season. He hopes his youthful personnel from last year has matured to where experience can execute and finish games. The ultimate goal remains to capitalize on the ability to win tight matches and push deeper into the post season.

TAMU did just that against Alabama the Friday before their showdown with Florida. The Aggies played the Crimson Tide close as well with comparable shot totals and offensive pressure. However, A&M converted on their few quality chances to make the game seem lopsided.

After a disappointing 3-0 deficit at halftime, Alabama allowed the Aggies to relieve any concerns in the second half when the Cirmson Tide gave up another early goal when sophomore Kelley Monogue put away a nice setup from Katie Perry inside the penalty area. Despite liberal substitutions with the lead, A&M managed a fifth goal when Groom redirected a Jayne Eadie free kick past the Alabama goalkeeper.

“I think Alabama is a heck of a good team,” Guerrieri said. “They just didn't have that last pass or the strike force that we had to finish some chances. They were absolutely in the game from the start.”

The Aggies remain in a good position at 3^rd in the SEC behind Florida and Missouri. They will finish their road stint at Arkansas at 7:00 p.m. this Friday and Vanderbilt on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. with the opportunity to play for the regular season title when they face Missouri at home October 22 in the final regular season match.

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