The 10th-ranked Aggies make their SEC debut with a pair of road games, traveling to Baton Rouge on Friday to face the LSU Tigers and heading up to Oxford for a Sunday match against the Ole Miss Rebels.
Texas A&M enters the fray riding a five-game win streak that features four shutouts. On the year, the Aggies own a 0.43 goals-against average, tied for the 17th lowest mark in the nation.
The Aggies' offense is also starting to heat up with 10 goals in the last four games and A&M boasts the last two SEC Offensive Players of the Week in Allie Bailey and Annie Kunz.
UP NEXT
The Aggies return to Ellis Field for a pair of conference matches next weekend. A&M hosts South Carolina in a 7 p.m. match on Friday, Sept. 21 and Auburn in a 1:30 p.m. match on Sunday, Sept. 23.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season and individual tickets for the 2012 home season are now for sale. To purchase 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 Ellis Field.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live stats for both matches this weekend on AggieAthletics.com. Live audio will be available for each game with Friday's game being featured on 12thMan.TV and Sunday's game on RadioAggieland.com. Live video for Friday's game can be seen on AggieAthletics.com. Viewers will need to find video for Sunday's game on OleMissSports.com.
FOLLOW @AGGIESOCCER ON TWITTER
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WHERE ARE THE AGGIES RANKED?
In the fourth week of regular season polling, A&M is ranked No. 10 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Continental Tire poll and No. 27 in the Soccer America poll. Florida State claimed the top spot in the NSCAA/Continental Tire poll, followed by Duke, UCLA, Stanford and Boston College.
ELLIS FIELD ADVANTAGE
Texas A&M owns a 175-25-5 (.866) all-time record at Ellis Field (formerly Aggie Soccer Stadium). The Maroon and White have called the field home since the 1994 season, playing the inaugural 1993 season at Old Tiger Field. Since 2005, the Aggies have registered a 75-9-4 (.875) mark on the friendly pitch.
LAST TIME OUT - CENTRAL MICHIGAN
The Aggies posted their fourth shutout in the last fifth game and extended their win streak to five games with a 2-0 win over Central Michigan. A&M broke the scoring seal early with a goal in the fifth minute by Katie Perry. The Aggies fended off the Chippewas for the next 80 minutes before adding an insurance goal in the 85th minute. Shea Groom and Leigh Edwards worked the ball over to Chelsea Jones for her first goal of the season. Day went the distance in goal and extended her consecutive scoreless minutes streak to 336.
LONE STAR DOMINANCE
Since the 2008 season, the Aggies own a 17-0-3 mark against in-state rivals, including an 11-0-3 record against their former Big 12 Conference colleagues. A&M went a perfect 3-0 against in-state foes in 2011, winning the three games by a combined 7-1 margin. This season, the Aggies won their lone scheduled match against a Lone Star opponent, 2-0 against UTSA.
SCOUTING LSU
LSU is 4-1-2 on the season, including 3-1-2 in Baton Rouge. The Tigers' lone loss came against North Carolina State (L, 2-1) on Aug. 26. LSU played to a 1-1 tie against Rice on Aug. 24 and a 0-0 draw against Florida International on Sept. 7. In their latest match, LSU toppled Memphis 2-1 on Monday. Seven different players have scored goals for the Tigers with Heather Magee and Kaley Blades each logging a pair. Megan Kinneman has played all 687 minutes in goal for LSU, sporting a 0.65 goals-against average, three shutouts and .865 save percentage on 32 saves.
SCOUTING OLE MISS
Ole Miss, who plays Arkansas on Friday night, has matched its best start in school history. The Rebels are 7-0, equaling their 2003 start. The start has earned Ole Miss a Top 25 ranking in the Soccer America poll. The Rebels are outscoring opponents 26-3 on the season. Mandy McCalla leads the squad with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Rafaelle Souza ranks second with 16 points on seven goals and two assists. Olivia Harrison caps off the Big Three with five goals and one assist. Kelly McCormick has started all seven games in goal and has earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors on two occasions. She has 3.5 shutouts on the year.Â
THE SERIES
The Aggies are 1-0-1 all-time against LSU with both meetings coming in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, Texas A&M dispatched of the Tigers 4-0 at Ellis Field in NCAA First Round action. Annie Kunz, Kelley Monogue, Meghan Streight and Bri Young all scored goals for the Aggies while Jordan Day picked up the shutout in goal. In 2009, Texas A&M traveled to Baton Rouge for the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The teams played to a 1-1 draw after double overtime, but the Aggies prevailed 4-2 on penalty kicks. Emily Peterson scored in the second half for the Aggies lone goal. Mary Grace Schmidt, Rachel Shipley, Cydn Currie and Peterson all converted on penalty kicks and the Maroon and White advanced to the third round when the Tigers missed on their fourth attempt. This marks A&M's first-ever match against Ole Miss.
MEET THE SEC
Each of the 14 schools in Southeastern Conference (SEC) sponsor women's soccer. The conference is split into two divisions: Eastern and Western. The Aggies, LSU, Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Mississippi State comprise the SEC Western Division and Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt make up the SEC Eastern Division. The Aggies will play each of the other 13 schools in the conference this season, beginning with LSU on Sept. 14 in Baton Rouge, La.
AGAINST THE SEC
In the 20-year history of the program, Texas A&M owns a 14-5-1 record against teams who were members of the SEC at the time and a 27-10-2 mark against current members of the SEC. The ledger includes a 13-5-1 mark against former Big 12 foe Missouri. The Aggies own winning records against Alabama (2-1), Arkansas (2-1), Florida (4-2), Kentucky (1-0), LSU (1-0-1), South Carolina (1-0) and Vanderbilt (3-0). The only SEC team Texas A&M has a losing record against is Tennessee (0-1). The Aggies have never faced Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State or Ole Miss.
