2005 Soccer Preview

The Texas A&M soccer program has always set a standard of championship performance, bringing home six Big 12 Conference trophies in the league's 10 seasons and constantly making its mark in the NCAA Tournament. The 2004 campaign was no different, as a youthful yet highly skilled Aggie squad brought home both the league's regular season and tournament crowns and advanced to the NCAAs for the 10th straight year.

All the youth, all the talent is now a year older, wiser and more experienced. A&M will want to defend its spot at the top of the Big 12, to defend its place among the best programs in college soccer, and to defend one more thing--its home turf--which just so happens to be hosting the 2005 Women's College Cup in December.

Coach G and the Aggies, the defending Big 12 regular season and tournament champions, hope to add more trophies to the case in 2005.

"There are a lot of motivations for this year," said Head Coach G Guerrieri, entering his 13th season as the only coach in school history. "There's motivation for us to go out and prove that we can do it again. There's motivation for us to win because we are going to host the national championships. But also, there's motivation to go out and do better than we did last year.

"Our players are a highly motivated bunch. Sometimes they are motivated from negative experiences of last year, but I think really, more than anything, they are motivated by the opportunities that present themselves in this new season."

The 2005 team returns 10 starters and 23 letterwinners from last year's championship squad, but will have to replace four talented and special seniors that brought more championships to the Aggie soccer program than any other class.

"Of our four seniors last year, all four were key players on the team and all started for us at a lot of different times in their careers and especially as seniors," Guerrieri said. "Christina Echavarry scored five of our first six goals of the year. She's the one that kind of got us moving. Emma Smith, one of the people who changed our program and made us an athletic threat, was always considered a starter. Shannon Labhart did start every game of her career after the first game. And Amanda Burke, our team captain, played through some injuries and started at several different positions for us.

"So on paper, at the end of last year, maybe only one of those players was in the last lineup, but I don't look at it that way. I look at it as we are replacing four starters."

The nation's No. 1-rated recruiting class had a definite impact on the successes of 2004. The 10 returning members of the class combined for 32 goals, 21 assists and 215 shots in bringing home a pair of championships. Guerrieri says getting a taste of success like that--especially in their first year on campus--does nothing but make the group hungry for more.

"What it does is establish standards," Guerrieri said. "For these freshmen, the standard of performance for them is champion. They know that is what is expected of them. For them they wanted to win another championship at the end of the year, and they recognize now that they have to step up even a little bit more."

As good as the freshman class was in '04, the returning players on the team have improved greatly from the end of last year and, even without adding another top-flight recruiting class, the Aggies would be better. However, the addition of five very talented signees will again make a tremendous impact on the program.

The Aggies welcome in two defenders, Emily Peterson (Tulsa, Okla.) and Micah Stephens (Flower Mound, Texas), who are expected to immediately impact the lineup; and Laura Grace Robinson (Houston, Texas), one of the best central midfielders in the nation. Sisters Cydne and Natalie Currie (Irving, Texas) are also members of the Class of '09 but both suffered injuries in fall practice and will not play in 2005.

The team's nucleus combined with the fresh influx of talent gives Guerrieri and his coaching staff one of the deepest and most diverse rosters they've had in years. With 30 players on the roster, the largest in school history, A&M has at least four players available at every spot on the field. Seventeen players on the team played in at least half of the matches in 2004, with 12 playing at least 20 of the team's 24 contests. That experience and depth makes for intense training sessions that provide for quicker development of the young and eager talent, along with providing the staff the opportunity to keep fresh legs on the field during matches without much dropoff of talent.

"We have such a talented roster that we think we can play a lot of different styles to get a result, depending on the opponent, the weather, the venue and the time of year," Guerreri said. "In our environment, our first 11 and second 11 are always changing because of who is stepping up every week. In many situations, some of our best games we have are intersquad games throughout the week, where we are preparing for the next weekend's matches. That's something that has really aided the development of these players."

To counterbalance the youth, A&M will look to the leadership of a senior class six deep as a key to success in 2005. Goalkeeper Kati Jo Spisak (Manchester, Mo.), defender Emily DeWoody (Murphy, Texas), midfielders Carrie Berend (Highland Village, Texas), Becky Olson (Arlington, Texas) and Laura Probst (Arvada, Colo.), and forward Janelle Green (Katy, Texas) will be counted on both on and off the field in big ways in 2005.

"The senior leadership could be more important than usual this year because all of our seniors are key personalities on the team," Guerrieri said. "On the field, off the field, and in the locker room, they are some real fun people to be around. If they are the ones that are setting the standards for the rest of the team to go with, then we will be in pretty good shape."

A tremendous team chemistry perhaps set the 2004 team apart from others, and with such a strong group of returnees combined with an energetic freshman class, expect that to continue.

"At the end of last year, that was the key to our team," Guerrieri said. "The players liked each other and they would walk through fire for each other, and that's something that's really special. That is what makes coaching this team so fun."

