February 18, 2008
The reigning Big 12 champion Texas A&M soccer team finished undefeated in its four games at A&M?â„¢s annual 7v7 Tournament held at the Aggie Soccer Stadium Sunday. The tournament kicked off the Aggies non-traditional NCAA spring season.
The 7v7 format, which is used to foster individual player development, is used by A&M during this portion of the year as a teaching and evaluating tool. The format has a track record of fine tuning both individual and group skills due to the reduced number of players on the field and the increased number of touches for each player.
?This was a good start for us,? said Aggie head coach G Guerrieri. ?It?â„¢s nice that we went undefeated in these four mini-games, but we really weren?â„¢t too interested in wins and losses for this event. We have a lot of young players who will be expected to play larger roles on the field this coming fall. This past weekend was a first baby step along the development of our youngsters into key contributors for our all important fall season.?
In A&M?â„¢s opening game against Rice, sophomore midfielder Amber Gnatzig netted both goals for the Aggies?â„¢ finishing passes from freshmen Inge Harding and Whitney Hooper. After 50 minutes of play the score remained deadlocked at 2-2.
Four different Aggies would find the back of the net in Game 2 action against North Texas. Harding started the scoring for A&M on a pass from freshman Rachel Shipley, who was fresh from playing with the USA U20 National Team in Chile and returned in time to play the last three games of the day. Sophomore Nicole Ketchum scored the game winner on a pass from Gnatzig and junior Laura Grace Robinson put the game out of reach on pass from Harding. Freshman transfer Alyssa Mautz closed out the scoring attack finishing a pass from Shipley to put the Aggies on top 4-1 over UNT.
Sophomore forward Cydne Currie scored A&M?â„¢s lone goal off a pass from Shipley against Baylor in Game 3 play. The Aggies ended in a 1-1 draw with the Bears.
In its fourth match of the day, A&M hosted a 7v7 alumni game to close out tournament play with the current players defeating the alumni 6-5. Hooper found fellow freshman Shipley to open the scoring. Both would factor into the scoring again when Shipley scored her second goal of the day off a pass from Harding. Hooper would follow with a goal of her own later. Mautz scored her second goal of the day finishing a pass from Currie, which Currie followed up with her second goal of the day. Shipley closed out the scoring for the current players driving a game winning penalty kick past the keeper for her third goal of the day.
The Alumni team, which featured many former Big 12 Champions from recent A&M squads saw a goal from Annie Burnett (?â„¢06), Elisabeth Jones (?â„¢08), and three goals from Ashlee Pistorius (?â„¢08), who had just returned from playing with the USA U23 National Team in Spain.
The Aggies continued their spring schedule Mar. 1 against the Mexico U20 National Team. That match will feature the Mexican National Team who is preparing for their FIFA U20 World Cup qualifications. Meanwhile, it will be Texas A&M?â„¢s first 11v11 match of the new year.
?We?â„¢re really looking forward to the game against Mexico,? commented Guerrieri. ?We?â„¢re expecting a big pro-Mexico crowd at the stadium for this one and it should be an electric atmosphere and a wonderful experience for our young team.?
Kickoff for the March 1st Texas A&M-Mexico game is at 11 a.m. at the Aggie Soccer Stadium, and tickets are available through the Texas A&M ticket office or online via www.aggieathletics.com
Texas A&M 7v7 Statistics
Name Goals Assists
Rachel Shipley 3 goals 3 assists
Cydne Currie 2 goals 1 assist
Amber Gnatzig 2 goals 1 assist
Alyssa Mautz 2 goals
Inge Harding 1 goal 3 assists
Whitney Hooper 1 goal 2 assists
Nicole Ketchum 1 goal
Laura Grace Robinson 1 goal
Aggie Alumni Team - Annie Burnett, Paige Carmichael, Allison Martino, Amy Berend, Ashlee Pistorius, Melissa Garey, Sara Albrecht, Lauren (Pfister) Huff, Julie (Almeida) Knabe, Kelly Wilmoth, Emily DeWoody.