May 25, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The defending Big 12 Champion Texas A&M soccer team will face nine teams from last year's NCAA Tournament during a challenging 2011 schedule.
"We'll again play one of the nation's toughest schedules in 2011," Aggie head coach Guerrieri said. "Nine of our opponents played in last year's NCAA Tournament. Four of those big games will be at home, while three are on the road and two others will be held at neutral sites within tournament settings."
After a season-opening exhibition match at Central Florida, the Aggies kick off their home campaign against 2010 NCAA Tournament teams Fresno State (Aug. 19) and UC-Irvine (Aug. 21) at the Aggie Soccer Stadium. A&M will play a dozen matches on the home pitch, including non-conference matchups with Dartmouth (Sept. 2), McNeese State (Sept. 5), Fordham (Sept. 18), Loyola-Chicago (Sept. 25) and Drake (Oct. 14).
A&M will face Duke (Sept. 9) and North Carolina (Sept. 11), both 2010 Sweet 16 finalists, in Durham, N.C. Other competitors from the NCAA Tournament last season who will grace the Aggies' schedule in 2011 include Florida (Aug. 26), Central Florida (Aug. 13), Oklahoma (Oct. 21), Oklahoma State (Oct. 23) and Texas (Oct. 28).
Four Big 12 opponents will face the reigning conference champions at the Aggie Soccer Stadium this fall. Baylor will travel to College Station Sept. 16, Iowa State comes to Aggieland on Sept. 23, and then contests against Oklahoma (Oct. 21) and Oklahoma State (Oct. 23) will round out the Aggies' regular season home schedule.
Last season, A&M defeated OU and OSU in the Aggies' final weekend at home to be guaranteed a share of the Big 12 title. A draw at Texas clenched sole possession of the Big 12 regular season trophy for the Maroon and White. The Aggies will again end the regular season in Austin in 2011. Big 12 road trips for A&M include matches against Missouri (Sept. 30), Kansas (Oct. 2), Texas Tech (Oct. 7) and Texas (Oct. 28).
"Hosting 12 of our 20 matches at home in the Aggie Soccer Stadium is something that's wonderful for our players, coaches, and our incredible fans," Guerrieri said. "The atmosphere in our stadium on a soccer game day is very special. Plus, the playing surface is the best in America and allows for a quick and exciting match, no matter the weather conditions."
The Aggies return eight starters from the 2010 Big 12 Championship team, including seniors Raven Tatum and Mary Grace Schmidt and Nora Skelton and sophomore Rachel Lenz will also return as starters.
Lenz, Mathias and Young were All-Big 12 first team selections in 2010, while Mathias and Lenz were placed on the Big 12 All-Newcomer team. Each was named to the NSCAA/Performance Subaru All-Central Region team, and Young earned NSCAA/Performance Subaru All-America honors.
The 2011 squad will also feature a large freshman class. Ten high school seniors signed national letters of intent with A&M in February and will join the team for the fall season. One of the top signing classes in the country, Guerrieri's freshman crew features several state and national champions, as well as three 2011 Gatorade State Player of the Year recipients.
Incoming freshmen aren't the only new additions for A&M soccer. Stadium renovations in nearly every section at the Aggie Soccer Stadium are to be made for the 2011 season. Much of the seating will be upgraded and enlarged, while more than 600 new reserved, chair-back seats are being added to the west side of the stadium and 500 permanent general admission bleachers are being added to each end zone. Three party decks will be constructed this summer above the east and west grandstands and a new restroom facility will stand in the southwest corner of the complex.
"We are excited about the many challenges our 2011 schedule will pose to our team," Guerrieri said. "Our team's roster will be pretty young in 2011, but I feel like we will have a very talented group which can be developed to compete with anyone."