The Aggies face another challenging schedule in 2005 that features seven teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2004, three of which reached the "Sweet Sixteen." After opening the season at home against Stephen F. Austin on Aug. 26, A&M will play eight of its next 10 matches on the road.

Sophomore Ashlee Pistorius is coming off an All-American freshman year and could once again lead the Aggie attack.

The Aggies will participate in the inaugural Big 12/Big Ten Challenge Sept. 2-4, traveling to play NCAA participant Michigan and Big Ten foe Michigan State; and the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic in Knoxville Sept. 16-18, in which they will meet Pac-10 powers Washington, who advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, and Stanford, who made the second round. The schedule also features non-conference matchups with TCU, East Carolina and Boise State.

"When I set up our schedule I'm always looking for games that will motivate our players," Guerrieri said. "It just worked out this year that the non-conference games that lined up for us ended up being some incredibly difficult ones on the road. We look at those as games that are going to prepare us for a very difficult Big 12 schedule and get us ready for the postseason, because if we get to the NCAA Tournament, those are the types of teams that we are going to have to be able to beat."

Early highlights of the Big 12 schedule includes a showdown of 2004's co-champions when the Aggies battle Kansas in Lawrence on Sept. 25, and renew the State Farm Lone Star Showdown against Texas in Austin on Oct. 2.

In league play A&M also travels to Missouri, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State while hosting Iowa State, Texas Tech, Baylor and NCAA qualifiers Nebraska and Colorado.

"I expect that most people will look at the fact that the champions are returning 10 starters and probably have us favored to win the Big 12," Guerrieri said. "That's fine. That's the expectations we have for ourselves. It will make our opponents circle our match and make each one we play that much bigger. I really think this will be one of those years where you can flip a coin to see what the order of finish is going to be. It's a very deep and competitive conference."

There will be a lot made of the College Cup's inaugural trip to Aggieland, slated for December 2 and 4, and it's something that most definitely is on the team's mind. Upon entering the Aggie Soccer Complex, the first thing players see is a huge picture of the facility, along with the College Cup logo and the phrase "What's Your Goal?" But winning a national championship is not a new goal for this program and this team, it's one that has been around for years.

"No matter what, having the championships here is only an advantage for our program," Guerrieri said. "That being said, we have a real carrot hanging in front of us to try to win a championship at home. We've come very close to advancing to the College Cup a few times, but we haven't gotten there yet. For us, as a way of really taking the next step forward, getting to the College Cup is a huge goal of ours.

"We go into every year with the idea that if things work for us, we are here to win the national championship. And, if you're there, you might as well win it. We are here to win it all. It's one thing to say that, but it's another to actually have the talent and the coaching staff to get it done. I think a lot of things have lined up very well for us, and we want to go into this year with the understanding that this could be our year."

POSITION-BY-POSITION BREAKDOWN (by Coach G)

Goalkeeper

Goalkeeper for us is a very strong position, and is one where no matter who is in goal, I am 100 percent confident in the results we will get.

(Sr., Manchester, Mo.), as she comes in to her senior year, I stand by my comments that she is the best goalkeeper in the United States. She's motivated, she's fit, and I think she's prepared herself for a great senior year. (So., Loughborough, England) was our most improved player in 2004 and is someone who has really become a big part of our team's personality. She is someone that our players look at and respect and enjoy playing with.

Defense

Our defense was one of the big improvements last year. As the year went on and our results got better and better, you could directly point to our defense and the play of our defenders as one of the reasons why we did so well.

We return three players who on any given day could be our two center backs. They all offer incredible strengths. (Jr., Missouri City, Texas), who has started many games for us, is clearly one of our most skilled players on the field and definitely our most skilled player in the back. She's a good leader and a good athlete, but she's also a very creative and skillful player and someone we can definitely playmake from in the back. (Sr., Murphy, Texas) is arguably our toughest one-on-one defender and has the ability to physically play with anyone in the conference. (So., Glendale, Ariz.) is a blend of the two--a great tackler, great leader, good distributor of the ball, and a winner all the way around.

On the outsides of our defense, it's the same thing. We have players who can defend and who can also step up into the attack. (So., Plymouth, Mich.), a Big 12 all-tournament selection last year, and our best individual defender as a freshman last year, returns. (Jr., San Antonio, Texas), who spent the first part of last year injured but then came in and was a mainstay of our starting lineup through both the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments, also is back. Both have been very good starting personalities on the team and both can attack really well. We converted (Jr., Katy, Texas) from a midfielder into a defender, and she had a fantastic spring playing as a center back. She is also skillful enough and fast enough to play anywhere along the back line. (So., Allen, Texas) is technically very good with both feet, got faster and more skillful in the spring, and will be competing to get into the lineup in the back. (Fr., Tulsa, Okla.), the player of the year out of Oklahoma, can play forward and central midfield, but we think she's an outstanding left back. We can playmake and score goals from her service and her play as a defender. She is a very good individual defender as well. A lot of people would confuse (Fr., Flower Mound, Texas) as a "right winger" because she gets up and down the sidelines so much. She is incredibly fast, picks her moments to come forward, is a great force to run the entire side, and is a fantastic team personality. She'll do very well for us.

