Landmark season ends as Aggies fall to Virginia 3-1 in College Cup

Getting goals early and in clutch situations has been a calling card for A&M throughout their post season run.

On Friday night, it was Virginia’s.

En route to a 3-1 victory in the College Cup Semifinal, the Cavaliers lived up to their ranking as the highest scoring team in the nation.

In the 12th minute, Morgan Brian and Makenzy Doniak connected on a well-placed header that seized the momentum early. But, as you would expect from the most successful class in school history, A&M fought back.

After a free kick from midfield was deflected to Kelley Monogue, the senior had a chance to capitalize in the 31st minute, and did so with authority. In slick conditions, the keeper never stood a chance against the left footed rocket Monogue sent past her into the upper right corner.

“The clearance came right to my feet and I just took it away from pressure,” Monogue said, “It didn’t come to mind that I need this or it’s over, I just shot it and made sure it was on frame. I knew it put us in a good position moving forward.

Going into halftime, the way Virginia was controlling the ball, that position would have felt like a lead.

With just over 90 seconds till half, Jordan Day deflected a corner kick to the outside post, right to a waiting Emily Sonnet. The ensuing goal flipped the game on its head and sent the Aggies into halftime down 2-1.

After Sonnet’s goal, the end of a historic season stared A&M in the face going into the second half, forcing the Aggies and Coach Guerrieri to shake things up

“When we went down 2-1, the question is always when do you change”, he said, “As the game is going, you have to press a little more. We brought Kelley back in as a forward and stepped up a few players, that allowed us to create some pressure.”

That aggressive move, paired with better ball movement, gave the Aggies a number of chances down the stretch. Monogue and Allie Bailey attacked Virginia with a back and forth that looked as good as it had all night. When that sequence ended in the hands of the Cavalier keeper and Bianca Brinson was unable to connect minutes later on a great ball from Annie Kunz, the Aggies scoring threats were done.

Virginia started to take the ball in the corner soon after, soccer’s equivalent of a victory formation.

When A&M forced Virginia out into the open, Alexis Schaffer took her quick feet to Jordan Day and finished one into the right corner, finishing off any chance of a comeback with it.

While they came for a championship, this result does not mean A&M is suddenly a bad team, quite the contrary; this Aggie squad emerged from a program that has known success from the beginning, as the best in school history. Teams that advance this far are no fluke, and A&M fit that bill right alongside the Cavaliers.

Coach Guerrieri spoke to that, “We ran into a heck of a team tonight. You can have two great teams play and the unfortunate thing about this event is three great teams go home.” He said, “These seniors wanted to leave a legacy and they did, it has been a fantastic run this year and it is great to be in this event. We’ll learn from how these players got here and we’ll be back to make that next step to a national championship game.”

That legacy left by nine seniors is one that their university and everyone associated with it should be proud of.