Aggies Open Three-Match Homestand on Thursday
 COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Aggies are eager to return to Ellis Field, where they've won their last 12 matches, to begin a three-match homestand. The stretch begins on Thursday with a 7 pm match against defending Atlantic Sun Conference champion Florida Gulf Coast and continues on Sunday with a 7 pm affair against defending Big East Conference champion Marquette.
Texas A&M looks to bounce back from a road trip to the Grand Canyon State where the Maroon and White suffered their first blemishes of the season, tying Arizona (2-2) and falling to Arizona State (2-1) on a goal in the waning moments of action.
Kelley Monogue is off to a blistering start on the season with 16 points on six goals and four assists. Last Sunday, she became the eighth player in school history to rack up 100 career points.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season and individual tickets for the 2014 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 are on 12thMan.com. Both matches will have video streaming available to SEC Network subscribers via SEC Network+ as part of the WatchESPN app and ESPN3.com. Every match this season will feature free live audio on RadioAggieland and 12thMan.com.
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HIGH-SCORING TRIO
The Aggies roster boasts three of the 21 active players with 75 or more career points. Kelley Monogue ranks fifth among all active players with 100 points. Shea Groom ranks 18th with 78 points. Annie Kunz reports in at 21st with 75 points. The only other squad with multiple players on the list is Virginia with Morgan Brian in seventh with 97 points and Makenzy Doniak in 14th with 82 points.
MAKING ELLIS FIELD A FORTRESS
The Aggies enter Thursday's contest with a 12-match home win streak. The current streak ranks fifth in A&M history for home win streaks and fourth among win streaks at Ellis Field. The team record stands at 24 in a span that crept into three campaigns, starting on October 26, 2001 and finishing on October 17, 2003.
                  A&M Home Win Streaks
            1.  10/26/2001 to 10/17/2003 - 24
            2.  9/26/2006 to 11/15/2007 - 20
            3.  9/18/1995 to 11/3/1996 - 17
            4.  10/2/1993 to 9/3/1995*  - 16
            5.  9/13/2013 to current - 12
                  9/15/2000 to 10/21/2001 - 12
                  * - first seven matches played at Old Tiger Stadium
THE NCAA'S MOST EXPERIENCED SQUAD
The Aggies boast one of the most experienced squad in the nation for 2014. Currently, Texas A&M has six of the top 13 active players in terms of games played. Allie Bailey and Meghan Streight enter the weekend tied for fourth among all active players with 80 matches. Kelley Monogue is tied with two others for sixth place with 79 matches under her belt. Leigh Edwards is tied with Florida's Annie Speese for ninth place with 78 matches. Annie Kunz and Bianca Brinson are tied for 11th place with 76 matches.
                  Active Leaders, Matches Played
            1.  Kristin Grubka, Florida State - 83
                  Jamia Fields, Florida State - 83
            3.  Whitney Church, Penn State - 81
            4.  Allie Bailey, Texas A&M - 80
                  Meghan Streight, Texas A&M - 80
            6.  Kelley Monogue, Texas A&M - 79
                  Danielle Colaprico, Virginia - 79
                  Emily Hurd, Penn State - 79
            9.  Leigh Edwards, Texas A&M - 78
                  Annie Speese, Florida - 78
          11.  Bianca Brinson, Texas A&M - 76
                  Annie Kunz, Texas A&M - 76
                  Caprice Dydasco, UCLA - 76
MONOGUE AMONG TOP ACTIVE PLAYERS IN GOALS SCORED
Kelley Monogue enters the weekend tied for fourth with Stephen F. Austin's Chelsea Raymond for fourth place among all active players in goals scored with 41. Illinois State's Rachel Tejada leads the nation with 55, followed by Winthrop's Krystyna Freda with 54 and LaSalle's Kelsey Haycook with 42.
                  Active Leaders, Goals Scored
            1.  Rachel Tejada, Illinois State - 55
            2.  Krystyna Freda, Winthrop - 54
            3.  Kelsey Haycook, LaSalle - 42
            4.  Kelley Monogue, Texas A&M - 41
                  Chelsea Raymond, SFA - 41
ATTRACTING A CROWD
The Aggies' drew a historic crowd for their 3-0 win over #18 UCF on August 29. The crowd of 5,634 was the ninth-largest for an NCAA women's soccer regular-season match. Four of the top nine and seven of the top 18 regular-season crowds have occurred at Ellis Field.
