Sunday, September 20
College Station
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
vs
North Texas
Aggies Host North Texas for Sunday Shootout
Sep 19, 2015 | Soccer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies put their 13-match home unbeaten string and 28-match unbeaten streak against team's from Texas on the line as they host the red-hot North Texas Mean Green in the final game of the non-conference slate Sunday evening at Ellis Field. First kick is slated for 6 pm.
The Aggies (8-1-0) enter the fray with a 12-0-1 mark in their last 13 home matches, including 10 consecutive wins at Ellis Field. The Maroon and White are also 23-0-5 against in-state opponents since the 2008 season.
The Mean Green are 8-1-0 on the season and enter Sunday's action with a five-match win streak, outscoring opponents 14-0.
Sunday's match will be a charity affair for the Aggies with playing for the benefit of the Go Gold Fund, raising awareness and capital for fighting pediatric cancer.
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 may 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.
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 (7), 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 402-122-29 (.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 (532), Florida's Becky Burleigh (442) and Santa Clara's Jerry Smith (429).
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 .838 (30-5-2). Texas A&M and Florida are tied with most SEC wins over the span with 30 apiece, with the Gators owning a 30-7 mark (.811). Kentucky is the only other team in the league to log more than 20 wins in SEC play from 2012-2015, going 25-11-1.
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 67-14-5 over their four years, the third-best win total in the nation. Florida State's seniors are 73-8-4, followed by Virginia 70-9-4.
LAST TIME OUT - VANDERBILT
Haley Pounds scored with a missile from 25 yards out in the 70th minute to lead the Aggies to a 1-0 win over the Commodores. Taylor Saucier made a season-high six saves to record her first SEC shutout and the second shutout of her career. Vanderbilt was unable to take advantage of a 12-9 advantage in shots and an 8-2 edge in corner kicks.
SERIES VS. NORTH TEXAS
Texas A&M is 3-0-0 all-time against North Texas with all three prior meetings coming in College Station. The teams have not faced off since the 2004 season when the Aggies notched an 8-2 victory. The initial match in the series came in 1998 with Texas A&M prevailing 5-1. In 2000, the Aggies triumphed in overtime, 4-3.
SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
The Mean Green are rolling through the 2015 campaign with an 8-1-0 record, including seven shutouts. They have blanked UNLV (1-0), Incarnate Word (2-0), Abilene Christian (3-0), Houston (3-0), Lamar (6-0), TCU (1-0) and Oral Roberts (1-0). They also have a 2-1 win against Southern Utah and their lone loss was a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Kansas. North Texas is outscoring opponents 20-3 on the year. Karla Pineda leads the squad with 14 points on five goals and four assists. Rachel Holden has added 12 points on five goals and two assists. Jackie Kerestine has played 803 of 810 minutes in goal, logging a 0.34 goals-against average, 32 saves and six shutouts.
The Mean Green entered the 2015 campaign with 20 consecutive winning seasons, including four straight years with at least 14 victories. North Texas has won three conference titles, including six regular-season crowns (Sun Belt 5; Conference USA 1) and three tournament championships (Sun Belt 3).
North Texas returns three All-CUSA players from last season, including Holden and Pineda on the First Team and Kerestine on the Second Team. Last season, the Mean Green went 16-5-1 and won the Conference USA regular-season title with an 8-1-1 mark. Pineda led the team with 32 points on 11 goals and 10 assists. Kerestine played 1,959 of 2,020 minutes in goal, notching a 0.51 goals-against average, 101 saves and 14 shutouts.
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 16 goals and 11 assists (43 points).
MAKING ELLIS FIELD A FORTRESS
Texas A&M owns a 211-30-6 (.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 111-14-6 (.870) mark on the friendly pitch. Texas A&M is 218-30-6 (.870) all-time in College Station, going 7-0-0 in their one season at Old Tiger Field.
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 14 goals and seven assists for 35 points through the first nine games. Haley Pounds has produced 18 points with seven 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 two assists. The four sophomores all played at least 700 of the 810 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 11th in the nation and second among SEC players in career matches played with 77 caps. She trails only Florida's Christen Westphal (79) among SEC players. Mueller has made 65 career starts and owns 16 career assists, including 10 as a sophomore in 2013.
PAULSON AND WRIGHT EARN EARLY IRONMAN HONORS
Defenders McKayla Paulson leads the team in minutes played, playing the entirety of the first nine matches for 810 minutes of play. Grace Wright (791), Haley Pounds (745), Ashlynn Harryman (734), Mikaela Harvey (727) and Taylor Saucier (721) are all averaging over 80 minutes per match.
LONE STAR DOMINANCE
With their win against Abilene Christian on Sunday, the Aggies improved to 23-0-5 (.911) mark against in-state rivals since 2008, including an 11-0-4 record against their former Big 12 Conference colleagues. This season, A&M is 2-0-0 against teams from Texas, toppling Rice 4-2 in the season opener in addition to the ACU victory. Last season, A&M went 2-0-0 against Lone Star foe, dropping Stephen F. Austin, 1-0, on August 24 and Houston Baptist, 5-0, in the NCAA Championship first round.
FOLLOW @AGGIESOCCER ON TWITTER
Not following @AggieSoccer on Twitter? Sign up or sign in now to find out what's happening. You'll stay up-to-date on the latest news and receive live in-game updates at each and every match.
