Oct. 21, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The sixth-ranked Texas A&M soccer team looks to win its 11th Big 12 Championship this weekend as it hosts Oklahoma and No. 5 Oklahoma State at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
Texas A&M (13-3) takes on Oklahoma (10-5-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and ends the home stand with a showdown against the conference leader, Oklahoma State (14-1-1), at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, in what could be the Big 12 Championship match.
The Aggies, sitting at second in the Big 12, return home on a six-match winning streak after defeating Iowa State, 1-0 in overtime, and Missouri, 4-2 last weekend.
The Sooners have won five of the last seven matches and are ranked third in the Big 12. Oklahoma State tops the conference rankings and enters the weekend on a seven-match winning streak.
TICKET AND PARKING INFORMATION
Tickets are $7 for adult general admission, $9 for reserved seats and $4 for youth general admission. Children under 2 are permitted free of charge in general admission seating. To purchase season or individual tickets, please contact the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Center at tickets.12thmanfoundation.com, 979-845-2311 or toll free at 1-888-99-AGGIE. Tickets are also available in person beginning one hour before the match at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
Parking is free and is available in the Reed Arena and Olsen parking lots. For added convenience, there are now two entrances on the north end of the stadium.
PROMOTIONS
Friday is Greek Night. Students who wear their sorority or fraternity letters will receive free admission. The Greek organization with the most members in attendance will receive a special section and free admission to a men's basketball game. Friday night is also Senior Night, honoring the eight graduating members of the Aggie soccer team. Concession stands will feature $1 popcorn and sodas. Every Sunday at the Aggie Soccer Stadium, kids get in FREE! Up to four kids are admitted FREE with one paying adult. Also on Sunday, all A&M students receive free admission with a student ID.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Gametracker will be available for all matches this weekend on AggieAthletics.com. In addition, live audio will be provided for A&M games on AggieAthletics.com. Fans can listen to the broadcast live locally on Candy 95.1 HD3 Play-by-Replay channel, making it available worldwide on any iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry or PDA free of charge. Log on to RadioAggieland.com to download the app.
FOLLOW AGGIE SOCCER ON TWITTER
Not following Aggie Soccer on Twitter? Sign up or sign in now to find out what's happening. You will stay up-to-date on the latest news and receive live in-game updates at each and every match.
ALL ABOUT A&M
The Aggies are 13-3, scoring five goals last weekend. They average 21 shots per game and have totaled 83 corner kicks. Senior Alyssa Mautz leads the offense with 10 goals and five assists for 25 points. Junior Merritt Mathias follows close behind with nine goals, including both game winners last weekend, and five assists for 23 points. Senior goalkeeper Kelly Dyer heads up the Aggie defense with 38 saves, allowing just six goals on the season. The senior is credited with the last five shutouts for the Aggies.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma enters the weekend ranked third in the Big 12, defeating Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, and Colorado. Last weekend the Sooners hosted Colorado and Nebraska, drawing with the Huskers 0-0 in double overtime. The team posts 252 shots, with 121 on frame, for 31 goals on the season. Senior Whitney Palmer leads the team in points (17), goals (7) and goals per game (0.44), while sophomore Dria Hampton has footed the most shots for the Sooners this season (41). On defense, sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Devonshire ranks third in the league in saves (65), seventh in saves per game (4.06), and sixth in shutouts (4).
THE SERIES
Texas A&M leads the series vs. Oklahoma 14-1. The Aggies had their first loss against the Sooners in a 2-3 battle in Norman last year. Junior Katie Hamilton had both goals for the Aggies.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 5 by the NSCAA and enters the weekend undefeated in the Big 12. Last weekend the Cowgirls defeated Colorado, 3-2, and Nebraska, 4-2, in Stillwater. The team combines for 271 shots this season, 37 falling between the posts. Junior midfielder/forward Krista Lopez leads the team's offense in with 12 goals on 51 shots, leading the league in game winners (6), and coming in second in goals per game (0.75), points (26), and points per game (1.62). Sophomore goalkeeper Adrianna Franch heads up the defense, leading the league in goals against average (0.57) and shutouts (7), placing second in save percentage (.859), and sitting at fourth in shutouts per game (0.44).
