August 10, 2005
The defending Big 12 Champion Texas A&M soccer team opened preparations for the 2005 season with a pair of training sessions Wednesday at the Aggie Soccer Complex.
Thirty players reported to campus Tuesday and unofficially kicked off the year with a team dinner. On Wednesday, the Aggies went through morning meetings before hitting the field for both morning and evening sessions.
"This is always a very exciting time of year," said Head Coach G Guerrieri, who enters his 13th season in Aggieland. "We are excited to get back out on the field and take on the challenges that the new season will present. We also look forward to setting and working toward achieving our goals."
The Aggies will typically workout twice daily at approximately 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the Aggie Soccer Complex. Practices are open to the public and times are subject to change.
Guerrieri returns 10 starters and 23 letterwinners from a squad that won the Big 12's regular season and tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the 10th consecutive year. In addition, he welcomes seven newcomers, including five freshmen that made up another highly-rated signing class.
A&M opens play with an exhibition match against Southern Miss on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 8 p.m. before beginning the regular season at home against Stephen F. Austin on Friday, Aug. 26. Season and single-match tickets are available now by logging on to www.aggieathletics.com or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE.
Another challenging schedule awaits the Aggies, who will face seven teams that made the NCAA tournament in 2004, three of which advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen." Highlights include trips to Michigan and Michigan State, neutral-site match-ups with Washington and Stanford and conference road trips to Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Big 12 teams making the trip to College Station include NCAA participants Nebraska and Colorado, regional rivals Baylor and Texas Tech, and Iowa State.
Texas A&M will host the 2005 Women's College Cup, December 2-4 at the Aggie Soccer Complex. Tickets are available online at www.aggieathletics.com or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE