Nov. 2, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -
The No. 6 Texas A&M soccer team will take on Colorado in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 5:30 p.m. at Blossom Soccer Stadium in San Antonio.
Top-seeded Texas A&M (15-3-1, 8-1-1 Big 12) plays the eighth-seeded Buffaloes (8-9-2, 4-5-1 Big 12) in their first postseason match. The winner of the match will play in the semifinal game at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5, from which they could earn a spot in the Championship final Sunday, Nov. 7, at noon.
The Aggies tied with No. 24 Texas last weekend, solidifying sole possession of the regular-season Big 12 Championship. Last season, the No. 2-seeded Aggies defeated Baylor, 2-0, and Texas, 5-1, on their way into the final round of the Big 12 Championship where they fell to Oklahoma State, 1-0.
Colorado defeated Nebraska 2-1 in Boulder last weekend, earning the final berth in the Big 12 Tournament at eighth in the conference standings. Last season, the Buffaloes entered the Big 12 Championship seeded at No. 3 and fell to No. 6-seeded Texas, 1-0, in a double overtime match in the first round.
TICKETS
Tickets for the Big 12 Championship are on sale now and available for purchase online at http://www.sanantoniosports.org or over the phone at 210-820-2100. Day passes cost $7 and three-day tournament passes are $12.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Free live audio for all of A&M's games can be found on AggieAthletics.com. Quarterfinal and final matches will also be broadcast on KNDE-FM's HD3 channel, Play x REPlay (95.1-3 on the FM dial of an HD Radio), making it available worldwide on any iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry or PDA free of charge. Log on to RadioAggieland.com for more information.
For more information on the Big 12 Soccer Championship, log on to Big12Sports.com Free live stats and a video stream are available on the conference website for the quarterfinal and semifinal matches. Sunday's championship game is televised live by FSN at noon.
FOLLOW AGGIE SOCCER ON TWITTER
Not following @AggieSoccer 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.
A&M AT THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
This year marks A&M's 15th consecutive trip to the Big 12 Championship, which is in its 15th year of existence. The Aggies own a 21-9-2 all-time record at the tournament and are one of just two teams (Texas) that have qualified for all 15 championships. The last time A&M brought home a tournament trophy was in 2005 after defeating Missouri, Nebraska and Colorado. In 2009 the Aggies defeated Baylor and Texas before falling to Oklahoma State, 1-0, in the finals.
A&M is 5-1-1 this season against the seven other teams in the tournament. The Aggies lead the all-time series against each team but one as follows: Oklahoma State (15-1-2), Texas (19-5-2), Nebraska (11-14), Oklahoma (15-1), Missouri (12-6-2), Texas Tech (15-1-1), and Colorado (17-2-1).
ALL ABOUT A&M
The Aggies are 15-3-1 and are unbeaten in nine straight games. Five of the last eight wins for the Aggies have been shutouts. The team averages 21.4 shots per game and has totaled 97 corner kicks. Senior Alyssa Mautz leads the offense with 12 goals and five assists for 29 points. Senior Rachel Shipley and junior Merritt Mathias follow with nine goals and five assists each for 23 points. Junior Bri Young tops the team in assists with seven. Goalkeeper Kelly Dyer heads up the Aggie defense with 49 saves, allowing just eight goals on the season and posting the second-best save percentage in the conference (.860). The senior is credited with the last six shutouts for the Aggies.
SCOUTING COLORADO
Eighth-seeded Colorado is 8-9-2 overall and 4-5-1 in the Big 12. This season the Buffaloes posted 282 shots, including 130 on frame, and have kicked 83 corner kicks. Kate Russell leads the team's offense with three goals and five assists for 11 points. The junior tallies 40 shots, with 19 on target, and ranks among the top 10 in the conference in both assists and assists per game. Senior Kym Lowry follows close behind with 10 points from three goals and four assists. Annie Brunner heads up the defense in goal, grabbing 58 saves and allowing only 22 goals. The freshman posts four shutouts.
