Soccer Faces Pair of Top-10 ACC Foes in N.C.
Sep 07, 2011 | Soccer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M soccer team (3-3-0) travels to Durham, N.C. this week to play No. 6 Duke (5-1-0) and top-ranked North Carolina (4-0-0) in the Duke Nike Classic.
The Aggies are set to face host school Duke at 3 p.m. CST on Friday before rounding out the weekend against 21-time national champion North Carolina at 11 a.m. CST Sunday. Both matches against top Atlantic Coast Conference schools will be played at Koskinen Stadium in Durham.
Fans wanting to catch the action this weekend can listen to both games live online at AggieAthletics.com or RadioAggieland.com. Those with smartphones or HD radios can catch each match on 95.1-3 The Zone HD.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Gametracker will be available for all A&M matches this weekend on AggieAthletics.com. In addition, live audio will be provided for the games on AggieAthletics.com, RadioAggieland.com and 95.1-3 The Zone HD, 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 @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.
A&M IN SEASON OPENERS AND AT HOME
Since 1993, Texas A&M is (14-1) when it opens its season at home and is 16-3 all-time in the first match of the year. The Aggies have kicked off the season four times at neutral sites with a 2-2 record. At home, the team boasts a 167-24-4 record, good for a .870 winning percentage. This season, the Aggies defeated Fresno State, 4-2, at home in their season opener.
SCOUTING DUKE
The No. 6 Blue Devils are 5-1-0 on the season. In 2010 they tied for seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 4-5-1 record in conference play, while putting up an 11-8-4 mark overall and ending the season ranked 20th in the nation. The team was handed a season-ending , 0-2, loss by No. 6 Oklahoma State in the 2010 NCAA Third Round. Duke returns all 11 starters from the 2010 squad, and adds six true freshmen. Last weekend the Blue Devils suffered their first loss of the 2011 season at the Auburn Tournament. The host Tigers downed Duke, 1-0 on Friday. The Blue Devils finished the weekend strong, however, shutting out Ole Miss, 1-0, on Sunday. Freshman Kelly Cobb netted the lone goal on an assist by sophomore Mollie Patham. Cobb leads the Blue Devil offense with six points this season, netting three goals - all of them game winners. Patham also records six points thus far in 2011. The forward has contributed one goal and aided four in six matches. Goalkeeper Tara Campbell has played every minute of Duke's half-dozen matches, allowing only two goals while grabbing 21 saves for an impressive .913 saves percentage.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels are at the top of every national poll after only four matches this season. In 2010, the 21-time national champions finished their season early in the NCAA Third Round with a 4-1 loss to eventual national champion Notre Dame in front of a home crowd in Chapel Hill, N.C. Last weekend the Tar Heels played a 3-0 shutout of Ohio State in Buckeye territory, improving to a 4-0 record on the season. Kealia Ohai, Ranee Premji and Emmalie Pfankuch lead the scorers with two goals each in 2011, while Courtney Jones and Amber Brooks have contributed three assist each. Adelaide Gay (2-0) and Hannah Daly (2-0) have split time in goal for UNC.
THE SERIES
A&M has matched up against the Blue Devils four times, owning a 3-1 all-time record. The last time the Aggies played Duke was in 2007, a match that ended in a 2-0 victory for A&M.
The Aggies and Tar Heels have a long history on the pitch, with North Carolina taking a wide 13-1 margin over A&M. The Aggies' one victory over UNC came in 2006 when A&M pulled out a 1-0, double-overtime win in College Station in front of the largest crowd the field has seen to this day - 8,204 fans set an NCAA regular season attendance record that ranks second as of last October. Aggie great Ashlee Pistorius netted the lone goal. A&M and North Carolina met in College Station again last season, resulting in a 0-3, season-opening loss for the Aggies.
LAST TIME OUT - DARTMOUTH AND MCNEESE STATE
The Aggies most-recently swept a weekend at home with two shutouts centered around Labor Day. A&M handed Dartmouth a 3-0 loss Friday on Fish Camp Night before slamming McNeese State, 9-0, on Monday. Freshman goalkeeper Renée McDermott (2-0) earned two shutouts in her first two collegiate matches for the Aggies. Annie Kunz, a freshman forward, scored her first collegiate hat trick vs. the Cowgirls on Monday, while freshman Shea Groom scored two goals and assisted three on the weekend.
THE MATHIAS CONNECTION
Senior Merritt Mathias is in her second season at A&M after two national-championship seasons with the Tar Heels. This will be the first time she has competed in the state of North Carolina since her sophomore season, and her second outing against UNC.
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 7 starters and 11 letterwinners from a year ago.
FRESH TALENT
The Aggies' 10 freshmen have made a big impact on the 2011 squad. Groom, Kunz and Kelley Monogue top the team offensively, while both keepers, 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 four of A&M's 18 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).
TWO AGGIES ON PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 TEAM
Senior Merritt 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.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
A&M faces one of America's toughest non-conference schedules in the nation. The Aggies' nine-game slate pits 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.
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.
