August 01, 2006
The Texas A&M soccer team faces the toughest schedule in program history and arguably the toughest in the country in 2006, and fans can ensure their place for all of the exciting action as season and individual game tickets are available now by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE.
The Aggies have won the past two Big 12 regular season and the past two Big 12 tournament championships. A&M has advanced to every NCAA Tournament since 1995. This fall they will face 10 teams who advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year. In addition, six of the first seven games of the season will be played against squads who advanced to at least the Round of 16, with two of those making the quarterfinals and two more earning trips to the Women's College Cup.
?Playing the toughest schedule we can manufacture always motivates our players both in their off-season workouts and in the days and weeks leading up to the games,? A&M head coach G Guerrieri said. ?We need to expose our players to these other national powers in the regular season to prepare us for a grueling Big 12 conference schedule and to give us a better chance of beating the toughest teams should we again advance to the NCAA Tournament."
The home opener is set for Friday, Aug. 25 at 8 p.m. at the Aggie Soccer Stadium, when 16-time national champion North Carolina faces A&M in the first regular-season meeting between the schools in six years.
The following weekend, the Aggies will host Illinois and Penn State in the Big 12-Big Ten Challenge. The Illini advanced to the round of 16 in 2005, while the Nittany Lions--who finished the '05 campaign undefeated--fell to eventual national champion Portland in penalty kicks in the national semifinals, held at the Aggie Soccer Stadium last December.
A&M will participate in the UCLA Women's Cup on Sept. 8 and 10 at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Aggies will battle host UCLA--who fell to Portland in the national championship match in College Station in December--and perennial power Santa Clara, who was knocked out of last year's championship in the quarterfinals by Penn State.
Cal State Fullerton, a round of 16 team in 2005, will play A&M in College Station on Sept. 15 in the first meeting between the two schools. Other non-conference home fixtures include regional foes Texas-San Antonio (Aug. 27) and Sam Houston State (Sept. 17).
"During the first month of the season we will play many of the most revered programs in America as well as the three programs which have eliminated us from the past four NCAA Tournaments," Guerrieri said. "I strongly believe this schedule will help my coaching staff better evaluate and develop our squad into a team hungry to compete for a National Championship during the remainder of the 2006 campaign.?
The Aggies were eliminated from both the 2003 and 2005 NCAA tournaments at Penn State in the round of 16. In 2004, they were upset by Illinois, who advanced to the quarterfinals. In 2002, the Aggies fell one step away from the Final Four when they lost in the quarterfinals at North Carolina.
A&M will open the home portion of the Big 12 slate on Wednesday, Sept. 27 in a nationally-televised match against Oklahoma State. FOX Soccer Channel will broadcast the match live beginning at 7 p.m. Other conference home matches include Oklahoma (Sept. 29), NCAA participants Nebraska (Oct. 13) and Iowa State (Oct. 20), and Missouri (Oct. 22).
The Aggies will begin defense of their conference title on Sept. 22 at Baylor and will also travel to Texas Tech (Sept. 24), NCAA participant Colorado (Oct. 6) and Kansas (Oct. 8), and will close the regular season Oct. 27 at Texas--another NCAA tournament team in 2005--in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown.
Texas A&M has won a total of eight Big 12 Soccer Championships (four regular season and four tournaments) in the past nine years. The Aggies have also been consistently ranked among the best teams in America, having appeared in the National Top 10 rankings in each of the past 11 seasons.
"I wouldn?â„¢t take on such a difficult schedule if I didn?â„¢t believe 100 percent in my players,? Guerrieri said. ?It is risky to place your team in such difficult situations so early in the season, but I have been very impressed with the way these players have developed into champions over the past two years. I really look at all of these games as ?'no lose?â„¢ situations, where we have much more to gain from the experiences as well as the opportunities for wins against quality opponents. Each of these teams is well-coached and full of talented players, so I really look forward to the challenge and the rewards which come from great competition.?
Prior to the season opener against North Carolina, the Aggies will play two more tough opponents in the preseason portion of the schedule. A&M opens the exhibition season at home on Sunday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. against Conference USA Tournament Champion Rice. Following that match, the Aggies will hit the road to play Ohio State at the MLS' Columbus Crew Stadium on Friday, Aug. 18.
Reserved, season and single game ticket options are now available for the 2006 Texas A&M Soccer Season by calling the Texas A&M Athletic Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE.