Aggies Head to Vanderbilt for SEC Network Match on Friday
Oct 08, 2014 | Soccer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Aggies look to stay in the thick of the SEC regular-season title hunt as they head to Nashville, Tennessee for the midway point of the league slate on Friday. The Maroon and White battle the Vanderbilt Commodores in a 6 pm contest scheduled to be televised on the SEC Network.
Texas A&M enters the match tied with Missouri for third-place in the SEC with 12 points on a 4-1-0 ledger, three points behind Florida (15 points – 5-0-0 SEC). A victory would vault the Aggies over second-place Georgia in the standings as the Bulldogs are idle on the weekend with 13 points on a 4-1-1 SEC record.
The Aggies are hoping to continue the success they have experienced against Vanderbilt since joining the league in 2012. In the initial meeting two years ago, the Maroon and White scored a 4-0 win over the Commodores in Nashville. Last year, the A&M notched a 3-0 victory in College Station.
Shea Groom and Kelley Monogue are among the league leaders as A&M sports the only SEC duo with 20 points apiece. Groom has 24 points on 11 goals and two assists while Monogue has 21 points on eight goals and five assists.
WINNING
A win or tie on Friday night would guarantee the Aggies would finish the season with a winning record. A&M has finished with a winning record in all of its previous 21 seasons. The closes the Aggies have finished to .500 is the 14-8 (.636) mark they posted in 1998.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live stats for this weekend's matches will be on VUCommodores.com. Friday's match will be televised nationally on the SEC Network and will have video streaming available to SEC Network subscribers via SEC Network Plus as part of the WatchESPN app and ESPN3.com. Friday's match will be aired on RadioAggieland and 12thMan.com.
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WHERE ARE THE AGGIES RANKED?
In week seven, A&M is ranked No. 10 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Continental Tire poll, down one spot from a week ago. The Aggies are No. 12 in the Soccer America Top 25, No. 8 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 25 and No. 8 in the BennettRank poll.
LAST TIME OUT - KENTUCKY
The Aggies needed a goal in the 90th minute to pull out a 2-1 win against the Kentucky Wildcats at Ellis Field last Sunday. With the match appearing to be on its way to overtime, Bianca Brinson gathered a blocked shot in the penalty box and sent a shot in from 10 yards out with 52 seconds on the clock for the decisive tally. A&M scored the matches first goal in the 23rd minute when Janae Cousineau corralled a Meghan Streight free kick in the six-yard box and put the biscuit in the basket for the 1-0 lead. The Aggies' shutout bid was spoiled in the 77th minute when Arin Gilliland sent a cross into the six-yard box that deflected off an A&M defender and into the goal for the equalizer.
AGGIES NOTCH THEIR 200th WIN AT ELLIS FIELD
With their 2-1 win over Kentucky, the Aggies notched their 200th win at Ellis Field. Texas A&M owns a 200-30-5 (.862) 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 100-14-5 (.861) mark on the friendly pitch. Texas A&M is 207-30-5 (.866) all-time in College Station, going 7-0-0 in their one season at Old Tiger Field.
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.
NIP-AND-TUCK
Over the last two years the Aggies have fared well in tightly contest matches, going 15-4-3 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), Ole Miss (2-1) and Kentucky (2-1), but played Arizona to a 2-2 draw and suffered a 2-1 defeat at Arizona State and 1-0 loss to Florida.
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.
SERIES VS. VANDERBILT
The Aggies are 5-0-0 all-time against the Commodores, winning the five matches by a combined 20-4 margin. The Maroon and White have outscored Vanderbilt, 7-0, in the two matches played since A&M joined the SEC.
Last season, Texas A&M posted a 3-0 win in College Station, scoring all three goals in the first half. Karlie Mueller assisted on the first two goals, serving up a free kick to Shea Groom in the 17th minute and helping Bianca Brinson on a goal in the 26th minute. The Aggies wrapped up the scoring on an Allie Bailey penalty kick in the 37th minute. Jordan Day made three saves in the shutout.
In 2012, the Aggies sunk the Commodores early with three goals in the first 15 minutes of action, including a pair of Annie Kunz markers sandwiching a goal by Beth West, en route to a 4-0 win in Nashville. Leigh Edwards added a goal in the 51st minute and Day made one save in the shutout.
The squads met three times in the 1990s with A&M winning the initial contest, 4-2, in College Station in 1995. The Aggies won 4-1 in Nashville in 1996 and 5-1 in Klein, Texas in 1999.
SCOUTING VANDERBILT
The Commodores enter the contest with a 5-7-1 overall mark and a 0-4-1 ledger in league action. Vanderbilt started the season 5-4-0, but the Commodores have suffered a power shortage and haven't found the back of the net in the last four matches.
Vanderbilt won non-conference matches against Mercer (1-0), Cincinnati (3-2, ot), Memphis (2-1), Lipscomb (1-0) and Chattanooga (6-0). The Commodores dropped non-conference decisions against Rutgers (3-0), Rice (2-1, ot) and North Texas (1-0). In SEC play, Vanderbilt played Auburn to a 0-0 draw and lost matches against Georgia (3-1), Alabama (1-0), Arkansas (1-0) and Missouri (2-0).
Colby Ciarrocca leads Vanderbilt with five goals and Simone Charley has added three goals and three assists. Christiana Ogunsami has started all 13 matches in goal, posting a 1.25 goals-against average and three shutouts in 1,148 minutes.