                  Active Leaders, Goals Scored
            1.  USC vs UCLA, Los Angeles (10/22/10) - 8,527
            2.  North Carolina at Texas A&M (8/25/06) - 8,204
            3.  USC vs UCLA, Los Angeles (10/25/08) - 7,804
            4.  Rhode Island at Texas A&M (8/22/08) - 6,712
            5.  North Carolina at Navy (9/26/03) - 6,527
            6.  Syracuse at Connecticut (9/26/99) - 6,070*
            7.  Notre Dame at North Carolina (9/13/98) 6,024
            8.  North Carolina at Texas A&M (8/29/08) - 5,642
            9.  UCF at Texas A&M (8/29/14) - 5,634
          10.  North Carolina at Portland (10/10/92) - 5,596
                  * - part of doubleheader with men's squad
WHERE ARE THE AGGIES RANKED?
In the third regular-season poll, A&M is ranked No. 12 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Continental Tire poll, down three spots from the preseason ranking and six spots from a week ago. The Aggies are No. 16 in the Soccer America Top 25, No. 6 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 25 and No. 11 in the BennettRank poll. Defending national champion UCLA claimed the top spot in all four rankings.
LAST TIME OUT - ARIZONA STATE
The Aggies struck first with Kelley Monogue scoring in the fourth minute for her sixth goal of the season, but Arizona State scored goals in the waning moments of both the first and second halves to pull out the 2-1 win at the Sun Devil Classic. Arizona State evened the score by converting on a corner kick in the 41st minute and the Sun Devils claimed the lead in the 88th minute as they were able to slip a pass over an A&M backline fatigued by nearly 90 minutes of running in the broiler provided by the triple-digit heat.
AT THE TOP AGAIN
With the 2014 No. 9 preseason ranking, A&M has been in the preseason national top 15 every year for 19 consecutive seasons. The Aggies have also consistently appeared in top 25 polls for the past 18 years.
ELLIS FIELD ADVANTAGE
Texas A&M owns a 196-29-5 (.863) 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 96-13-5 (.864) mark on the friendly pitch.
AGGIES NOTCH THEIR 200th WIN IN BRAZOS VALLEY
The Aggies have been dominant in the Brazos Valley. Texas A&M owns a 203-29-5 (.867) all-time record in College Station. The win tally includes a 196-29-5 (.863) mark at Ellis Field from 1994-2013 and a 7-0 mark at Old Tiger Field in 1993. The Maroon and White are 96-13-5 (.864) at home since 2005.
AGGIES LOOK TO EXTEND 15-WIN SEASON STRETCH TO 11 YEARS
With their 18-5-2 mark last season, the Aggies posted their 10th consecutive 15-win season dating back to 2004. In their first 21 seasons, the only two years the Aggies have not reached the 15-win plateau are 1998 (14-8) and 2003 (13-6-3). The school record for victories stands at 20, set in 2002 with a 20-5-1 mark.
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The non-conference slate figures to be one of the toughest on record for the Aggies. All eight opponents finished in the Top 100 in the final RPI last season, with Arizona being the lowest rated team at 83. Marquette (6), UCF (13), Stephen F Austin (51), Arizona State (60), Illinois State (66), Florida Gulf Coast (67), Dayton (70) and Arizona finished last season with an average RPI of 52 compared to last year's eight non-conference opponents owning an average RPI of 101.
FACING CHAMPIONS
Texas A&M's non-conference schedule is challenging with six of the eight opponents having won their league's regular-season title in 2013. The defending league champions on the non-conference slate include Dayton (Atlantic 10), Stephen F. Austin (Southland), UCF (The American), Illinois State (Missouri Valley), FGCU (Atlantic Sun) and Marquette (Big East). All six teams were selected to repeat as 2014 champions in their league's respective preseason coaches' polls. The two non-conference opponents who did not win conference titles last year are Arizona and Arizona State, who both finished in the middle of the powerhouse Pac 12 Conference that produced national champion UCLA.
MONOGUE CLIMBING THE CAREER POINTS LIST
With her goal against Arizona State on Sunday, Kelley Monogue became the eighth player in school history to reach the 100-point plateau. The McKinney native is tied with Yvette Okler (1993-96) and Heather Ragsdale (1999-2002) for sixth place on the Aggies' career points list with 100. Monogue is four points shy of Kristen Strutz (2000-03) for fifth place on the list. Ashlee Pistorius (2004-07) owns the school record with 194 points followed by Bryn Blalack (1994-197) with 192. During her healthiest campaign, Monogue logged 47 points as a freshman in 2011. Recovering from a knee injury in 2012, the McKinney, Texas native logged 20 points. Last season, she registered 17 points as she still felt the effects of the earlier ailment.
MONOGUE CLIMBING THE CAREER GOALS LIST
With her goal against Illinois State, Kelley Monogue became the fifth player in school history to log 40 career goals. She is now up to 41 goals at Texas A&M. The McKinney native trails only Ashlee Pistorius (81 - 2004-07), Bryn Blalack (79 - 1994-97), Nicky Thrasher (57 - 1997-2001) and Kristen Koop (55 - 1993-96). Monogue was A&M's leading goal scorer as a freshman with 19 tallies in 2011. She added 10 in 2012 and six in 2013.
