COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies released a challenging schedule for the 2016 campaign. The slate includes matches against two of the last three national champions as well as an 11-game league ledger.
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"I know that our fans will be very excited about this schedule," Texas A&M Soccer head coach G Guerrieri said. "Especially since we will be hosting 13 great games at Ellis Field, plus our annual Legacy Game in early August."
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The Aggies open the 2016 campaign on Friday, August 19 when they host Florida State, the 2014 national champion in a match at Ellis Field. The following week, Texas A&M welcomes 2013 national champion UCLA to College Station.
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"Opening the regular season with two former national champions coming to Ellis Field will be an exciting challenge for our team and quite a treat for our incredible fan base," Guerrieri said. "The Florida State and UCLA matches will feature some of the best young players in the world. Playing those two teams at Ellis Field, in front of the 12th Man should make for some of the most exciting college games in America."
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All seven of the Aggies' non-conference matches will be played at Ellis Field. In addition to the contests against Florida State and Rice, Texas A&M has August matches lined up with Rice (Aug. 21), coached by Aggie standout Nicky Adams, and Tulsa (Aug. 28). The September non-conference slate includes home matches against Little Rock (Sept. 2), Illinois (Sept. 4) and UC Riverside (Sept. 18).
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Texas A&M opens SEC play with home matches against LSU on Sunday, September 11 and Georgia on Friday, September 16. They also have home league contests against South Carolina (Sept. 29), Missouri (Oct. 6), Kentucky (Oct. 20) and Auburn (Oct. 23).
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"We've had quite a bit of positive feedback from fans since we started kicking our Sunday games off at 6 p.m. instead of 1:30 p.m.," Guerrieri said. "We have some fantastic Sunday games at Ellis – Rice, Tulsa, Illinois, LSU, UC Riverside, and Auburn. The 6 p.m. games fit better into the weekends of local fans' families, and it provides a fun on-campus, Sunday evening activity for our students."
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The Maroon and White play conference road matches at Vanderbilt (Sept. 22), Alabama (Sept. 25), Tennessee (Oct. 9), Ole Miss (Oct. 14) and Mississippi State (Oct. 27).
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Texas A&M's first action of the season will come on Monday, August 8 when the Aggies travel to Tampa for an exhibition match against the Florida Gators, who will not be part of A&M's SEC slate in 2016.
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"We only play 11 regular season SEC games due to the mathematics of how the RPI calculates with just 20 regular season matches," Guerrieri said. "It's unfortunate that 2016 is the season where the conference's too most celebrated programs don't play in the regular season. That's why Texas A&M and Florida are getting together for an exhibition in Tampa. It will be a great learning experience opportunity for our players away from home in the preseason. And, you never know, the Aggies and Gators might see each other again in the 2016 post-season.
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The Maroon and White will also play a non-conference match at Oklahoma State on Saturday, August 13. They will play the Texas A&M Legacy game at Ellis Field on Saturday, August 6.
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The SEC Tournament returns to Orange Beach, Alabama with action kicking off on Monday, October 31 and the championship game slated for Sunday, November 6.
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All of Texas A&M's regular-season home matches will be streamed on SEC Network+. The television schedule for SEC games has not been released.
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In 2015, the Aggies finished the season with a 17-7-2 record. They became the first team to ever knock North Carolina out of the NCAA Championship before the Sweet Sixteen round and topped Ole Miss in a penalty kick shootout to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the sixth time in school history.
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TEXAS A&M AGGIES
2016 SCHEDULE
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"I know that our fans will be very excited about this schedule," Texas A&M Soccer head coach G Guerrieri said. "Especially since we will be hosting 13 great games at Ellis Field, plus our annual Legacy Game in early August."
Â
The Aggies open the 2016 campaign on Friday, August 19 when they host Florida State, the 2014 national champion in a match at Ellis Field. The following week, Texas A&M welcomes 2013 national champion UCLA to College Station.
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"Opening the regular season with two former national champions coming to Ellis Field will be an exciting challenge for our team and quite a treat for our incredible fan base," Guerrieri said. "The Florida State and UCLA matches will feature some of the best young players in the world. Playing those two teams at Ellis Field, in front of the 12th Man should make for some of the most exciting college games in America."