Vanderbilt has advanced to the NCAA Championship on seven occasions, but has not made an appearance since 2006. The Commodores won SEC Tournament titles in 1993 and 1994 and finished as tournament runner-up in 1997 and 1998, but Vanderbilt has not made the tournament field since 2010 and has not gotten past the first round since 2005.
GUERRIERI RANKS AMONG THE NATION'S WINNINGEST COACHES
Texas A&M head coach G Guerrieri ranks among the leaders in winning percentage and victories among active Division I coaches. With a career record of 382-120-28 (.748), he ranks fifth in victories and sixth in winning percentage (minimum five years as a Division I head coach). Guerrieri ranks sixth all-time among NCAA Division I coaches in victories, trailing North Carolina's Anson Dorrance (772), Connecticut's Len Tsantiris (519), Florida's Becky Burleigh (429), Santa Clara's Jerry Smith (418) and Randy Waldrum (400), who left Notre Dame in the off-season to become head coach of the Houston Dash of the NWSL.
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 30 active players with 78 or more career points. Kelley Monogue ranks sixth among all active players with 105 points. Shea Groom ranks 13th with 92 points. Annie Kunz reports in at 26th with 78 points. The only other squad with multiple players on the list is Virginia with Morgan Brian in seventh with 104 points and Makenzy Doniak in 13th with 92 points.
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 14 active players in terms of matches played. Allie Bailey and Meghan Streight enter the weekend tied for fourth among all active players with 87 matches. Kelley Monogue is tied for eighth place with 86 matches under her belt. Leigh Edwards is tied with Florida's Annie Speese for ninth place with 85 matches. Annie Kunz and Bianca Brinson are tied for 11th place with 83 matches.
MONOGUE AMONG TOP ACTIVE PLAYERS IN GOALS SCORED
Kelley Monogue enters the week ranked sixth among all active players in goals scored with 43. Illinois State's Rachel Tejada leads the nation with 64, followed by Winthrop's Krystyna Freda with 55 and LaSalle's Kelsey Haycook with 50. Stephen F. Austin's Chelsea Raymond and Hofstra's Sam Scolarici are tied for fourth with 46 goals apiece.
SET PIECE SUCCESS
Eleven of the Aggies' 31 goals this season have come on set pieces, including four corner kicks, five free kicks, one throw-in and one penalty kick. A&M scored on a corner kick in each of the first four matches of the season. In their SEC opener, Shea Groom scored off a free kick and a throw-in en route to her second career hat trick.
CORNER KICK ASSISTS: Allie Bailey (2), Kelley Monogue (1) - Monogue also scored one goal unassisted on a corner kick.
FREE KICK ASSISTS: Karlie Mueller (2), Meghan Streight (2) - Monogue also scored one goal unassisted on a free kick.
THROW-IN ASSISTS: Bianca Brinson (1)
PENALTY KICKS: Shea Groom (1-1), Meghan Streight (0-1)
AGED ARSENAL
Seventy-five of the Aggies' 87 points and 29 of the 31 goals this season have been scored by seniors. Shea Groom (11), Kelley Monogue (8), Bianca Brinson (4), Allie Bailey (3), Leigh Edwards (1), Annie Kunz (1) and Meghan Streight (1) account for the 29 senior goals. Janae Cousineau and Haley Pounds have accounted for the Aggies' goals 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 third, respectively, in the SEC in goals scored and they're tied for seventh and 36th, respectively, nationally.
Groom (24 - 11 goals and 2 assists) and Monogue (21 - 8 goals and 5 assists) also rank first and third, respectively, in the SEC in points and they're tied for 11th and 25th, respectively, nationally. A&M is the only SEC squad with two or more 20-point scorers this season.
MULTIPLE GOAL GAMES
The Aggies have had players record multiple goals in a game five times this season, including Shea Groom's hat trick against Tennessee on September 18. Groom also added two goals in a 4-1 win over LSU. Kelley Monogue also has two multiple goal efforts, with two goals each against Dayton and UCF.
30-20 CLUB
Shea Groom is one of nine active players in the nation with 30 or more goals and 20 or more assists in their career. Kelley Monogue (43 goals, 19 assists) is one assist away from joining the group.
SHE'LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT
Bianca “B.B.” Brinson has a pair of last minute goals this season that have altered the results of Aggie games. In A&M's 2-2 tie against Arizona, Brinson scored her second goal of the match with 33 seconds remaining as the Maroon and White staved off defeat. In the Aggies' home match against Kentucky, Brinson tallied a goal with 52 second remaining to send A&M to a 2-1 victory.
RPI NOTES
The Aggies enter the weekend with a No. 5 ranking in the RPI released by the NCAA on October 6. All 13 of A&M's opponents are in the top 110, including 11 in the Top 100 and five in the Top 50. Texas A&M is 8-2-1 against RPI Top 100 squads and 2-2-1 against RPI Top 50.
The remainder of the Aggies' schedule offers challenges with five of the last six opponents ranked in the RPI Top 100, including three in the RPI Top 50. A&M will close out the regular-season against current No. 13 South Carolina and No. 20 Georgia. The lone squad that could weigh down A&M's RPI is Mississippi State which currently punches in at 207.
UP NEXT
The Aggies return to action next Friday when they host the Auburn Tigers in a 7 pm match at Ellis Field. It marks the start of back-to-back weekends where the Maroon and White play one match at home and one match on the road.
