COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies host the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in an exhibition match at Ellis Field Saturday at 7 pm. The contest serves as a final audition for an Aggie squad that includes 10 newcomers, including nine freshmen with an inflammable enthusiasm.
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The two-time defending SEC champions are buoyed by a cast of 11 returning lettermen which includes 2014 All-SEC second team midfielder Janae Cousineau and 2014 SEC All-Freshman defender McKayla Paulson.
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Cousineau, Kristi Leonard and Karlie Mueller represent one of the winningest active senior classes in the nation. The trio have enjoyed a record of 59-13-5 over their three years, the fourth-best win total in the nation. Florida State's seniors are 67-7-4, followed by Virginia (65-9-3) and UCLA (61-5-7).
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The match will be available digitally on mobile devices and connected-TVs whose cable/satellite providers offer SEC Network+ through WatchESPN or SECSports.com.
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The Aggies are hosting an exhibition match for the first time since 2010. The last four seasons, Texas A&M played three road exhibitions (1-1-1) and did not play an exhibition in 2012. In 2010 the Maroon and White hosted Rice, posting a 3-0 win. The Aggies traveled to Orlando for a scrimmage at UCF, winning 2-1. The last two seasons, A&M played preseason matches in southern California drawing at UC Irvine (0-0) in 2013 and dropping a 3-1 decision at preseason No. 1 UCLA in 2014.
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Texas A&M and Tulsa have met in matches that counted in the standings on three occasions with the Aggies owning a 3-0 edge. In 1994, the Maroon and White won the initial meeting in College Station, 1-0. The Aggies logged a 5-2 win against the Golden Hurricane in Tulsa in 1996. Texas A&M won the most recent contest, 3-0, at Ellis Field in 2007.
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Tulsa is entering their second season in the American Athletic Conference. In 2014, the Golden Hurricane were 11-8-2 and finished fifth in the AAC with a 4-4-1 mark. Tulsa returns all 11 starters from last season and 25 of 26 letterwinners. The leading returnee is Rachel Thun who was named AAC Rookie of the Year, All-AAC First Team and AAC All-Rookie in 2014, logging a team-high eight goals along with seven assists for 23 points on the year.
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Head Coach Kyle Cussen is in his eighth-year at Tulsa, owning a 67-56-20 career mark. He was also head coach at Oral Roberts for 10 seasons (1998-2007), posting a 110-74-15 mark at ORU.
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The Aggies open up the regular-season slate next Friday, traveling to Houston for a 7 pm match at Rice.
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The two-time defending SEC champions are buoyed by a cast of 11 returning lettermen which includes 2014 All-SEC second team midfielder Janae Cousineau and 2014 SEC All-Freshman defender McKayla Paulson.
Â
Cousineau, Kristi Leonard and Karlie Mueller represent one of the winningest active senior classes in the nation. The trio have enjoyed a record of 59-13-5 over their three years, the fourth-best win total in the nation. Florida State's seniors are 67-7-4, followed by Virginia (65-9-3) and UCLA (61-5-7).
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The match will be available digitally on mobile devices and connected-TVs whose cable/satellite providers offer SEC Network+ through WatchESPN or SECSports.com.
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The Aggies are hosting an exhibition match for the first time since 2010. The last four seasons, Texas A&M played three road exhibitions (1-1-1) and did not play an exhibition in 2012. In 2010 the Maroon and White hosted Rice, posting a 3-0 win. The Aggies traveled to Orlando for a scrimmage at UCF, winning 2-1. The last two seasons, A&M played preseason matches in southern California drawing at UC Irvine (0-0) in 2013 and dropping a 3-1 decision at preseason No. 1 UCLA in 2014.
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Texas A&M and Tulsa have met in matches that counted in the standings on three occasions with the Aggies owning a 3-0 edge. In 1994, the Maroon and White won the initial meeting in College Station, 1-0. The Aggies logged a 5-2 win against the Golden Hurricane in Tulsa in 1996. Texas A&M won the most recent contest, 3-0, at Ellis Field in 2007.
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Tulsa is entering their second season in the American Athletic Conference. In 2014, the Golden Hurricane were 11-8-2 and finished fifth in the AAC with a 4-4-1 mark. Tulsa returns all 11 starters from last season and 25 of 26 letterwinners. The leading returnee is Rachel Thun who was named AAC Rookie of the Year, All-AAC First Team and AAC All-Rookie in 2014, logging a team-high eight goals along with seven assists for 23 points on the year.
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Head Coach Kyle Cussen is in his eighth-year at Tulsa, owning a 67-56-20 career mark. He was also head coach at Oral Roberts for 10 seasons (1998-2007), posting a 110-74-15 mark at ORU.
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The Aggies open up the regular-season slate next Friday, traveling to Houston for a 7 pm match at Rice.