Match Day Preview: Arkansas

Friday, October 23

College Station

7:00 PM

Texas A&M

Arkansas

Tickets

Oct 22, 2015 | Soccer

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies open a two-match homestand with a 7 pm contest against the Arkansas Razorbacks Friday at Ellis Field. With three matches remaining in the regular-season, the Texas A&M Aggies find themselves entrenched in an epic title chase that finds six teams within one point of first place. Florida, Missouri and South Carolina are in a three-way tie for first place with 16 points (5-2-1) with A&M, Auburn and Ole Miss tied fourth place with 15 points (5-3-0). The Maroon and White open the weekend against a hard-luck Arkansas squad that has played much of its season without two of their top scoring threats and has suffered one-goal defeats in all six of the SEC losses.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Both matches are available digitally on mobile devices, tablets, PCs and connect-TVs for SEC Network subscribers whose cable/satellite packages allow access to SEC Network+ through the WatchESPN app and SECSports.com. The matches can be heard on the RadioAggieland app, RadioAggieland.com and 12thMan.com. Friday's match may be heard on Fusion FM - HD2 on HD radio at 95.1-2 FM locally. Sunday's match can be heard on SportsRadio 1150 The Zone and 102.7 FM in Bryan-College Station.

CONFERENCE WINNING
The Aggies have finished with a winning record in league play in all 19 years it was aligned with a conference. The closest the Aggies have finished to the .500 mark in league play is the 5-3-2 (.600) record they posted in Big 12 play in 2003. In 19 seasons of league action, A&M has finished first or second in the conference standings on 17 occasions with the other finishes coming in 1998 (3rd Big 12 - 7-2) and 2003 (5th Big 12 - 5-3-2).

THE STONEWALL AT ELLIS FIELD
Texas A&M has stonewalled the opponents this season at Ellis Field. The Aggies are 8-0-0 with six shutouts at home and the Maroon and White are outscoring opponents 24-2 at the friendly confines for a 0.24 goals-against average. The stout defense is across the board where the team has allowed just 59 shots (7.4 per game) and is amplified in the backline where the Aggies have allowed just 22 shots-on-goal (2.75 per game). The goalkeepers have been equally impressive making 20 saves for a .909 save percentage. One of the yielded goals was a penalty kick against Abilene Christian.

ELLIS FIELD WIN STREAK
The Aggies own a 13-match home win streak. The stretch includes an 8-0-0 mark at Ellis Field in 2015 and four wins at the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Texas A&M is also unbeaten in their last 16 matches at Ellis Field, going 15-0-1 during the span.

The match is the sixth-longest in school history. 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 9/18/2014 15
             6   10/30/2014 to current    13
                   * - first seven matches of streak played at Old Tiger Stadium

MAKING ELLIS FIELD A FORTRESS
The Aggies are 30-1-1 in their last 32 home matches dating back to September 13, 2013. In the 32 matches, the Maroon and White are outscoring opponents 97-24, including 16 shutouts.

MORE ELLIS FIELD NOTES
Texas A&M owns a 214-30-6 (.868) 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 114-14-6 (.873) mark on the friendly pitch. Texas A&M is 221-30-6 (.872) all-time in College Station, going 7-0-0 in their one season at Old Tiger Field.

LAST TIME OUT - KENTUCKY
The Aggies snapped a three-game road losing string as they went into Lexington and notched a 1-0 win against the Wildcats. Freshman Ally Watt tallied the match's lone goal with 4:58 remaining in the first half, launching a shot, from 18 yards out, to the left of Kentucky's goalkeeper. The match was a defensive battle with the teams managing just five shots-on-goal. Mia Hummel made two saves to record her third shutout in four starts.

SERIES VS. ARKANSAS
The Aggies are 5-1-0 all-time against the Razorbacks. Texas A&M's first-ever soccer match was against Arkansas, a 2-1 overtime loss in Plano, Texas on September 6, 1993. The Maroon and White won matches in Dallas in 1994 (3-1) and in Plano in 1995 (8-3).

Since joining the SEC, Texas A&M is 3-0-0 against the Razorbacks. In 2012, the Aggies posted a 3-1 win in Fayetteville with Kelley Monogue logging two goals to give A&M a 2-0 lead. After Arkansas' Allie Chandler trimming the lead to 2-1, Meghan Streight put the game away with a goal in the 77th minute. In 2013 in College Station, Arkansas gave A&M a scare but the Aggies prevailed 4-3 in overtime. After Liz Keester scored in the third minute, Arkansas scored on three corner kicks to take a 3-1 lead 24 minutes into the contest. Rachel Lenz and Janae Cousineau tied the game to push it to overtime and Keester added a goal in the sixth minute of overtime to seal the deal. Last season, Cousineau and Annie Kunz scored goals in the 64th and 71st minute, respectively for the 2-0 lead and the Aggies fought off a late charge to win 2-1.

SCOUTING ARKANSAS
The Razorbacks are looking to make a late charge to punch a ticket to the SEC Tournament. Arkansas needs to run the table and find help from the outside as they enter the weekend's match six points out of the 10th spot in the standings with a 1-6-1 league mark. It's been a hard-luck league campaign for Arkansas with all six of their SEC losses decided by one goal. The Razorbacks' win came against Georgia (2-1) and they played then-No. 10 South Carolina to a 2-2 draw. Arkansas' SEC losses have come against Tennessee (1-0), Mississippi State (2-1), Kentucky (2-1), Ole Miss (2-1 - 2ot), Vanderbilt (1-0) and LSU (1-0). Arkansas has non-conference wins against Stephen F. Austin (4-1), TCU (1-0), Yale (4-1) and UMKC (1-0).

A rash of injuries has prevented Arkansas from being near the top of the table. One of the biggest injuries was suffered by forward Ashleigh Ellenwood. She has missed the last eight matches, but her five goals in the first seven matches still ranks second on the team, just one goal behind Claire Kelly who has 15 points on six goals and three assists. Midfielder Lindsay Mayo has also missed the last eight matches and the offense has struggled with just eight goals combined without Ellenwood and Mayo. Jordan Harris and Cameron Carter have split the 1,392 minutes in goal for Arkansas. Harris has played 714 minutes, logging 22 saves and a 1.51 goals-against average. Carter has logged 678 minutes, registering 22 saves, a 1.33 goals-against average and one shutout.

TEXAS A&M OWNS LONGEST ACTIVE 15-WIN SEASON STREAK
Texas A&M entered the 2015 campaign with 11 consecutive 15-win seasons, the longest active stretch in Division I. The only other team to enter the season with a double-digit stretch was Florida State with 10 consecutive 15-win seasons. Stanford (9) and Florida (8) were the only other schools with more than five consecutive 15-win campaigns. In their first 22 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 22, set last season with a 22-3-2 mark.

        CONSECUTIVE 15-WIN SEASONS ENTERING 2015
        Texas A&M            11
        Florida State          10
        Stanford                    9
        Florida                        8

RETURNING OFFENSE
The Aggies return just seven of 71 goals (9.9 percent) from last season. Janae Cousineau accounts for six of the returning goals and Haley Pounds notched one goal in 2014. A&M returns 14 of 60 assists from 2014. Karlie Mueller had the highest total among the returnees with five. Cousineau, Pounds, McKayla Paulson and Mikaela Harvey each notched two assists in 2014. Cousineau's 14 points last season is the most among the returnees.

Texas A&M's 11 returnees combined for just seven goals and 14 assists (28 points) during the 2014 campaign. Through 16 games, the same 11 returnees have notched 22 goals and 19 assists (63 points).

WINNING
With their win against Alabama on October 9, the Aggies guaranteed themselves their 23rd consecutive winning season - the entirety of their life as a program. The closest the Aggies have finished to the .500 mark is the 14-8 (.636) record they posted in 1998.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
The Aggies welcomed nine freshmen to the squad this season and they've made the immediate impact that was necessary for a strong start to the season. Kate Hajdu leads the group with 12 starts, followed by Emily Bates with 11 and Ally Watt and Brittany Crabtree with starts eight apiece. Mia Hummel has five starts in goal for the Aggies and Kendall Ritchie started the Kentucky game in place of Karlie Mueller. Amethyst Kelly, Claudette Lassandro and Margaret Schmidt have all seen relief action.

Hajdu was named the SEC Freshman of the Week the opening weekend and Bates earned the honor for the fourth week of action. Bates ranks second on the team with 15 points on five goals and five assists. Hajdu has three goals and three assists. Ally Watt has four goals on the year, all in SEC play. Crabtree has two goals and one assist. Lassandro has one goal and Schmidt has one assist on the season.

