COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies embark on a pivotal weekend as the Maroon and White host two of the teams in the thick of the hunt for the SEC regular-season title.
The Aggies are tied with No. 6 Florida atop the SEC standings with identical 3-0-0 marks in league play and the two regular-season co-champions from a year ago square off in a 7 pm match on Friday night at Ellis Field. Although the match that is fit for national television is not being televised, it can be seen by way of video streaming by SEC Network subscribers on SEC Network Plus via the WatchESPN app and ESPN3.com. On Sunday morning, A&M has a home match against fourth-place Kentucky (2-1-0 SEC) with the 11 am contest set to be televised on ESPNU.
Shea Groom enters the weekend as one of the hottest offensive players in the nation, logging a goal in each of the last four matches and amassing a total of seven in that span. Two weeks ago, Groom earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors with a hat trick against Tennessee and last week the senior posted better offensive stats on the road than the league's selection for offensive player of the week registered at home, logging a total of three goals in wins at LSU and Ole Miss.
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 this weekend's matches will be on 12thMan.com, respectively. Friday's matches will have video streaming available to SEC Network subscribers via SEC Network Plus as part of the WatchESPN app and ESPN3.com. Sunday's match will be televised nationally on ESPNU and will also have video streaming available on the WatchESPN app and ESPN3.com. Friday's match WILL NOT be aired on RadioAggieland or the ZoneHD due to unforeseen circumstances. Broadcasts will resume for Sunday's match with free live audio on RadioAggieland and 12thMan.com.
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WHERE ARE THE AGGIES RANKED?
In week six, A&M is ranked No. 9 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Continental Tire poll, up one spot from a week ago. The Aggies are No. 11 in the Soccer America Top 25, No. 6 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 25 and No. 7 in the BennettRank poll.
LAST TIME OUT - OLE MISS
The Aggies rallied late to pull victory from the jaws of defeat in a 2-1 win at Ole Miss last Sunday. After missing out on numerous opportunities to score early, the Maroon and White fell victim to a corner kick goal to fall behind 1-0 in the 62nd minute. Allie Bailey knotted the match with a howitzer from 20 yards out into the upper right 90 in the 72nd minute and Shea Groom, scoring in her fourth consecutive match, notched the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute, putting it home from a near-impossible angle. Groom beat a defender into the penalty box from the left side, then worked to the left corner of the six-yard box, where she launched a shot into the far right net. Ole Miss had a free kick just outside the penalty box in the waning moments that resulted in two shots off the crossbar, but the Rebels couldn't put the equalizer home and A&M went back to College Station with their fifth straight win and a perfect 3-0-0 mark in SEC play.
ELLIS FIELD ADVANTAGE
Texas A&M owns a 199-29-5 (.865) 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 99-13-5 (.868) 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 206-29-5 (.869) all-time record in College Station. The win tally includes a 199-29-5 (.864) mark at Ellis Field from 1994-2013 and a 7-0 mark at Old Tiger Field in 1993. The Maroon and White are 99-13-5 (.868) at home since 2005.
NIP-AND-TUCK
Over the last two years the Aggies have fared well in tightly contest matches, going 14-3-3 in matches decided by one goal or less. This season, A&M has posted one-goal wins over Dayton (4-3), Stephen F. Austin (1-0), Florida Gulf Coast (2-1) and Ole Miss (2-1), but played Arizona to a 2-2 draw and suffered a 2-1 defeat at Arizona State.
In 2013, Texas A&M played 14 matches decided by one goal or less, posting a 10-2-2 record in those contests. Nine of the Aggies' last 10 wins were decided by one goal, including three victories at the SEC Tournament and their NCAA Championship first round win against Utah. A&M's only blemishes in close matches were 1-0 losses against Duke and Tennessee and a 0-0 draw against Baylor. The Aggies also played to a 2-2 draw against Texas Tech in the NCAA Championship second round, but advanced to the third round on penalty kicks.
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The non-conference slate was 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 was challenging with six of the eight opponents having won their league's regular-season title in 2013. The Aggies went 6-0 against the champions, outscoring the crop, 17-5. The defending league champions on the non-conference slate included 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
Kelley Monogue currently ranks sixth on the Aggies' career points list with 105. Against LSU, Monogue scored a goal to pass Kristen Strutz (104 - 2000-03) for fifth place on the list. She has a bit of work to do to catch Nicky Thrasher (140 - 1997-2001) for fourth 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 43 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.