THE SERIES
Texas A&M leads the all-time series vs. Colorado 17-2-1. Earlier this season, the Aggies fell to Colorado at home, 2-1 in overtime. Freshman Lizzy Herzl netted the golden goal for the Buffaloes from the top of the arch in the 99th minute. Russell kicked the first goal of the match in the fourth minute, sending the ball off the hands of Dyer and into the frame. Mathias took the game into overtime with a shot from 20 yards into the left-side netting in the 57th minute.
AGGIES IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
In addition to the 13th-best scoring offense in the nation, Texas A&M has the 14th-best won-lost-tied percentage. Individually, Mautz ranks 29th with 12 goals and 34th with total points. Dyer stands at 24th with save percentage (0.860) and ranks 43rd in goals-against average (0.708).
2010 NCAA RPI
Texas A&M is ranked 9th in the most recent NCAA Women's Soccer RPI, and is one of only two Big 12 school in the top 10. Oklahoma State is ranked 7th, Texas is ranked 25th, and Oklahoma (50) is the last conference school in the top 50 RPI.
AGGIES PLACE FIVE ON ALL-BIG 12 LIST
Five members of the No. 6 Texas A&M soccer team received All-Big 12 season honors. Shipley, Mautz, Young, Mathias, and freshman Rachel Lenz were named to the All-Big 12 first team. Mathias and Lenz were also selected to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. This is the first time since 1996 that five Aggies have earned first-team accolades. Lenz was the only freshman on the All-Big 12 first team.
AGGIES TOP 10 IN THE POLLS
At No. 6 (NSCAA/HendrickCars.com) 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 13 different starting lineups in its 19 games. Sixteen different players have started at least one game this season and only two players have started all 19 matches: Mautz and junior Rachael Balaguer.
VOTE FOR SHIPLEY
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 12 goals and 29 points, which are already higher than her previous two season totals as an Aggie.
AGGIES IN THE BIG 12
In overall season statistics, A&M leads the Big 12 in shots (406), points (136), goals (45), goals per game (2.37), assists (46) and assists per game (2.42). The team ranks third in goals allowed (18). Mautz sits at second in the league in shots (80), points (29), points per game (1.53), goals (12), goals per game (0.63) and game-winning goals (5), and ranks third in shots per game (4.21). Mathias is ranked second in shots per game (4.31) and game-winning goals (4), fourth in shots (69) and goals per game (0.56), and fifth in points (23) and points per game (1.44). Young is also ranked third in game-winning goals with four. On defense, Dyer is second in the conference in goals against average (0.71), save percentage (.860) and shutouts per game (0.50).
AGGIE SOCCER ON TV
The final round of the Big 12 Championship will be broadcast live from San Antonio on FSN.
NCAA SELECTION SHOW AIRS MONDAY ON ESPNU
The Aggies hope to be one of 64 teams given a berth in the NCAA Tournament when the Division I Women's Soccer Selection Show airs on ESPNU Monday, Nov. 8, at 3:30 p.m. A&M has made 15 straight NCAA postseason appearances, advancing as far as the quarterfinals four times ('01, '02, '06, '08). The team's 2009 season ended at the Sweet 16 in a 2-1 loss to Florida State.
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies solidified sole possession of their 11th Big 12 Championship in a 1-1 draw with No. 24 Texas in double overtime. Mautz scored the lone goal for the Aggies in the 12th minute when senior Amber Gnatzig sent the ball into Shipley, who found Mautz on the right flank. Mautz powered a kick from 25 yards that hit the crossbar and then flew inside the far post. Texas junior Kylie Doniak was able to get a foot on the ball a minute later and clipped a high shot from just outside the box. Dyer jumped high to pull the ball down, but it slipped through her hands and over the goal line, giving the Longhorns their only goal of the night.
UP NEXT
The winner of the A&M-Colorado match will face the winner of the Nebraska-Oklahoma game in the semifinals Friday, Nov. 5, at 5:30 p.m. The winner of that match will continue on to the Big 12 final Sunday, Nov. 7, at noon.