GUERRIERI REACHES 400-WIN MILESTONE
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 406-125-29 (.751), he ranks fifth in victories and sixth in winning percentage (minimum five years as a Division I head coach). Guerrieri ranks fifth all-time among NCAA Division I coaches in victories, trailing only North Carolina's Anson Dorrance (790), Connecticut's Len Tsantiris (539), Florida's Becky Burleigh (447) and Santa Clara's Jerry Smith (434).

SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORES
After getting a year of seasoning under the auspices of last year's nine-player senior class, Texas A&M's four sophomores came out like gang busters this season. The quartet accounted for 17 goals and 10 assists for 44 points through the first nine weekends. Haley Pounds has produced 22 points with nine goals and four assists, including her first career hat trick against Abilene Christian. She was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week the opening week when she logged one goal and four assists. After going without a goal in her first 22 career matches, Mikaela Harvey has scored a goal in four of the last 12 contests. McKayla Paulson notched the first two goals of her career, both in the win at Rice, and added a goal against Mississippi State and assists against UC Irvine and North Texas. Stephanie Malherbe logged her first career goal in the 2-1 win against then No. 10 Florida and has added three assists. The four sophomores all played at least 1,300 of the 1,459 minutes on the season with Paulson playing every second of the matches.

FILLING THE HOLE IN GOAL
With the exit of Jordan Day and Renee McDermott, the Aggies lost all but 31 of their goalkeeper minutes from the last four seasons. Day and McDermott played every minute of 2012 and 2013. In 2011, Megan Majewski played 17 minutes in goal. Last season, Taylor Saucier played 14 minutes in Texas A&M's NCAA Championship first round win against Houston Baptist, for the only action in her career entering the 2015 campaign.

On the season, the Aggie goalkeepers have combined to register a 0.93 goals-against average and seven shutouts. Saucier has started 11 contests, logging 920 minutes. She owns a 1.08 goals-against average, 35 saves and two shutouts. Saucier's goals-against average when PKs are taken out of the equation, stands at 0.88. Mia Hummel has seen action in eight matches, including five starts. She has yielded four goals, made 16 saves and owns shutouts against Mississippi State, Alabama and Kentucky. The pair combined to record shutouts against Northwestern State and UC Irvine.

MUELLER AMONG ACTIVE LEADERS IN GAMES PLAYED
After missing last Friday's match against Kentucky due to a vicious elbow to the head sustained against Auburn, Texas A&M senior Karlie Mueller fell to 15th in the nation and fifth among SEC players in career matches played with 83 caps. She trails on Florida's Christen Westphal (87) and Claire Falknor (84) and South Carolina's Stevi Parker (84) and Caroline Gray (84) among SEC players. Mueller has made 71 career starts and owns 19 career assists, including 10 as a sophomore in 2013. Her first career goal came in her 6,047th minute of play, scoring a golden goal in the 109th minute of a 2-1 victory against North Texas.

PAULSON EARNS EARLY IRONMAN HONORS
Defender McKayla Paulson leads the Aggies in minutes played, working the entirety of the first 16 matches for 1,459 minutes of play. Grace Wright (1,440), Ashlynn Harryman (1,383), Haley Pounds (1,363), Mikaela Harvey (1,343) and Stephanie Malherbe (1,317) are all averaging over 80 minutes per Texas A&M match.

SUCCESSFUL SENIORS
Janae Cousineau, Kristi Leonard and Karlie Mueller represent one of the winningest active senior classes in the nation. The trio have enjoyed a record of 71-17-5 over their four years, the third-best win total in the nation. Florida State's seniors are 78-8-5, followed by Virginia 75-9-4.

NIP-AND-TUCK
Over the last three seasons, the Aggies are 25-6-4 in games decided by one game or less. This season, the Maroon and White are 4-2-0 in games decided by one goal or less. Last season, Texas A&M went 11-2-2 in one-goal games, including a pair of 2-1 victories in their run to the College Cup. The Aggies went 10-2-2 in the nail-biters in 2012, including all three of their wins en route to winning their first-ever SEC Tournament title.

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UP NEXT
The Aggies return to action Sunday when the host No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels in a 6 pm match at Ellis Field.