Mexico to Iceland combination.

What a goal!

Did you see Hill spring up without touching her hands to the ground after that goal? What a demonstration of athleticism!

Quite a variety of goals. Hard and low at the post. Flick over the keeper. Punch in on a rebound. Great individual run with a rip into the upper 90. Beautiful.

I'll let those with a deeper knowledge of the game analyze it, but to my relatively novice eyes two things seem different right now. First, we are making more, better passes to advance the ball into the attacking zone. It seems that in many prior years we depended on long passes to skilled forwards to start our scoring opportunities. Now we are more methodically breaking down opposing defenses with shorter, more accurate passes.

Second, we seem to possess a lot more team speed than anyone I've seen us play this fall. Our forwards have routinely out-sprinted the opposing defenders to get to a ball or when advancing with the ball downfield. Likewise, our defenders seem to be able to beat opposing forwards to balls and to recover defensively. Our speed also allows us to pressure the ball virtually all over the field. We aren't laying back very much defensively.

I clearly don't know, but I don't think our team responded to some great halftime speech. I think they wore Santa Clara out, and when we got the first goal, the dam just broke on them. That's the best game we've played against a quality opponent in a while, IMO.

It's been a long time since I've been that satisfied after an A&M win. I would say the best big win since we beat #1 North Carolina 4-3 in OT back in 2011. And the crowd that stuck around for the long rain delay were rewarded and really fired up in the 2nd half. It got pretty loud for the number of fans in attendance. This match was played at a high level. Santa Clara is a legit team, a very talented squad that was as good as advertised. I was really impressed with them and it was an even match for the most part outside of A&M converting its chances in the 2nd half. Both sides traded stretches of possession and shots on goal, but in the end the A&M hustle and defense and Morche's key saves gave us the edge. When A&M puts out a performance like that, we can play with anyone.

A&M finally came out with energy to start a match and hustled to win every ball and created some early chances to prove to the Broncos that they were in for a tough match. The midfield and forwards were on the same page and the turnovers were limited. But the missed chances in front of goal were frustrating and for some reason Watt wouldn't take the ball and run at the defense when there was space to do so. McCain and Bates played well, winning 50/50 balls and distributing accurate passes for the most part. Lopez really locked down her side of the field with her defensive effort and a couple of great crosses into the box (one of which was converted). She is playing at a high level right now. I really like Arrieta's energy when she came in the match and she shut down several counter attacks. A&M is spreading the goals around as well with lots of players on the score sheet this season.

Asdis continues to improve every match and her poise and patience on the ball tonight was a big reason we won the match, and of course she also scored her first goal which was great to see. Once Watt started running at the defense we started scoring goals in the 2nd half and she scored a great goal to take the lead. Smith had some good runs and possession as well. If Asdis and Watt continue converting their chances, this team suddenly becomes very dangerous.

Brianna Alston played her best match of the season so far, winning almost every battle, shielding defenders and making some key stops. Ritchie was solid and made some good free kicks. Unfortunately, Jordan Hill continues to make some sloppy passes and turns the ball over too much for comfort. She also struggles at times to stay with forwards who make quick turns around the box. The only change I would make with the starting lineup right now going into conference play would be Walton for Hill, but I could be wrong since I don't see practice. But overall the backline played well and shutout a good Santa Clara offense. I haven't been a fan of the 3-back set, but it's hard to argue with the results so far - only 1 goal allowed all season.

The team that showed up tonight for A&M will win every match left on the schedule. The question is whether or not they have the determination and drive to win that they had tonight for every game. The defensive marking was good, GK play exceptional, the midfield possessed the ball and completed passes consistently and made good choices, and the forwards (and midfielders) finished chances in front goal once we figured out we could run at their backline and stretch the defense. It was a complete win and really fun to watch. I hope we can keep it going because the performance tonight can advance deep into the NCAA tournament. The SEC is wide open this year so A&M can certainly win the league. A few weeks ago I was worried this team would struggle to make the tourney. Not anymore. In fact, this team could end up being a really strong team by season's end if we continue to eliminate mistakes.