Match Day Preview: Ole Miss

Sunday, October 25

College Station

6:00 PM

Texas A&M

Ole Miss

Tickets

Oct 24, 2015 | Soccer

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies host the No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels in the regular-season home finale Sunday at 6 pm. With two matches remaining in the regular-season, the Texas A&M Aggies find themselves entrenched in an epic title chase that finds five teams within one point of first place. Florida and Missouri are tied for first place with 19 points (6-2-1) with A&M, Auburn and Ole Miss tied for third place with 18 points (6-3-0). The last two matches between the Aggies and Rebels have come down to the wire with Texas A&M notching 2-1 wins.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Sunday's match is 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 match can be heard on the RadioAggieland app, RadioAggieland.com and 12thMan.com. Sunday's match can be heard on SportsRadio 1150 The Zone and 102.7 FM in Bryan-College Station.

SCORELESS STREAKS AT ELLIS FIELD
Both the Texas A&M and freshman goalkeeper Mia Hummel have scoreless streaks at Ellis Field as the Aggies head into their final regular-season home match. Texas A&M has not allowed a goal in the last 328:18 at Ellis Field, with the last opponent tally coming early in the second half against North Texas. Hummel has not allowed a goal in her 359 minutes of action at Ellis Field, which includes shutouts against Mississippi State, Alabama and Arkansas.

CONFERENCE WINNING
With their win against Arkansas on Sunday, the Maroon and White guaranteed themselves a winning record in league action for the 20th consecutive season. The Aggies have finished with a winning record in league play in all 19 prior 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 9-0-0 with seven shutouts at home and the Maroon and White are outscoring opponents 25-2 at the friendly confines for a 0.22 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 14-match home win streak. The stretch includes an 9-0-0 mark at Ellis Field in 2015 and four wins at the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Texas A&M is also unbeaten in their last 17 matches at Ellis Field, going 16-0-1 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                    14
                                * - first seven matches of streak played at Old Tiger Stadium

MAKING ELLIS FIELD A FORTRESS
The Aggies are 31-1-1 in their last 33 home matches dating back to September 13, 2013. In the 33 matches, the Maroon and White are outscoring opponents 98-24, including 17 shutouts.

MORE ELLIS FIELD NOTES
Texas A&M owns a 215-30-6 (.869) 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 115-14-6 (.874) mark on the friendly pitch. Texas A&M is 222-30-6 (.872) all-time in College Station, going 7-0-0 in their one season at Old Tiger Field.

LAST TIME OUT – OLE MISS
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. OLE MISS
The Aggies are 3-0-0 all-time against Ole Miss with two of the victories coming against ranked Rebels. In 2012, the Aggies traveled to Oxford to play then-No. 22 Ole Miss and came away with a 4-0 win. Annie Kunz knocked in a pair of goals and Shea Groom and Allie Bailey each scored once while Jordan Day made seven saves in the shutout. Last season, the Aggies scored a 2-1 win over then-No. 23 Ole Miss with Bianca Brinson scoring an unassisted goal and Groom punching in a penalty kick. Last season, the Aggies registered a come-from-behind, 2-1, win in Oxford. Maddie Friedmann scored in the 62nd minute to give Ole Miss a 1-0 lead. Bailey scored an equalizer in the 72nd minute and Groom tacked on the game-winner in the 79th minute.

SCOUTING OLE MISS
The Rebels are deeply immersed in the SEC title hunt entering the final two matches of the season. Ole Miss is tied with two others for third place in the league standings, one point behind co-leaders Florida and Missouri. The Rebels are 12-3-2 overall and 6-3-0 in SEC action. Ole Miss has league wins over Alabama (3-2), LSU (2-0), Arkansas (2-1 - 2ot), South Carolina (2-0), Auburn (2-0) and Tennessee (2-0). The Rebels' league losses have come against Kentucky (4-2), Florida (4-1) and Missouri (2-1). Ole Miss boasts non-conference wins against Boise State (4-0), Louisiana-Lafayette (3-1), Austin Peay (5-0), Little Rock (1-0 - ot), Louisville (2-1) and Memphis (2-1 - ot) and own draws against Florida Gulf Coast (0-0) and UCF (2-2).

The Rebels' defense has been tough to penetrate in the first half, yielding just five goals and outscoring opponents, 15-5. Ole Miss has fared well in overtime affairs, going 3-0-2.

The Rebels feature a two-headed scoring threat, featuring CeCe Kizer and Addie Forbus. Kizer has a team-high 12 goals and Forbus has added 10. They entered the weekend as the only duo in the league with more than 10 goals apiece. Gretchen Harknett has 13 points with three goals and seven assists. Marnie Merritt has started all 16 matches in goal, logging 1,561 of the 1,502 minutes. She owns a 1.04 goals-against average with 65 saves and six shutouts.

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 17 games, the same 11 returnees have notched 23 goals and 20 assists (66 points).

AGGIES SET SINGLE-SEASON RECORD WIN TOTAL IN 2014
With their 2-1 win against Notre Dame in the NCAA Championship third round, the Aggies set a new school record with their 21st victory of the season, eclipsing the 20 wins amassed in 2002. That season, the Aggies finished 20-5-1, advancing to the NCAA Championship quarterfinal round. In 2002, teams were credited with wins if they prevailed in a penalty kick shootout situation. A&M won two penalty kick shootouts during the 2002 NCAA Championship.

The Aggies finished the season 22-3-2 and own an .852 winning percentage. A&M's school-record for best winning percentage in a season is 1997 when they finished 18-3 (.857). Last year, the Maroon and White set a new school-record for matches played in a season with 27. The prior record was 26 set in 2002.

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. Emily Bates and Kate Hajdu leads the group with 12 starts, followed by Ally Watt with nine starts and Brittany Crabtree with eight. Mia Hummel has six 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 and Watt earned the honor after A&M's win against Kentucky. The Aggies became the first team since Florida in 2008 to have three different players earn SEC Freshman of the Week in the same season. Bates ranks second on the team with 15 points on five goals and five assists. Hajdu has three goals and three assists. 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 407-125-29 (.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 (791), Connecticut's Len Tsantiris (540), Florida's Becky Burleigh (448) and Santa Clara's Jerry Smith (435).

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 18 goals and 10 assists for 46 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 five of the last 16 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 1,549 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 0.87 goals-against average and eight 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 nine matches, including six starts, and owns a 0.57 goals-against average. She has yielded four goals, made 18 saves and owns shutouts against Mississippi State, Alabama, Kentucky and Arkansas. 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 84 caps. She trails on Florida's Christen Westphal (88) and Claire Falknor (85) and South Carolina's Stevi Parker (85) and Caroline Gray (85) among SEC players. Mueller has made 72 career starts and owns 20 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 17 matches for 1,549 minutes of play. Grace Wright (1,530), Ashlynn Harryman (1,473), Haley Pounds (1,440), Mikaela Harvey (1,433) and Stephanie Malherbe (1,391) 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 72-17-5 over their four years, the third-best win total in the nation. Florida State's seniors are 78-8-6, followed by Virginia 76-9-4.

NIP-AND-TUCK
Over the last three seasons, the Aggies are 26-6-4 in games decided by one game or less. This season, the Maroon and White are 5-2-0 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 wrap up the regular-season on Thursday as they travel to Columbia for an 8 pm match against the Missouri Tigers.