University of Washington
Texas A&M (1st Round)
Huskies' Season Ends In College Station
November 14, 2015 | Women's Soccer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – UW women's soccer ended its 2015 season with a 2-1 loss at Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Ellis Field on Friday, Nov. 13. This was the Huskies' 14th NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth in the last eight years.
“It never feels good to lose, and we knew we had a tall order coming in here and playing A&M on their home field,” UW head coach Lesle Gallimore said. “Even after giving up those two goals, we kept after it. That's been a theme for our team this year – we've kept fighting throughout the season when things haven't gone our way. But credit to Texas A&M, they're a good team. Their best was better than ours today.”
The Huskies end with a 12-7-2 record overall and a fifth-place finish in the Pac-12 with a 5-5-1 record. This is the second time the Aggies (16-6-1) have ousted the Huskies from the NCAA Tournament, beating the UW in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2008. UW has now lost all five of its matches against Texas A&M all time.
UW got out to a good start on the attack, setting the early tone and developing a rhythm. The Huskies earned the first five corners of the game and were outshooting the Aggies throughout the first half, but failed to convert on any of those opportunities.
Texas A&M took advantage, seizing a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute when Kate Hajdu scored her fourth goal of the season. Hajdu dribbled into the box and took a left-footed shot that snuck under UW goalkeeper Megan Kufeld's diving save attempt.
“The first goal was disappointing,” Gallimore said. “It was a little against the run of play, as we had been attacking and earning corners that we didn't capitalize on. We should've been more dangerous on those opportunities in the first half.”
The Huskies finished the first half with eight shots and five corner kicks to seven shots and two corners for the Aggies, yet trailed 1-0.
The Aggies came out looking for a second goal to start the second half, and found it in the 53rd minute when Haley Pounds scored her team-leading 13th goal of the year. Pounds received a long ball that just cleared the UW back line, finding her running alone and with an open shot that she calmly finished to give the Aggies a 2-0 lead.
“We knew we had to play well defensively to keep them out of the back of our net,” Gallimore said. “They have good attacking speed and some really dynamic players up front.”
Freshman forward Pascale Dumesnil breathed life into the Huskies in the 67th minute when she scored her second-career goal. Fellow freshman Kelcie Hedge beat the Aggie defense down the right side and found Dumesnil alone in the box, where she took a shot that found the back of the net and cut the two-goal deficit in half. Hedge was credited with the assist, her third of the season.
The Huskies battled and had opportunities in the last 23 minutes as they tried to tie the game, but couldn't find their equalizer. UW finished with 13 shots, led by Shaye Villanueva's three. Dumesnil, Shannon Simon and Dominique Bond-Flasza each contributed two shots.
“We have a really young team,” Gallimore said. “We've got a lot of freshman and sophomores, and that inexperience showed a bit for us in our attack. We have so much talent going forward, but we didn't have anyone really step up and be threatening enough all night. We could have been more dangerous.”
Friday's loss marked the end of the careers of the current senior class – defender Allyson Brahs, goalkeeper Tori Burns, defender Katey Fawcett, defender McKenzie Karas and goalkeeper Megan Kufeld. This group helped the Huskies to NCAA Tournament appearances in three of the past four years and leaves a strong legacy.
The Huskies now enter their offseason training in preparation for next season. For more on UW women's soccer, follow the Huskies on Facebook and on Snapchat, Periscope, Twitter and Instagram at @UW_WSoccer.
