COLLEGE STATION, Texas - In the Aggies' biggest home weekend of the season, the Texas A&M soccer team (11-5, 4-1 Big 12) will host Oklahoma (6-10, 1-4 Big 12) and No. 2 Oklahoma State (15-0-1, 4-0-1 Big 12) in a pair of conference matches at Ellis Field.
Friday's Senior Night match vs. the Sooners is set for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff. The Cowgirls and Aggies will match up Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPNU. Last season A&M hosted OSU in what turned out to be the Big 12 Championship match, resulting in a 1-0 victory for the Aggies. This season, the Cowgirls are ranked No. 1 in the league with 13 points, while the Aggies are close behind with 12 points on the conference season.
Fans wanting to catch the action this weekend can listen to the games live online at AggieAthletics.com. Live stats and live video will also be available through the A&M web site. Sunday's game will be broadcast on 95.1-3 The Zone HD, making it available worldwide on any smartphone or HD radio. Go to RadioAggieland.com to download the app.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Friday night is Senior Night at Ellis Field. Aggie seniors Rachael Balaguer, Megan Majewski, Bri Young and Merritt Mathias will be honored with their parents on the field prior to kickoff. Friday is also Honor Roll Night. All Bryan-College Station elementary students on the honor roll have received FREE tickets to the match.
ESPNU will broadcast Sunday's game live from Ellis Field. All Texas A&M students will receive FREE admission to the match with a student ID. Fans are asked to "Wear White, Pack the House" on Sunday to show the nation the Spirit of Aggieland. As is usual for Sunday matches, up to four kids will receive FREE admission with the purchase of one adult ticket.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live stats, live video and live audio will be available for both matches this weekend on AggieAthletics.com. Fans wanting to listen to the games from within the stadium can tune in to 88.1 FM. Sunday's match will also feature live audio on 95.1-3 The Zone HD, making it available worldwide on any smartphone or HD radio. ESPNU will air the match against Oklahoma State live for those watching the game at home.
FOLLOW @AGGIESOCCER ON TWITTER
Not following @AggieSoccer on Twitter? Sign up or sign in now to find out what's happening. You'll stay up-to-date on the latest news and receive live in-game updates at each and every match.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONS
The Aggies won their 11th Big 12 Championship during the 2010 regular season. In its final home match, the No. 6 Aggies upset No. 5 Oklahoma State and were guaranteed a share of the title. A draw with Texas in the final game of the regular season made the Aggies the sole owners of the trophy. The Aggies and Cowgirls are currently neck-and-neck in the conference, with OSU leading with 13 points and A&M trailing with 12. Baylor is between the two teams with 13 points.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
The Sooners are 6-10 this season, with a 1-4 Big 12 mark. In 2010 the team went 12-8-3 and finished third in the Big 12 with a 5-4-1 mark. Junior Caitlin Mooney and sophomore Dria Hampton lead the team offensively with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Mooney has scored five goals and assisted five, while Hampton owns four goals and has contributed four assists. Sophomore Amy Petrikin has netted four goals this season, three of them game winners. Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Devonshire has spent 1,244 minutes in goal, making 50 saves while allowing 26 goals on the season.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowgirls are undefeated this season and hold a 15-0-1 mark after drawing with Texas last weekend. OSU has remained at No. 2 in the NSCAA poll for six-straight weeks. In 2010 the Cowgirls finished the season in the NCAA Elite Eight. The team was the Big 12 runner-up with an 8-2-0 record after falling to the sixth-ranked Aggies in a College Station match that guaranteed A&M a share of the title. This season senior Krista Lopez leads the pack with 21 points on five assists and eight goals, including four game winners. Lopez was tabbed the Co-Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week in September. Goalkeepers Adrianna Franch and Rosa Medina have split time in goal, combining for nine shutouts and allowing only one goal per game, at the most. The keepers have also combined for 60 saves, allowing just five goals together. The Cowgirls are ranked No. 1 in the nation in won-lost-tied percentage and own the third-best defense.
THE SERIES
The Aggies and Sooners have met almost every year since 1996, the inaugural year of Big 12 soccer. A&M owns a 15-2 all-time record over Oklahoma, only allowing nine goals by the Sooners. Last season, A&M hosted OU, resulting in a 2-1 victory for the Aggies. Seniors Rachel Shipley and Alyssa Mautz netted goals for A&M, with Mautz scoring the golden goal in double overtime. Then-junior Kelsey Kraft scored the lone goal for OU.
In the Big 12 Tournament in San Antonio, the Aggies and Sooners met again. Oklahoma won the semifinal match, 1-0 in overtime on a 92nd-minute goal by Whitney Palmer that was assisted by Hampton.
The Aggies have never lost to the Cowgirls in the regular season, holding an all-time record of 15-1-2 over Oklahoma State. The only loss by A&M came in the 2009 Big 12 Tournament championship match. Last season the Aggies defeated the Cowgirls at home, 1-0, on a Shipley penalty kick to guarantee A&M a share of the Big 12 Championship. A tie with Texas the next weekend gave the Aggies sole possession of the trophy for the 11th time in program history.
LAST TIME OUT - DRAKE
Freshmen Kelley Monogue and Allie Bailey each netted two goals and contributed an assist as the Aggies cruised to a 6-1 victory over Drake in A&M's final nonconference match of the regular season. Senior Merritt Mathias and freshman Meghan Streight also scored goals in the winning effort. Freshman Jordan Day spent the game in goal, making three saves for the win.