Central Midfield

In the style that we play, our central midfield has been the key to our success over the years.

We return (So., Highland Village, Texas), who played a holding midfielder role for us last year and was our midfield most valuable player. She is a great defender and athlete, possesses great range and is a fantastic distributor. She is the complete player right there in the middle of the park for us. In addition to her, you have another youth All-American player in (So., Kingwood, Texas), who is very tough, very skillful, and is a great leader on and off the field for us. She came in and gave us a lot of quality time in her freshman year. (So., Canton, Mich.) is probably our best possession player. She is very skillful, very technical, and does a good job of coming in and getting the game under control and getting us into a good tempo.

In our attacking midfield role, or what we refer to as our "shadow forward," we have three players who all can come in and any one of them can be a starter and a star for us in that role.

(Sr., Arlington, Texas), who has played a variety of different positions in the middle, is one of our best shooting midfielders. She has great range and a great work ethic--she touches almost every blade of grass as she moves around the park--and is a real inspirational leader for the rest of the players. She is one of the hardest workers we've ever had. (So., Gonzales, La.) is a goal-scoring threat and a great attacking player. She has a lethal shot, and is physically so strong and so fast that she causes a lot of havoc for the other team's defense. She had a very good spring and her growth in the understanding of our style of play has been terrific. (Fr., Houston, Texas), who has played on several youth national teams, also has great range. She gets into the attack a lot and scores a lot of goals coming out of the midfield not only because of her ability to recognize and read play, but also because she is a great passer. She is very good in combining with players on the front line and out wide.

Outside Midfield

Our outside midfielders often are what make Texas A&M different and dangerous, and we think the crew of players that will play that position this year are as good as any group that we have had here, which is really saying something.

(Sr., Highland Village, Texas) is I think the best wide player in the Big 12. She is a captain, and not only has gone way beyond where I think anyone would have predicted her career abilities, but she is still getting better. She is a legitimate game-breaking threat all the time. (Sr., Arvada, Colo.), who has been named All-Big 12 several times, comes in and adds a brain and a lethal left foot to the left side of the midfield. Those two have been in the starting lineup their entire careers at A&M, but now we have the ability to put different types of looks out there. (So., Draper, Utah) probably had the best spring of anyone on the team, and has established herself as being one of the fastest players on the team and one of the fastest in the Big 12. She is skillful, creative and is really fun to watch play. She can play as an outside midfielder, central midfielder or a forward--she is that multi-dimensional. (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) has gone back and forth--in the same games even--playing on the front lines as a forward, because of her lethal athleticism, and playing out wide because of her ability to take people on and stretch defenses. She will continue to do that for us this year. She is such a great player that we have to find a way to get her involved in the game. (Jr., Orange, Calif.) has battled some injuries over her short career here, but she is such a technically clean player that she can play out wide, or as the center midfielder, or up front--she was a starting forward for us most of last year. She is someone we can see as a true "winger." If we are playing with three forwards, she is one of those. If we are playing with outside midfielders, than we see her having an opportunity to be in the starting lineup out there. (Fr., Irving, Texas) comes in this year and could be one of the fastest players we have had at Texas A&M. She has a relentless work rate, is very physical, and very dangerous. We think that she will also provide some real headaches for our opponents.

Forward

We have a situation now with our front line in that we have a variety of great players that can give us different looks based on the needs of any individual game.

Most people, when they look at our returning players, will first circle (So., Normal, Ill.), because Ashlee led the nation in freshmen scoring, and led the conference in scoring last year. She is a special player. She is a gamer. She basically changes the game when she is in the match. Ashlee is smart, skillful, and picks her moments when she is going to do things. As soon as a team relaxes, they give up a goal against her. She is someone that after a year of playing, she is very good about including the other people around her and making them better players. We return KAT KRAMBEER and MADISON KLOVSTAD, both who started for us on the front line, and both will be key players for us again this year. We also return (Jr., Houston, Texas), one of our most versatile players last year. She is incredibly athletic, causes a lot of problems for the other team because of the pressure she can put on them, is very good in the air, and is very smart. She has the nickname of "The Closer," and the way that she can come in close games out for us by being so smart is something we are very excited about having back in the lineup. We also have two players who have been very good in being opportunistic in goal-scoring situations in (Jr., Bryan, Texas) and (Sr., Katy, Texas). Both have a lot of experience and have done a very good job of being able to fit in to the way we play. Then, we have one of the most exciting players that we have had come in to the program in many years. (Fr., Irving, Texas) could be the exclamation point of our attack. She never goes less than 100 percent. She is very fast, very opportunistic, and is a very good goal scorer. She has played with several of our players in different levels of youth soccer coming up, and she can be one of the most exciting newcomers in the Big 12 this year.