THE SERIES
The Aggies are 14-1-2 all-time against OSU. Last year, junior Rachael Balaguer assisted the golden goal in Stillwater and sophomore Nora Skelton netted the game-winner for a 1-0 victory. The sole victory for the Cowgirls came in the Big 12 Championship match when OSU sophomore Carson Michalowski headed in a corner kick by junior Colleen Dougherty in the 54th minute for the win, 1-0.
AGGIE SOCCER ON TV
The final round of the Big 12 Championship will be broadcast live from San Antonio on FSN.
2010 NCAA RPI
Texas A&M is ranked 12th in the most recent NCAA Women's Soccer RPI. The only other Big 12 school ahead of the Aggies is Oklahoma State at 6th. Texas Tech is ranked 30th, Texas is 31st, Nebraska is 36th and Baylor (42) is the last conference school in the top 50 RPI.
MATHIAS BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
A forward from Birmingham, Ala., junior Merritt Mathias netted both game winners in the victories over Iowa State, 1-0 in overtime, and Missouri, 4-2, last weekend. The junior added a goal and assisted Shipley's leadoff goal for the Aggies against Missouri for seven total points on the weekend. Mathias fired off six shots, three on frame, in each of the matches, ranking third in the league in both shots (69) and shots per game (4.31). She was recognized as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week earlier in the season.
G 300 WINS AT A&M
Texas A&M head coach G Guerrieri won his 300th match with Aggie Soccer Friday, Oct. 15 at Iowa State. In his 18th season at A&M, Guerrieri has 301 wins, 88 losses and 18 ties.
AGGIES TOP 10 IN THE POLLS
At No. 6 (SoccerTimes.com Top 25) the Aggies have been a constant in the top 10 all season, starting the year ranked eighth and moving up as high as fifth. The Aggies entered the national polls during the 1995 season and have appeared in the top 25 every week since for the past 16 seasons.
STARTING LINEUPS
With a talented and deep roster, Texas A&M has used 11 different starting lineups in its first 14 games. Fifteen different players have started at least one game this season and only three players have started all 16 matches: Mautz, Mathias and Balaguer.
VOTE FOR SHIPLEY
Senior Rachel Shipley was selected as one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. From Plano, Texas, Shipley was chosen by a national media committee from the list of 30 women's soccer candidates that were announced in August. She was the only finalist selected from a Big 12 institution. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to determine the winner of the award. Fans are encouraged to vote via seniorclassaward.com through November 14. Fan votes will be combined with media and coaches votes to determine the winner.
GOALS GALORE
The Aggies scored 26 goals in their first nine games, which was the most A&M scored in its first nine games since 2001 when it totaled the same figure. Mautz is having a career season, with 10 goals and 25 points, which are already higher than her previous two season totals as an Aggie.
AGGIES IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
In addition to the 14th-best scoring offense in the nation, Texas A&M has the 18th best win-lost-tied percentage. Individually, Mautz ranks 25th with 10 goals and 35th with 0.625 goals per game.
AGGIES IN THE BIG 12
Texas A&M leads the Big 12 in shots (345), points (125), goals (41), goals per game (2.56), assists (43) and assists per game (2.69). Mautz is second in the conference in shots (70), shots per game (4.38), and game-winning goals (4). She places third in points per game (1.56), goals (10) and goals per game (0.62), and fourth in points (25). Mathias matches Mautz in game-winning goals and ranks third in shots (69) and shots per game (4.31), fourth in goals (9), and fifth in points (23) and points per game (1.44). Junior Bri Young also ranks second in game-winning goals, and fourth in assists (7) and assists per game (0.44). Goalkeeper Kelly Dyer ranks first in save percentage (.864), second in goals against average (0.68) and shutouts per game (0.56), and fifth in shutouts (5).
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies tabbed a pair of wins on the road, shutting out Iowa State, 1-0 in overtime, and defeating Missouri, 4-2. Mathias had both game winners and totaled three goals, one assist, and six shots on frame on the weekend. Shipley and Skelton each contributed a goal in the victory over the Tigers. Sophomores Raven Tatum each recorded an assist vs. the Tigers, while Mautz posted three. Senior Whitney Hooper assisted the game winner vs. the Cyclones.
UP NEXT
The Aggies head to San Antonio for the Big 12 Tournament at Blossom Soccer Stadium. Dates and times of the matches are to be determined.