Friday, September 18
College Station
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
vs
Vanderbilt
Match Day Preview: Vanderbilt
Sep 16, 2015 | Soccer
| The Matchup: | Vanderbilt (4-3-1, 1-0) at (#5) Texas A&M (7-1, 1-0) |
| Kickoff: | Friday, September 18 - 6:05 p.m. |
| Venue: | Ellis Field |
| Watch: | SEC Network (Glenn Davis, Cat Whitehill) | WatchESPN |
| Listen: | 1150 AM/102.7 FM (David Ellis, Allie Bailey) | Live Audio |
| Live Stats: | 12thman.com |
| Promotions: | Faculty Appreciation/Posters/Schedule Tags | Buy Tickets |
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies lift the lid on their SEC home slate Friday when they host the Vanderbilt Commodores in a 6 pm match at Ellis Field. The match will be televised national on the SEC Network.
The Maroon and White enter the fray with a nine-match win streak at Ellis Field, which includes four matches during last season's College Cup run. The Aggies are also unbeaten in their last 12 matches in College Station, posting an 11-0-1 mark. This season, Texas A&M is outscoring opponents 13-1 at Ellis Field, including shutouts against Northwestern State (3-0), UC Irvine (4-0) and Florida Atlantic (2-0).
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday's match is televised nationally on the SEC Network. The match is also 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. Friday's match may be heard locally on Sports Radio 1150 and The Zone 102.7 FM.
WEAPONS UPON WEAPONS
Texas A&M boasts one of the largest caches of offensive weapons in the nation. Among SEC teams, the Aggies are the lone squad to boast more than two players with three or more goals and they are the only team with six players with two or more goals. Haley Pounds (6), Mikaela Harvey (4), Emily Bates (3), Kate Hajdu (3), Janae Cousineau (2) and McKayla Paulson (2) all have multiple goals on the year. Kentucky and Tennessee both have five players with multiple goals on the year.
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 401-122-29 (.753), he ranks fifth in victories and 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 (786), Connecticut's Len Tsantiris (531), Florida's Becky Burleigh (441) and Santa Clara's Jerry Smith (428).
CREAM OF THE SEC CROP
Since Texas A&M's entrance in the SEC in 2012, the Aggies own the best winning percentage in league play at .833 (29-5-2). Texas A&M and Florida are tied with most SEC wins over the span with 29 apiece, with the Gators owning a 29-7-0 mark (.806). Kentucky is the only other team in the league to log more than 20 wins in SEC play from 2012-2015, going 24-11-1.
Texas A&M and Florida have accounted for all of the regular-season and tournament titles the last three years. In 2012, Florida won the regular-season title by a two-point edge (33-31) and claimed the tournament crown. In 2013, the teams were co-champions identical 9-2-0 records in SEC play, but the Aggies prevailed over the Gators in the SEC Tournament championship game, 2-1. Last season, Texas A&M edged out Florida by one point for the regular-season title (28-27) and completed their second consecutive SEC Double with a 1-0 win over Kentucky in the tournament title 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 66-14-5 over their four years, the third-best win total in the nation. Florida State's seniors are 72-8-4, followed by Virginia 70-9-4.
LAST TIME OUT - DAYTON
The Aggies jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead and after the Flyers trimmed the lead one goal in the 73rd minute, Janae Cousineau added an insurance goal to ice the win. Brittany Crabtree broke the scoring seal in the 16th minute with an assist from Emily Bates and Haley Pounds added a goal in the 31st minute. With the win, the Aggies improved to 3-1-0 on the road in 2015.
SERIES VS. VANDERBILT
The Aggies are 6-0-0 all-time against the Commodores, including 2-0-0 at Ellis Field. The first meeting came in 1995 when the Maroon and White notched a 4-2 win in College Station. The teams have met three times as SEC brethren with the Aggies victories of 4-0 (2012 - Nashville), 3-0 (2013 - College Station) and 6-2 (2014 - Nashville). Texas A&M registered a 4-1 win in Nashville in 1996 and a 5-1 triumph in Klein, Texas in 1999.
SCOUTING VANDERBILT
The Commodores are 4-3-0 overall and last Friday they toppled Mississippi State, 2-1, to register a win in their SEC opener for the first time since 2005. After starting the season 1-3-0, Vanderbilt is 3-0-1 over the last four matches with wins against Dartmouth (1-0), Lipscomb (2-0) and Mississippi State and a tie against High Point (1-1). Lydia Simmons leads the team in scoring with seven points on three goals and one assist. Simone Charley has three goals. Goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami has played 698 of 743 minutes for Vanderbilt, notching a 1.16 goals-against average, 27 saves and two shutouts.