2012 ROSTER
The Aggies' 23-player roster features nine upperclassmen, 10 sophomores and 4 freshmen. A&M's squad is guided by seven seniors. The team returns eight starters and 19 letterwinners from a year ago.
FRESH TALENT
The Aggies welcome four freshmen this season, in Janae Cousineau (San Clemente, Calif.), Kristi Leonard (League City, Texas), Karlie Mueller (Sioux Falls, S.D.), and Jackie Tondl (Omaha, Neb.).
AT THE TOP AGAIN
With the 2012 No. 14 preseason ranking, A&M has been in the preseason national top 15 every year for 17 consecutive seasons. The Aggies have also consistently appeared in top 25 polls for the past 16 years.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONS
The Aggies won their 12th-and-final Big 12 Championship during the 2011 conference tournament. With just 15 seconds left in the Championship match, Tournament MVP and then-freshman Kelley Monogue weaved through three defenders and ricocheted a shot off of the left post that found then-senior Megan Majewski at 18 yards from goal. Majewski fired with nine seconds on the clock and netted the 1-0 goal against Oklahoma State to win the tournament. The Aggies were the only school in the conference to earn a Big 12 Tournament berth in the 16 years of its existence.
SEC PRESEASON POLL
Texas A&M, the reigning Big 12 champion, notched the second spot in the 2012 SEC Soccer Preseason Poll, after receiving 12 of the first-place votes for the SEC West and tallying 89 points overall. The Aggies were picked to win the Western Division and to finish behind Eastern Division favorite Florida, who earned 90 points in the poll. LSU received two first-place votes for the SEC West and was picked to finish second in the division, while Georgia was picked to finish second in the East.
FOUR AGGIES ON SEC PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Sophomores Kelley Monogue, Meghan Streight and Katie Perry and senior Beth West were named to the SEC Preseason Watch List on Aug. 8.
MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
Monogue was 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. 11. The field will be narrowed to 15 semifinalists in late November, and three finalists will be named on Dec. 6.
TOP DRAWER SOCCER HONORS
The Aggies ranked No. 5 in TopDrawerSoccer.com's Preseason Rankings and placed three players on the publication's SEC Top 20 List. Monogue landed at the top of the list with a No. 1 ranking and was joined in the top 10 by No. 5 Perry and No. 9 West. The Aggies were the only team in the SEC to have three honorees on the list and one of only two schools with multiple players in the top 10.
GUERRIERI RANKS AMONG THE NATION'S WINNINGEST COACHES
Texas A&M head coach G Guerrieri ranks among the Top 10 in both winning percentage and victories among active Division I coaches. With a career record of 341-109-24 (.745), he ranks seventh in winning percentage (minimum five years as a Division I head coach) and ninth in victories. Among all coaches to ever coach Division I women' soccer, Guerrieri ranks eighth in winning percentage (minimum 10 years as a Division I head coach) and ninth in victories.
HOME SCHEDULE
A&M will play a difficult home slate, hosting 12 opponents at Ellis Field including seven SEC foes. The Aggies just finished a five-game homestand, the longest on this year's schedule, featuring to Top 20 teams.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
A&M faced a tough non-conference schedule. The Aggies' seven games against non-SEC opponents include UC Irvine, San Diego (RV), UTSA, No. 16 Rutgers, Saint Mary's (Calif.), No. 16 Long Beach State and Central Michigan.
FAST STARTS
The Aggies' 6-1 start is tied for third best in program history. The Maroon and White started 7-0 in both 1996 and '97. They also started 6-1 four other times, including the 1999, 2003, '08 and '10 campaigns. A pair of wins on the weekend would have Texas A&M at 8-1, also the the best nine-game start in school history. In both 1996 and '97, the Aggies won their first nine games before losing game No. 10. A&M started 8-1 in 1999 and 2003 and 7-1-1 in 2005 and '08.
IMPROVED DEFENSE
The three goals by Aggie opponents through the first seven games is the fewest since the 2003 season when Texas A&M also yielded three goals in the span. Last season, the Maroon and White allowed 14 goals en route to a 3-4 start.
DAY AMONG NATION'S LEADERS IN GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE
Sophomore Jordan Day ranks 17th in the nation in goals-against average with a 0.43 mark. She has allowed just three goals in 630 minutes of action. Day has recorded shutouts in four of the Aggies' last five games. She now has 13 career shutouts.
THE AGGIE SOCCER HOUR
This year the Aggie Soccer Hour, Texas A&M soccer's weekly radio talk show, is broadcast live from Rudy's Bar-B-Que on Harvey Rd. in College Station every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. Come and be a part of the show each week, listen locally on KZNE 1150 AM or worldwide on RadioAggieland.com. Each week, Aggie soccer play-by-play announcer David Ellis will be joined by head coach G Guerrieri, associate head coach Phil Stephenson, and Aggie players.
AGGIE SOCCER ON TV
The Aggie soccer team will be on the tube four times this season. A&M beat Long Beach State, 3-0, in a Sept. 7 match featured as a NSCAA College Game of the Week on the FOX Soccer Channel. The Sept. 30 match at Mississippi State will be on Cox Sports TV, the Oct. 7 Florida game will be on ESPNU and the Missouri game on Oct. 25 will be on SportSouth/ESPN3. The CST and SportSouth matches will also be on ESPN3.com and the ESPNU match will be streamed on WatchESPN.