GROOM AND KUNZ CLIMBING THE CAREER GOALS LIST
Shea Groom enters play with 36 career goals, eighth on A&M's all-time list. Annie Kunz enters play with 33 career goals for 10th place on the A&M all-time list. The next target on the list for the Kunz is Kristen Strutz (2000-03) who ranks ninth with 34 goals. Heather Ragsdale (1999-2002) in seventh place with 37 goals is within striking distance for Groom. 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. Groom was limited by injury in her freshman campaign, with six goals in just 10 matches and added five as a sophomore, but she's come on strong the last two seasons with 14 goals in 2013 and eight this year.
GUERRIERI RANKS AMONG THE NATION'S WINNINGEST COACHES
Texas A&M head coach G Guerrieri ranks among the active leaders in winning percentage and victories among active Division I coaches. With a career record of 381-119-28 (.748), he ranks fifth in winning percentage (minimum five years as a Division I head coach) and in victories, passing James Madison's David Lombardo (377) and William & Mary's John Daly (376) last season. Guerrieri ranks sixth all-time among NCAA Division I coaches in victories, trailing North Carolina's Anson Dorrance (771), Connecticut's Len Tsantiris (519), Florida's Becky Burleigh (427), Santa Clara's Jerry Smith (417) 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
The Aggies own a 5-4-0 edge in the all-time series against Florida and the series against the Gators is the most-played matchup for A&M against the old guard of the SEC, trailing only the 21 contest the Maroon and White played against former Big 12 foe Missouri.
Last season, the teams squared off twice with Florida posting a 2-0 win in Gainesville during the regular-season and A&M exacting revenge by snapping the Gators' nine-match win streak with a 2-1 victory in the SEC Tournament championship match in Orange Beach, Alabama. After a scoreless first half, Savannah Jordan scored both goals for Florida in the regular-season win. In the SEC Tournament championship match, Florida took a 1-0 lead into halftime on an Annie Speese goal, but Shea Groom tied the match in the 56th minute and Liz Keester hit the game-winner in the 84th minute.
Florida won the first match between the two teams as SEC brethren in 2012, 2-1 in College Station and bested the Aggies 3-2 in a neutral site meeting in Knoxville in 2011. The Maroon and White won the first two matches of the series with a 3-2 victory in Gainesville in 1995 and a 2-1 win in College Station in 1996. A&M was also victorius in Gainesville in 2000 (3-1) and 2008 (2-1 - NCAA Tournament. Florida triumphed in College Station, 1-0, in overtime during the 1998 campaign.
SCOUTING FLORIDA
Florida enters Friday's match tied with A&M for first in the SEC with a 3-0-0 league ledger. UF is 8-2-0 overall and is riding a four-game win streak. In SEC play, the Gators have 2-1 wins over Alabama and then-No. 22 Georgia and a 3-1 victory against Missouri. Florida has been tested mightily in non-conference play, scoring wins over Miami (3-0), South Florida (2-0), Oklahoma State (4-0), then-No. 2 Florida State (2-1) and New Mexico (4-0) will dropping decisions to Oklahoma (2-1) and then-No. 4 Stanford (1-0, ot).
NSCAA All-America second-teamer and National Freshman of the Year selection Savannah Jordan leads the Florida offense with 17 points on seven goals and three assists during her sophomore campaign. Brooke Sharp (3), Havana Solaun (2), Annie Speese (2), Jillian Graff (2) and Betsey Middleton (2) have each scored multiple goals in a diversified attack that has 11 players in the goals column on the year..
Taylor Burke has seen a wealth of the action in goal, starting all 10 matches and amassing two shutouts and 0.70 goals-against average in 768 minutes.
Florida finished 18-5-1 last season and won a share of the SEC regular-season title. The Gators toppled Jacksonville, 2-0, in the first round of the NCAA Championship before falling to Duke, 1-0.
UF has appeared in 17 NCAA Championships in the first 19 years of the program. In 1998, Florida won the NCAA Championship with a team that featured Danielle Fotopoulos, Heather Mitts, Sarah Yohe, Keisha Bell, Abby Wambach and Meredith Flaherty. The squad toppled James Madison (5-1), Northwestern (1-0), Penn State (3-1) and Santa Clara (1-0) en route to the College Cup final where they bested North Carolina, 1-0. The Gators other College Cup appearance came in 2001 when they lost to Santa Clara (3-2, ot) in a semifinal match. Florida has won a share of 13 league titles and have played in the SEC Tournament championship match in 15 of the 19 seasons, winning 10 crowns.