UP NEXT
The Aggies hit the road again on Thursday, September 24 for a match at current No. 16 South Carolina.
The Aggies (8-1-0) enter the fray with a 12-0-1 mark in their last 13 home matches, including 10 consecutive wins at Ellis Field. The Maroon and White are also 23-0-5 against in-state opponents since the 2008 season.
The Mean Green are 8-1-0 on the season and enter Sunday's action with a five-match win streak, outscoring opponents 14-0.
Sunday's match will be a charity affair for the Aggies with playing for the benefit of the Go Gold Fund, raising awareness and capital for fighting pediatric cancer.
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 may 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.
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 (7), 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 402-122-29 (.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 (532), Florida's Becky Burleigh (442) and Santa Clara's Jerry Smith (429).
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 .838 (30-5-2). Texas A&M and Florida are tied with most SEC wins over the span with 30 apiece, with the Gators owning a 30-7 mark (.811). Kentucky is the only other team in the league to log more than 20 wins in SEC play from 2012-2015, going 25-11-1.
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 67-14-5 over their four years, the third-best win total in the nation. Florida State's seniors are 73-8-4, followed by Virginia 70-9-4.
LAST TIME OUT - VANDERBILT
Haley Pounds scored with a missile from 25 yards out in the 70th minute to lead the Aggies to a 1-0 win over the Commodores. Taylor Saucier made a season-high six saves to record her first SEC shutout and the second shutout of her career. Vanderbilt was unable to take advantage of a 12-9 advantage in shots and an 8-2 edge in corner kicks.
SERIES VS. NORTH TEXAS
Texas A&M is 3-0-0 all-time against North Texas with all three prior meetings coming in College Station. The teams have not faced off since the 2004 season when the Aggies notched an 8-2 victory. The initial match in the series came in 1998 with Texas A&M prevailing 5-1. In 2000, the Aggies triumphed in overtime, 4-3.
SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
The Mean Green are rolling through the 2015 campaign with an 8-1-0 record, including seven shutouts. They have blanked UNLV (1-0), Incarnate Word (2-0), Abilene Christian (3-0), Houston (3-0), Lamar (6-0), TCU (1-0) and Oral Roberts (1-0). They also have a 2-1 win against Southern Utah and their lone loss was a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Kansas. North Texas is outscoring opponents 20-3 on the year. Karla Pineda leads the squad with 14 points on five goals and four assists. Rachel Holden has added 12 points on five goals and two assists. Jackie Kerestine has played 803 of 810 minutes in goal, logging a 0.34 goals-against average, 32 saves and six shutouts.
The Mean Green entered the 2015 campaign with 20 consecutive winning seasons, including four straight years with at least 14 victories. North Texas has won three conference titles, including six regular-season crowns (Sun Belt 5; Conference USA 1) and three tournament championships (Sun Belt 3).
North Texas returns three All-CUSA players from last season, including Holden and Pineda on the First Team and Kerestine on the Second Team. Last season, the Mean Green went 16-5-1 and won the Conference USA regular-season title with an 8-1-1 mark. Pineda led the team with 32 points on 11 goals and 10 assists. Kerestine played 1,959 of 2,020 minutes in goal, notching a 0.51 goals-against average, 101 saves and 14 shutouts.
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 16 goals and 11 assists (43 points).
MAKING ELLIS FIELD A FORTRESS
Texas A&M owns a 211-30-6 (.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 111-14-6 (.870) mark on the friendly pitch. Texas A&M is 218-30-6 (.870) all-time in College Station, going 7-0-0 in their one season at Old Tiger Field.
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 14 goals and seven assists for 35 points through the first nine games. Haley Pounds has produced 18 points with seven 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 two assists. The four sophomores all played at least 700 of the 810 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 11th in the nation and second among SEC players in career matches played with 77 caps. She trails only Florida's Christen Westphal (79) among SEC players. Mueller has made 65 career starts and owns 16 career assists, including 10 as a sophomore in 2013.
PAULSON AND WRIGHT EARN EARLY IRONMAN HONORS
Defenders McKayla Paulson leads the team in minutes played, playing the entirety of the first nine matches for 810 minutes of play. Grace Wright (791), Haley Pounds (745), Ashlynn Harryman (734), Mikaela Harvey (727) and Taylor Saucier (721) are all averaging over 80 minutes per match.
LONE STAR DOMINANCE
With their win against Abilene Christian on Sunday, the Aggies improved to 23-0-5 (.911) mark against in-state rivals since 2008, including an 11-0-4 record against their former Big 12 Conference colleagues. This season, A&M is 2-0-0 against teams from Texas, toppling Rice 4-2 in the season opener in addition to the ACU victory. Last season, A&M went 2-0-0 against Lone Star foe, dropping Stephen F. Austin, 1-0, on August 24 and Houston Baptist, 5-0, in the NCAA Championship first round.
FOLLOW @AGGIESOCCER ON TWITTER
Not following @AggieSoccer on Twitter? Sign up or sign in now to find out what's happening. You'll stay up-to-date on the latest news and receive live in-game updates at each and every match.
UP NEXT
The Aggies hit the road again on Thursday, September 24 for a match at current No. 16 South Carolina.
Players Mentioned
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