Oct. 16, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 6 Texas A&M soccer team looks to keep its 11-game unbeaten streak alive this weekend as it travels to Kansas on Friday to take on the Jayhawks at 4 p.m. The Aggies return home on Sunday to face No. 20 Missouri at 1:35 p.m. in a match that is televised live on ESPNU.
A&M leads the Big 12 with a 12-1-1 overall record and 5-0-1 record in league play. The Aggies are on a five-game winning streak and have shutout its opponents in five of the last six contests. In addition, the Ags have given up just one goal in their six conference matches.
Sophomore Laura Grace Robinson leads A&M soccer with 13 points (5 goals, 3 assists), followed by freshman Laura Grace Robinson (Offensive Player of the Week) and freshman Becca Herrera (Newcomer of the Week) on Oct. 7.
SCOUTING KANSAS
The Jayhawks (8-5-1, 2-3-1) are currently seventh in the Big 12. The team is looking to pump up their at-home conference record of 1-1 after its most recent match in Lawrence, Kan., ending in a 2-0 loss to Colorado.
Freshman Emily Cressy has received honors as Big 12 Newcomer of the Week twice and was also named to the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week Aug. 27 and to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Team of the Week Sept. 10. The forward posts six goals on 30 shots, and 14 points in 14 games.
Jayhawks' winningest head coach Mark Francis is in his 10th season at KU. He has led the school to its first three NCAA Tournament appearances and helped the team to its sole soccer conference championship in 2004.
VERSUS THE JAYHAWKS
Texas A&M is 10-1-1 against the Jayhawks all time. The Aggies won the last three matches while the only Kansas victory was in 2004 in College Station. A&M has outscored the Jayhawks 41-8 in 12 contests.
SCOUTING MISSOURI
The No. 20 Tigers are third in the Big 12 with a 10-4-1 overall record going into their Oct. 17 match vs. Francis Marion. In Missouri's most recent outing, the Tigers fell 3-2 to Oklahoma State in overtime. The team has a 3-2-1 record on the road this season.
Junior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore has been titled Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week twice this season. (Sept. 2, Oct. 7) She posts 52 saves and six shutouts in 13 games.
Head coach Bryan Blitz entered his 13th season with the school holding a 125-114-10 record overall. Under his watch the 2007 team reached No. 5 in national rankings, the highest the program has ever achieved.
VERSUS THE TIGERS
The Aggies lead the series 11-5-1 after the two teams each won a game in 2007. A&M lost to the Tigers in the regular season, but the Aggies came back with a 4-1 victory in the Big 12 Tournament. A&M shutout Missouri just once in 1996.
14-0 IN BIG 12 PLAYAT HOME SINCE 2005
Iowa State was the last team to beat A&M at home in a Big 12 regular season match. The Cyclones scored with 12 seconds remaining to beat the Aggies 1-0 in 2005. Since then, A&M has played 14 conference home games without a loss, including 7-0 and 2-0 results over the Cyclones.
AGGIE RPI
A&M is ranked sixth in the top-25 polls and was ranked fourth in the first release of the NCAA Women's Soccer Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). No. 3 Portland, No. 2 North Carolina and No. 6 Stanford hold the top three spots, respectively.
OCT. 30
After Hurricane Ike forced the cancellation of the Aggie's match against Princeton earlier this season, A&M recently picked up a game on Thursday, Oct. 30 against Houston Baptist. The contest is slated for 6:30 p.m. at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.