Vanderbilt is in their first season under head coach Darren Ambrose who enjoyed success during his 15 years at Penn where he went 148-71-35 with three Ivy League titles and three NCAA Championship appearances.
The Commodores returned 15 letterwinners and eight starters from last season when Vanderbilt went 7-10-2 overall and finished 12th in the SEC with a 2-7-2 record. The top returnees are Charley, a All-SEC First Team honoree, and Simmons, an SEC All-Freshman performer. Charley logged 21 points on nine goals and three assists in 2014. Ogunsami played 1,709 of 1,753 minutes in goal last season with a 1.63 goals-against average, 113 saves and five shutouts.
SEC HOME OPENERS
The Aggies are 3-0-0 all-time in SEC home openers, outscoring opponents 13-0. Texas A&M's first-ever home SEC match came against South Carolina on September 21, 2012, winning 2-0 with goals by Meghan Streight and Annie Kunz. In 2013, the Aggies rolled to an 8-0 win over Mississippi State in the home opener, highlighted by Shea Groom and Meghan Streight scoring two goals apiece. Last season, Groom notched a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Tennessee.
TEXAS A&M'S SEC HOME OPENERS
2012 W, 2-0 SOUTH CAROLINA
2013 W, 8-0 MISSISSIPPI STATE
2014 W, 3-0 TENNESSEE
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 eight games, the same 11 returnees have already notched 15 goals and 10 assists (40 points).
MAKING ELLIS FIELD A FORTRESS
Texas A&M owns a 210-30-6 (.866) 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 110-14-6 (.869) mark on the friendly pitch. Texas A&M is 217-30-6 (.870) all-time in College Station, going 7-0-0 in their one season at Old Tiger Field.
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 have both started all eight matches. Ally Watt has five starts and Brittany Crabtree has received the starting assignment on three occasions. Mia Hummel, Amethyst Kelly, Claudette Lassandro, Kendall Ritchie 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 eighth in the SEC and second in the nation with five assists. The assist total leads all freshmen in the nation. Bates also has three goals for a total of 11 points. Hajdu has three goals and two assists. Crabtree has one goal and one assist and Lassandro has one goal on the season.
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 in the first eight games of the season. The quartet accounted for 13 goals and six assists for 32 points through the first four weekends. Haley Pounds has produced 16 points with six 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 seven contests. McKayla Paulson notched the first two goals of her career, both in the win at Rice, and added an assist against UC Irvine. Stephanie Malherbe logged her first career goal in the 2-1 win against then No. 10 Florida and has added an assist. The four sophomores all played at least 600 of the 720 minutes on the season with Paulson playing every second of the matches.
POUNDS SETS THE TABLE IN AGGIE OPENER
In the Aggies season opener at Rice, Haley Pounds became the 11th Texas A&M player to record three assists in a game. The feat has been accomplished on 12 occasions with Yvette Okler hitting the mark on two occasions. Kat Krambeer owns the Texas A&M record with four assists against UTSA in 2006. Karlie Mueller was the most recent Aggie to notch three assists, accomplishing the feat in A&M's 8-0 win against Mississippi State in 2013.
MUELLER AMONG ACTIVE LEADERS IN GAMES PLAYED
Texas A&M senior Karlie Mueller ranks 13th in the nation and fourth among SEC players in career matches played with 76 caps. She trails on Florida's Christen Westphal (79) and South Carolina's Caroline Gray (77) and Stevi Parker (77) among SEC players. Mueller has made 64 career starts and owns 16 career assists, including 10 as a sophomore in 2013.
POUNDS LOGS THE HAT TRICK
In the Aggies' 4-1 win over Abilene Christian, Haley Pounds recorded the 35th hat trick in school history. She notched three goals in a span of 12:37 starting with 33:00 remaining in the second half. The first goal came on an assist from Kate Hajdu and Karlie Mueller. The last two goals came on penalty kicks after Mikaela Harvey drew fouls in the 18-yard box.
PAULSON AND WRIGHT EARN EARLY IRONMAN HONORS
Defenders McKayla Paulson and Grace Wright lead the team in minutes played, playing the entirety of the first eight matches for 720 minutes of play. Emily Bates (672), Haley Pounds (655) and Ashlynn Harryman (644) are all averaging over 80 minutes per match.
FOLLOW @AGGIESOCCER ON TWITTER
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UP NEXT
The Aggies host North Texas in a 6 pm contest Sunday at Ellis Field.
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