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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2004)
^1! m ffett 'ingofjfl ■s’ • Sports §©0I 1^^11^1111 TUESDAY |y*#' i/' 7 p.m. vs. Houston Olsen Field The Battalion Page 7 * Tuesday, April 13, 2004 Aggie soccer team falls to Brazil A&M baseball hosts Houston wtosi 3nd a*; I lestion in* mtop sedbl»:| ise titrate, and res,hea'| nddeaM m candeia aedtod tas FDAioil itheaft: euticis: Aklsp igerotKiJ ait arsi;:] reacted::| imore ( iler. By Troy Miller THE BATTALION Most collegiate soccer play lets can't boast that they have played on a world stage against the No. 6-ranked team in the world, hut the Texas A&M soc- (certeam now can after losing 5- to Brazil Monday in an exhibi- Ition at the Aggie Soccer [Complex. The score wasn’t indicative [of the play as A&M held tight with the Brazilians, owning pos- Isession for most of the match. “1 thought the pace of much [of the game was ours,” said A&M head coach G. Guerrieri. "But (Brazil) has another gear. [That’s what makes them special.” It took only 42 seconds for [Brazil to get its first shot off on A&M junior goalkeeper Kali Jo Spisak. The shot by forward Cristiane, from just inside the 18-yard box, sailed [wide right. Five minutes later Cristiane [wouldn't miss from point-blank range, collecting a free ball in the six-yard box and putting it in the back of the net to give Brazil [the early I-0 lead. The rest of the half belonged I to A&M which peppered Brazilian goalkeeper Maravilha, I but could not score. “(Maravilha) is a very expe- Irienced goalkeeper,” said Brazilian national team head coach Rene Simones. “Brazilians never cared about goalkeepers because the players are so (good) they think they can win the games without goal keepers. Now we know that is [true so now we have special | goalkeeper trainers that produce i very good goalkeepers.” In the 35th minute, after [another save by Maravilha, the Brazilians showed their world class speed on the counter [attack. Midfielder Formiga passed to forward Katia Cilene on a run that put her [behind the Aggie defense. Evan O'Connell • THE BATTALION Texas A&M senior forward Emma Smith battles with Brazilian national team defender Monica de Paula for control of the ball early in the first half of Brazil’s 5-1 win over A&M Monday at the Aggie Soccer Complex. Cilene slotted the ball low and to the right of Spisak to put Brazil up 2-0. ‘‘They’re everywhere,” said A&M junior midfielder Carrie Berend. ‘They're all over the field. (Playing Brazil) is a great experience for us, and it only makes us better.” In the 38th minute, A&M’s hard work finally paid off when sophomore forward Kat Krambeer, fighting for a cross front senior midfielder Laura Probst in the 18-yard box, was taken down from behind by Brazilian defender Rosana. The foul resulted in a penalty kick that A&M senior midfield er Amanda Burke buried to cut the Brazilians’ lead to 2-1. The second half started much like the first ended with A&M owning most of the possession. In the 54th minute, A&M junior midfielder Becky Olson pro duced the best scoring chance of the game for the Aggies when she collected a cross from senior for ward Emma Smith and rocketed a shot that just missed, sailing over the crossbar by a few inches. In the 57th minute, though, Cristiane would score her sec ond goal of the match from inside the six-yard box. Rosana sent a shot past Spisak one minute later as she was left unmarked at the penalty spot to give Brazil a 4-1 lead. In the 66th minute, Formiga ended the scoring for Brazil as she bent a free kick from 30 yards into the upper right corner of the Aggie goal. “It doesn’t surprise me (that A&M played Brazil close),” Simones said. “1 keep saying that America is the best women’s football in the world.” Even though it was a losing effort, the Aggies can walk away with the knowledge that they played close with one of the world’s best and take away an experience of a lifetime. “This is one of those games that I think our girls will look back on when they’re little old ladies in 50 years and remember that they played on a world stage,” Guerrieri said. “It’s a really neat experience.” By Jordan Meserole THE BATTALION Tuesday night is near once again and, during the spring, that means another mid-week baseball game for the No. 15 Texas A&M baseball team. The Aggies (29-9, 6-6 Big 12) will be in action at 7 p.m. at C.E. “Pat” Olsen Field against University of Houston (14-20, 7-5 Conference USA) in their second to last Tuesday night game of the season. A&M is coming off a weekend series win against conference opponent Kansas University, winning two of the three games. Before the start of the weekend, A&M head coach Mark Johnson said that the key item the Aggies need ed to improve on was hitting. The Aggies responded in stel lar fashion to Johnson’s remarks, collecting 25 runs and 43 hits in the three days. “I thought we hit the ball fine this weekend,” Johnson said. “We had some outstand ing defense and great pitching performances as well; it was just an all-around good show ing by us.” A&M assistant coach David Coleman, who is also the team’s hitting coach, said the big turnaround during the weekend was a pleasant sight and that he hopes it continues Tuesday night and the remain der of the season. “There wasn’t really one thing we did different before last weekend,” Coleman said. “All of our good hitters just weren’t hitting at their poten tial or at the same time, and we told them things have to come together or we’re going to lose a lot of games.” The Cougars enter the game against the Aggies after win ning two of three games against conference rival University of Charlotte. Houston had a big offensive weekend much like the Aggies, tagging Charlotte for 20 runs and hitting three home runs. Cougar freshman Jake Stewart and sophomore Kevin Roberts will be leading the offense, entering the game on 10-game hitting streaks. The meeting will be the second between the two teams this season, with the Aggies winning the first match-up March 9 in Houston. The Cougars struck first in the game, scoring five runs against A&M in the fifth inning. The Aggies entered the eighth inning trailing the Cougars 7- 4, but were able to scratch out four runs in the inning and shut down the Houston offense in the ninth to get the 8-7 win. A&M sophomore pitcher Robert Ray will take the mound in hopes of ending the Cougars’ four-game winning streak at Olsen Field against the Aggies, including a win during last season’s regional post-season competition that ended A&M’s hopes at a run for the College World Series. Ray carries a 1 -1 record out to the hill, with a 6.10 earned run average and is third on the team in strikeouts with 35. It will be Ray’s fifth start on the season, with his most recent appearance being March 30 in a 10-5 win against Texas State University. Ray lasted 4.2 innings and struck out five in the no-decision. Coleman said that even though conference games hold a little more importance toward the end of the season, the mid-week games are still just as crucial. “Tuesday games are just as important as every other one,” Coleman said. “With so few of them left in the season, these last ones are especially impor tant to get a win out of.” ! fir! Marooned-com “Always know, before you go." 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