One thing I noticed was Tennessee rushed to a passed ball. We wait for it. They stepped in front of us and took it away and moved en masse downfield. We chased them. All night long.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Olivieri and Hayes warming up since G had said all week he didn't expect anyone back until next week. UT did a better job connecting passes than we did, which led to more possession and more chances. The goal stopped a scoreless streak of 6 hours and 18 minutes. Natalie Abel had her knee bandaged. Ali Russell did not play. In our last 3 games we have taken 6 corners. Our opponents have taken 29.
LSU game Thursday will have teams that have each lost 3 straight conference games with each team scoring only 1 goal over that span.

Well I guess the best thing that can be said about tonight's game is that we finally ended a school record streak of 380 minutes without a goal. It took a bit of luck, but when Boeckmann took on 3 defenders and the ball bounced off a defender to Jai Smith, who quickly redirected it back to her in the box, she was able to place a shot in the far corner for a goal. Unfortunately, the 1-0 lead and visions of a win over a ranked opponent ended just a few minutes later as the Vols decimated and picked apart our porous midfield and backline for 2 goals in the span of 5 minutes. And if it weren't for a couple of spectacular saves by Caldwell the Vols would have scored 5 goals in about 20 minutes. That was some serious whiplash for the fans as well. When the wheels come off for this team, they really come off. It was obvious the team was deflated and couldn't recover, and then they gave up a third goal for good measure. This is a team that has a small margin for error right now, so when there are poorly timed mistakes or bad luck, things go south in a hurry. That's why A&M is a losing soccer team.

The Vols have owned A&M in soccer for years now. We like to poke fun at Pensky on the sideline, but he consistently has his team ready to play against us and takes the W year after year. They were more talented, faster, more physical and won most of the 50/50 balls in the middle of the park. They also had a plan of attack when they took the ball away from A&M, and they executed it to perfection. Contrast that with the Aggies, who looked unsure and hesitant of what to do moving the ball forward, instead usually either passing backward or turning it over when pressured. When the ball is passed, we wait for it instead of going to the ball, which allows opponents to just step in front of us and take it away, regardless of our overrated technique of using your body to shield a defender. Just go get the ball! Even with a maybe 70% Barbara Olivieri on the field, there just was no rhythm or confidence, and the eventual passes forward (or even to each other) were inaccurate. That's really the biggest issue right now with this team. Fundamentals. Trapping, keeping the ball on your feet, passing, anticipation, making runs into space for teammates, etc. It's 101 soccer and it's so disappointing to see from an A&M team.

What we're seeing this season is what happens when your talent level drops off due to injuries, illnesses, protocols, etc. combined with very little chemistry in the middle of the field, which leads to limited quality possession. I understand the coaches' frustration level and willingness to make some changes to the lineup for a bit more offense. However, when you play a 3-5-2 and you insert a freshman on the backline in her first start who is a complete mismatch against Tennessee's forwards and was beaten twice for goals in a span of a few minutes in the second half, she isn't ready for this level of soccer yet. They gambled and struck out. To be fair, I'm not sure it would have made a big difference with the usual lineup anyway the way we played tonight. We moved Geczik and Kolb up into the outside mids, playing five in the middle, to no avail. We also moved Olivieri up top as well, but she is nowhere near 100% and probably shouldn't be playing right now to prevent further injury. Combine that with some bad luck, like Katie Smith falling down on the first goal, which left Sample in a 2v1 situation. And of course it wouldn't be an A&M game if we didn't hit the crossbar twice. Hayes did play tonight but didn't look quite right either.

A&M now has the longest losing streak (4 games) in the history of the program. Three consecutive losses at home (not sure that has ever happened). A losing overall record. And most importantly, the streak of NCAA tournament appearances is all but over outside of winning the SEC tourney, which right now is not realistic. A&M will most likely be 5-7 after the road match at LSU (although the Tigers are suddenly struggling as well), which means the Ole Miss game a week from Sunday will probably determine whether Coach G suffers his first losing season at A&M. It's been a kick in the gut and a disastrous season for the Aggies to this point. Let's hope we're able to pull an upset somewhere and get this thing headed in the right direction.

After this weekend we will be in a tie for 11th place in the conference. Only the top 10 go to the conference tournament. Our RPI is at 67.