KUNZ CLIMBING THE CAREER GOALS LIST
Annie Kunz enters play with 32 career goals, tied with Yvette Okler (1993-96) for ninth place on the A&M all-time list. The next target on the list is Kristen Strutz (2000-03) who ranks eighth with 34 goals. Heather Ragsdale (1999-2002) is also within striking distance in seventh place with 37 goals. Kunz tallied 14 goals as a freshman and 13 as a sophomore. Hampered by an injury that held her out of four games and limited her to a reserve role most of the 2013 campaign, Kunz managed just five goals in 2013.
GUERRIERI RANKS AMONG THE NATION'S WINNINGEST COACHES
Texas A&M head coach G Guerrieri ranks among the top five in both winning percentage and victories among active Division I coaches. With a career record of 376-119-28 (.746), he ranks fifth in winning percentage (minimum five years as a Division I head coach) and victories, passing James Madison's David Lombardo (375) and William & Mary's John Daly (371) last season. Guerrieri ranks sixth all-time among NCAA Division I coaches in victories, trailing North Carolina's Anson Dorrance (766), Connecticut's Len Tsantiris (515), Florida's Becky Burleigh (423), Santa Clara's Jerry Smith (413) and Randy Waldrum (400), who left Notre Dame in the off-season to become head coach of the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League.
SERIES VS. FLORIDA GULF COAST
This marks the Aggies' first-ever match against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.
SCOUTING FGCU
Florida Gulf Coast is off to a 4-1-0 start on the season. The Eagles started the season with 2-1 victories over Arizona and Miami (Fla.). FGCU's lone loss was a 1-0 defeat at the hands of South Florida in the third match of the year. Last week, The Eagles posted wins over Florida International (2-0) and Murray State (4-0).
Tabby Tindell has scored six of the Eagles' 10 goals and has 14 points. Paulina Speckmaier, who transferred from Florida before ever playing a match for the Gators, has scored three goals. Shannen Wacker has five assists to pace the squad. Brittany Brown has played all 450 minutes in goal, posting a 0.60 goals-against average, 26 saves and two shutouts.
Florida Gulf Coast has won the last four Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season titles and advanced to the NCAA Championship in 2010, '11 and '12. Last season the Eagles finished 13-3-4 overall and 7-0-2 in the A-Sun. They return nine starters from 2013, including Tindell, who led FGCU with 15 goals and 34 points, Melissa Arnold, who paced the squad with eight assists, and Brown who posted nine shutouts.
VERSUS THE ATLANTIC SUN CONFERENCE
Texas A&M has never played a match against any of the current membership of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The eight-team membership of the A-Sun includes Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, North Florida, Northern Kentucky, USC-Upstate and Stetson.
SERIES VS. MARQUETTE
The Aggies are 2-0-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles with both matches coming in College Station. In September 1995, the Aggies toppled Marquette 7-4 in a match that included three overtime goals for the Maroon and White. In 2000, the squads met in the NCAA Championship First Round with the Aggies posting a 4-0 win.
SCOUTING MARQUETTE
Marquette has stumbled out of the blocks at 2-3-1 after starting the season ranked No. 15 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason poll. The Golden Eagles started the season with a 3-0 win against Loyola-Chicago before suffering one-goal losses to three Big 10 opponents, including Northwestern (1-0), Minnesota (1-0) and Nebraska (3-2). Last weekend, Marquette headed to Colorado Springs, toppling New Mexico (2-1) and playing Colorado College to a scoreless draw. Darian Powell and Jacie Jermier each have two goals for Marquette, accounting for four of the Golden Eagles' seven on the season.
The Golden Eagles welcome back 18 letterwinners and five starters return from the 2013 squad that posted an 18-4-0 mark and ran the table in the Big East with a 9-0-0 ledger. Marquette was upset by Western Michigan (1-0) in the first round of the NCAA Championship. Amanda Engel has played all 560 minutes in goal for Marquette, logging two shutouts, 19 saves and a 0.96 goals-against average.
Marquette entered the season with 18 consecutive winning seasons, which is tied for the 13th longest streak in NCAA Division I history and is tied for 10th-longest among active streaks in the nation. Last year, the Golden Eagles won their fifth consecutive Big East Conference title and second consecutive Big East Championship crown. Marquette has played in six consecutive NCAA Championships dating back to 2008. Overall, Marquette has 12 NCAA Championship appearances.
UP NEXT
The Aggies open up Southeastern Conference play next Thursday as A&M hosts the Tennessee Lady Vols in a 6 pm contest at Ellis Field.