The Aggies of Texas A&M faced an unusual bit of adversity this past weekend when the 11-1-1 squad went on the road in the SEC with a nine game unbeaten streak and found themselves down against the University of Kentucky. In fact, the Aggies had not allowed a goal in seven games before the Wildcats pushed across two in the second half of play last Friday at home in Lexington.

Despite being down twice in the game, the Aggies kept their unbeaten streak alive when substitute sophomore Kelley Monogue broke through with an answer each time. Monogue clocked the most minutes of the season (70) in her continued recovery from an ACL surgery in the Spring. The 2011 Big-12 Offensive Player of the Year capitalized first in the 65^th minute when she collected a ball unassisted and blasted it into the upper 90 to tie the score 1-1.

Kentucky did what no other team has been able to do all season against the Aggies – score twice. It was freshman Kelly Hubly again who corralled the ball past a diving Jordan Day. Hubly twice benefited from Kentucky’s offensive pressure and A&M’s lax marking inside the box, putting away a rebound to start the scoring in the second half. Hubly’s second score, a slotted ball flicked on by Caitlin Landis, put the Wildcats into the lead again but for a mere four minutes before Monogue sent a Meghan Streight free kick into the net to force overtime.

“If Texas A&M is the benchmark in our conference right now, then we’re doing pretty well,” Kentucky head coach Jon Lipsitz said post-game.

Neither team could find another goal in the extra periods, and the Aggies suffered their first blemish since their only loss on the year – a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the University of San Diego on August 22.

"I just thought it was a fantastic game," Lipsitz said. "Texas A&M is just pure class. Getting to play them and knowing that we are going to get to play them year after year is only going to make our program better."

The Wildcats (8-3-1, 3-2-1) earned big wins over Florida and LSU in recent SEC play, but fell to Alabama in overtime on Sunday 2-1. UK failed to reproduce that same offensive pressure they brought against the Aggies two days earlier, tallying just five shots against the Crimson Tide.

Despite losing the shutout streak, A&M remains undefeated in SEC play at 5-0-1 and alone atop the conference standings. The Aggies wrapped up the weekend at Mississippi State with a rainy 2-0 victory off goals from junior midfielder Jayne Eadie and sophomore forward Shea Groom. The messy unpredictable match saw a total of 41 shots as both teams tried to capitalize on the slick surface.

“We did a good job of getting the early lead and controlling the possession the rest of the game,” Texas A&M head coach G. Guerrieri said. “We knew it would be hard for Mississippi State to muster an offense as it started raining harder. We didn't want to make any mistakes they could take advantage of.”

The toughest SEC competition for A&M remains in ranked Florida and Missouri. However, these matches will be played before the 12^th Man in College Station where the Aggies have not lost in 16 games dating back to last season. A&M will first take on Alabama at 7:00 p.m. Friday night before their showdown with Florida is broadcast on ESPNU Sunday afternoon at 12:30 p.m.

“We have five home games and two road games left in league play, so we're in an enviable spot in the overall standings with a one-point lead,” Guerrieri said. “We're looking forward to big crowds for the two home games this weekend.”

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