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All seven of the Aggies' non-conference matches will be played at Ellis Field. In addition to the contests against Florida State and Rice, Texas A&M has August matches lined up with Rice (Aug. 21), coached by Aggie standout Nicky Adams, and Tulsa (Aug. 28). The September non-conference slate includes home matches against Little Rock (Sept. 2), Illinois (Sept. 4) and UC Riverside (Sept. 18).
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Texas A&M opens SEC play with home matches against LSU on Sunday, September 11 and Georgia on Friday, September 16. They also have home league contests against South Carolina (Sept. 29), Missouri (Oct. 6), Kentucky (Oct. 20) and Auburn (Oct. 23).
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"We've had quite a bit of positive feedback from fans since we started kicking our Sunday games off at 6 p.m. instead of 1:30 p.m.," Guerrieri said. "We have some fantastic Sunday games at Ellis – Rice, Tulsa, Illinois, LSU, UC Riverside, and Auburn. The 6 p.m. games fit better into the weekends of local fans' families, and it provides a fun on-campus, Sunday evening activity for our students."
Â
The Maroon and White play conference road matches at Vanderbilt (Sept. 22), Alabama (Sept. 25), Tennessee (Oct. 9), Ole Miss (Oct. 14) and Mississippi State (Oct. 27).
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Texas A&M's first action of the season will come on Monday, August 8 when the Aggies travel to Tampa for an exhibition match against the Florida Gators, who will not be part of A&M's SEC slate in 2016.
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"We only play 11 regular season SEC games due to the mathematics of how the RPI calculates with just 20 regular season matches," Guerrieri said. "It's unfortunate that 2016 is the season where the conference's too most celebrated programs don't play in the regular season. That's why Texas A&M and Florida are getting together for an exhibition in Tampa. It will be a great learning experience opportunity for our players away from home in the preseason. And, you never know, the Aggies and Gators might see each other again in the 2016 post-season.
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The Maroon and White will also play a non-conference match at Oklahoma State on Saturday, August 13. They will play the Texas A&M Legacy game at Ellis Field on Saturday, August 6.
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The SEC Tournament returns to Orange Beach, Alabama with action kicking off on Monday, October 31 and the championship game slated for Sunday, November 6.
Â
All of Texas A&M's regular-season home matches will be streamed on SEC Network+. The television schedule for SEC games has not been released.
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In 2015, the Aggies finished the season with a 17-7-2 record. They became the first team to ever knock North Carolina out of the NCAA Championship before the Sweet Sixteen round and topped Ole Miss in a penalty kick shootout to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the sixth time in school history.
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TEXAS A&M AGGIES
2016 SCHEDULE
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| Saturday | August 6 | Texas A&M Soccer Legacy Game | 7:30 pm |
| Monday | August 8 | vs. Florida [Tampa, Fla.] (Exhibition] | tbd |
| Saturday | August 13 | at Oklahoma State [Exhibition]Â | tbd |
| Friday | August 19 | FLORIDA STATE | 7:30 pm |
| Sunday | August 21 | RICE | 6 pm |
| Friday | August 26 | UCLA | 7:30 pm |
| Sunday | August 28 | TULSA | 6 pm |
| Friday | September 2 | LITTLE ROCK | 7:30 pm |
| Sunday | September 4 | ILLINOIS | 6 pm |
| Sunday | September 11 | LSU* | tbd |
| Friday | September 16 | GEORGIA* | tbd |
| Sunday | September 18 | UC RIVERSIDE | 6 pm |
| Thursday | September 22 | at Vanderbilt* | tbd |
| Sunday | September 25 | at Alabama* | tbd |
| Thursday | September 29 | SOUTH CAROLINA* | tbd |
| Thursday | October 6 | MISSOURI* | tbd |
| Sunday | October 9 | at Tennessee* | tbd |
| Friday | October 14 | at Ole Miss* | tbd |
| Thursday | October 20 | KENTUCKY* | tbd |
| Sunday | October 23 | AUBURN* | tbd |
| Thursday | October 27 | at Mississippi State* | tbd |
| Oct. 31-Nov. 6 | at SEC Tournament (Orange Beach, Ala.) |