NATIONALLY RANKED
The Aggies have been either ranked or receiving votes in national top-25 polls every week for the past 16 years. A&M is currently receiving votes in the NSCAA/adidas and the Soccer Times polls. The team is also ranked No. 11 among TopDrawerSoccer.com's list of 64 tournament teams, a season best for Aggie soccer in that poll.
NATIONAL OFFENSE
Through last weekend's games, the Aggies have the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation, leading all NCAA teams with 3.63 goals per game. Monogue is ranked 15th in points per game (2.06), 17th in goals per game (0.813), ninth in total goals (13) and 11th in total points (33). Junior Beth West is 11th in the nation in assists per game (0.57), followed by freshman Katie Perry and senior Merritt Mathias at 26th with a 0.5 average each. Mathias and West are also tied at 17th for total assists with eight.
AGGIE RPI
In the most recent RPI rankings (through games of Oct. 19) the Aggies sit at No. 19, led by only Oklahoma State (No. 10) and Baylor (No. 16) in the Big 12. A&M has consistently been in the top 25 in RPI rankings since reporting began this season.
2011 ROSTER
The Aggies' 25-player roster features 13 upperclassmen, two sophomores and 10 freshmen. A&M's fresh squad is guided by four seniors. The team returns seven starters and 11 letterwinners from a year ago.
FRESH TALENT
The Aggies' 10 freshmen have made a big impact on the 2011 squad. Monogue and Annie Kunz top the team offensively, while both goalkeepers, Renée McDermott and Jordan Day, are freshmen. Allie Bailey and Bianca Brinson contribute regularly as forwards and Meghan Streight, Katie Perry and Leigh Edwards round out the midfield. Each freshman has seen action already this season, while all-but 18 (69 percent) of A&M's 58 goals were netted by members of the Class of 2015.
BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
Texas A&M, the reigning conference champion, notched the second spot in the 2011 Big 12 Soccer Preseason Poll, after receiving three of the first-place votes and tallying 59 points. With 62 points, Oklahoma State was chosen to win the conference. Only 11 points separate the next four schools, as Missouri (44), Texas (43), Texas Tech (36) and Oklahoma (33) round out the top six. The remainder of the poll consists of Baylor (16), Kansas (16) and Iowa State (15).
BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK - MONOGUE
Monogue took her third conference honor in four weeks as she was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week. The forward from McKinney, Texas, led the Aggies to a 6-1 victory over Drake on Friday at Ellis Field. Monogue netted two goals and contributed an assist in the effort. The freshman leads the Big 12 in points (33), points per game (2.06), goals (13) and goals per game (0.81).
CONFERENCE LEADERS
The Aggies lead the Big 12 in overall statistics in several categories as a team, including shots (354), points (188), goals (58), goals per game (3.62), assists (72) and assists per game (4.50). Mathias leads the league in all games in shots (67) and shots per game (4.19), while Monogue tops the competition in points (33), points per game (2.06), goals (13) and goals per game (0.81).
FIVE AGGIES ON TDS BIG 12 TOP 20 LIST
Five members of the Aggie soccer team were named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Big 12 Top 20 Player Rankings. Mathias led the team with a No. 2 ranking. No. 4 Monogue, No. 7 Rachel Lenz and No. 9 Shea Groom rounded out A&M's top-10 selections, while Kunz completed the list of Aggies at No. 14. A&M and OSU were the only two teams with five players on the list.
TWO AGGIES ON PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 TEAM
Mathias and sophomore Rachel Lenz earned spots on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. This pair earned spots on the 2010 All-Big 12 First Team and the 2010 Big 12 All-Newcomer Team.
MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
Mathias and Young, both seniors, were placed on the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy Watch List. The award is the highest honor in collegiate soccer and will be given to a winner on Jan. 6. The field will be narrowed to 15 semifinalists in late November. A&M was one of only eight schools who placed two selections on the list.
HOME SCHEDULE
A&M's home schedule in 2011 is quite favorable and should bring lots of excitement to Ellis Field. There are 11 regular season contests on the home slate with four of those matches against teams that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season. The Aggies play four Big 12 games at home. This weekend's games are the final two home matches of the season.
NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE
A&M faced one of America's toughest nonconference schedules in the nation. The Aggies' nine-game slate pitted them against five teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2010, two of which (North Carolina and Duke) competed in the round of 16. Friday's match against Drake was the Aggies' final nonconference match of the regular season.
THE AGGIE SOCCER HOUR
This year the Aggie Soccer Hour, Texas A&M soccer's weekly radio talk show, is broadcast live from Ocean's Bar and Grill on Texas Ave. in College Station every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. Come and be a part of the show each week, listen locally on KZNE 1150 AM or worldwide on Aggies All-Access and RadioAggieland.com. The show is brought to you by Monograms & More.
AGGIE SOCCER ON TV
The Aggie soccer team will be on the tube for its Oct. 23 match against Oklahoma State at Ellis Field. The game will be broadcast nationwide on ESPNU. Last season the Aggies and Cowgirls played in College Station, ending in a 1-0 victory for the Aggies and their 11th Big 12 Championship.