Aug. 14, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The seventh-ranked Texas A&M soccer team faces its first test of the season when it takes to the field on Saturday for a 7 p.m. exhibition match against UAB at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
The Aggies spent the last week-and-a-half in preseason training preparing for the upcoming season and A&M head coach G Guerrieri believes that the exhibition game will allow the team to execute what they've learned in practice.
"Saturday is a great opportunity for us to put what we've been working on in preseason into action against a real opponent," said Guerrieri. "It is also a great opportunity for fans to come out and get a look at an exciting team and our new freshman class."
The exhibition match serves as the only chance to see the Aggies before their season opener against No. 8 USC on Saturday, Aug. 22 at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
The Aggies' 29-player roster features nine upperclassmen and 20 freshmen and sophomores. A&M's young squad is guided by seniors Cydne Currie, Emily Peterson, and redshirt juniors, Kristin Arnold (captain) and Nicole Ketchum (captain). The team returns nine starters and has eight talented newcomers.
UAB returns eight starters, including their top six scorers from a team that went 7-11-2 in its 2008 campaign. The Blazers finished seventh in Conference USA with a 5-4-2 mark.
Texas A&M reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament last season and finished the year with an 18-5-1 overall record. The Aggies finished second in the Big 12, going 7-2-1, and ended 2008 with the same preseason ranking they received in 2009 - No. 7 - by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Tickets for Saturday and individual and season tickets to all 12 A&M home matches are still available for purchase online at tickets.12thmanfoundation.com or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE.
Fans can follow all the action of Saturday's match with free live video, audio and live stats on AggieAthletics.com.