SERIES VS. KENTUCKY
The Aggies own a 1-0-1 edge in the all-time series against Kentucky. A&M defeated the then-No. 9 Wildcats, 3-2, in overtime in an NCAA Championship second round match in Lexington. The Aggies and Wildcats played to a 2-2 draw in their only meeting as SEC brethren in 2012 and Kentucky is the only SEC squad A&M has not beaten since joining the league. In the 2012 confrontation, the teams played to a scoreless draw and then Kelli Hubly and Kelley Monogue alternated scoring two goals apiece with Monogue's second tally tying the match in the 84th minute.
SCOUTING KENTUCKY
The Wildcats enter the weekend tied for fourth place in the league with a 2-1-0 mark and Kentucky is 7-3-0 overall. In league play, Kentucky has a 3-0 win over Mississippi State and a 2-1 victory over Auburn. The Wildcats dropped a 2-1 decision in double overtime at Arkansas. In non-conference play, Kentucky has wins against Seattle (2-1, ot), Francis Marion (5-0), Ohio (3-0), Louisville (2-0) and Morehead State and losses at Washington (4-1) and then-No. 12 Pepperdine (3-2, ot).
The Kentucky offense is led by NSCAA All-America third-teamer Arin Gilliland who has 18 points on the season with five goals and eight assists. Michaela Dooley has 12 points with three goals and six assists. Jade Klump has added five goals and Courtney Raetzman has chipped in with four. Two netminders have split action with Taylor Braun starting eight matches and posting a 1.26 goals-against average and two shutouts in 716 minutes. Ayanna Parker has played in four matches and earned two starts, in Kentucky's last two matches, logging a 0.44 goals-against average and one shutout in 206 minutes.
Last season, the Wildcats finished 14-7-1 overall and posted fifth in the SEC with a 7-4 mark. Kentucky advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship, posting a 3-1 win against Ohio State before falling to eventual national champion UCLA, 3-0.
Kentucky is searching for its first-ever SEC regular-season title. The Wildcats won SEC Tournament crowns in 1995 and 2006. Kentucky has appeared in 10 NCAA Championships, including each of the last three.
SEC PRESEASON POLL
Entering their third season in the SEC, the Texas A&M Aggies were selected second in the 2014 SEC Preseason Soccer Coaches' Poll. The Aggies were edged out by the Florida Gators in voting by the league's 14 head coaches. Texas A&M received 162 points (six first-place votes) and trailed only the Gators, who accumulated 164 points, including eight first-place votes. Points were compiled on a 13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis though each coach was not allowed to vote for their own squad.
THREE THIRTY-GOAL SCORERS
For the first time since the end of the 1996 campaign, the Aggies are fielding three players with 30 or more career goals. Kelley Monogue leads the triumvirate with 43 goals. Shea Groom recently went over the 30-goal mark and has scored seven goals in the last four matches to increase her career tally to 36. Annie Kunz has 33 goals to round out the trio. scoring her first goal of the season in A&M's 4-1 win over LSU.
HIGH-SCORING TRIO
The Aggies roster boasts three of the 25 active players with 75 or more career points. Kelley Monogue ranks fifth among all active players with 105 points. Shea Groom ranks 12th with 92 points. Annie Kunz reports in at 24th with 78 points. The only other squad with multiple players on the list is Virginia with Morgan Brian in sixth with 12 points and Makenzy Doniak in 13th with 91 points.
AGED ARSENAL
Seventy-two of the Aggies' 82 points and 28 of the 29 goals this season have been scored by seniors. Shea Groom (11), Kelley Monogue (8), Bianca Brinson (3), Allie Bailey (3), Leigh Edwards (1), Annie Kunz (1) and Meghan Streight (1) account for the 28 senior goals. Haley Pounds has accounted for the Aggies' lone goal by a non-senior.
ONE-TWO PUNCH
The Aggies boast one of the most prominent one-two scoring punches in the nation this season. Shea Groom (11) and Kelley Monogue (8) rank first and second, respectively, in the SEC in goals scored and they're tied for fifth and 17th, respectively, nationally. The Aggies are one of only three schools to have multiple players with eight or more goals on the season, joined by East Tennessee State (Hannah Short - 16; Simona Koren - 9) and DePaul (Abby Reed - 8; Elise Wyatt - 8).
Groom (24 - 11 goals and 2 assists) and Monogue (21 - 8 goals and 5 assists) also rank first and second, respectively, in the SEC in points and they're tied for sixth and 14th, respectively, nationally. East Tennessee State is the only other squad with two players with 20 or more points (Hannah Short - 38; Simona Koren - 21).
UP NEXT
The Aggies head to Nashville next Thursday for a 7 pm match against the Vanderbilt Commodores in a match to be televised on the SEC Network.