Thursday, November 2
Orange Beach, Ala.
6:37 p.m.
Texas A&M
vs
Florida
Match Day Preview: SEC Semifinal vs. Florida
Nov 01, 2017 | Soccer
ORANGE BEACH, Alabama - The No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies are playing in the fifth semifinal in their six trips to the SEC Tournament when they face the No. 17 Florida Gators Thursday evening (6:05 p.m. CT) at Orange Beach Sportsplex. The Maroon & White advanced to the semifinal match with an epic performance against Missouri in the quarterfinal round, logging a 7-1 win. Ally Watt tied the Aggies' single-game school record with her four goals and Texas A&M came up one goal shy of the SEC Tournament record. The win was the 11th in a row for Maroon & White, the second longest win streak in school history.
Thursday's match will air on the SEC Network with Jenn Hildreth handling the play-by-play, Heather Mitts providing the analysis and Jill Loyden reporting from the sideline. The match will also be available digitally on mobile devices, computers and connect-TVs for SEC Network subscribers whose cable/satellite packages allow access to SEC Network+ through the WatchESPN app and SECSports.com. Fans can listen to the match locally on Willy 1550 or worldwide on 12thMan.com/Listen with David Ellis (play-by-play) and Kristi Leonard (color) on the call.
With her four goals against Missouri in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal round, Watt tied the Texas A&M single-game mark accomplished twice by Ashlee Pistorius. Pistorius scored four times against Baylor in 2005 and equaled her own mark against Baylor in 2007. The performance marked the first career hat trick for Watt.
The Aggies' seven goals Tuesday smashed A&M's mark for an SEC Tournament match. The old Aggie mark was three against Georgia in the 2013 quarterfinal round. The most goals the Maroon & White scored in an entire SEC Tournament was five in both 2013 and 2014, two years in which A&M captured the tournament title. The tally marked a new league tournament record for the Aggies, besting the six goals they scored against Iowa State in a Big 12 Championship quarterfinal game in 1998.
Texas A&M came up one goal shy of the SEC Tournament single-game record set by Arkansas in an 8-0 win vs. Auburn in a semifinal match in 1993 and equaled by Vanderbilt in an 8-3 win against Arkansas in a 1997 quarterfinal bout.
A win Thursday would give the Aggies a 12-game win streak, the longest single-season win streak in school annals. The overall school record is 13 consecutive wins encompassing the last 10 games of the 1994 season and the first three games of the 1995 campaign. Texas A&M won 11 consecutive games in 2001 and strung together 10-game win streaks in 1995, 2006 and 2007.
The Aggies are 7-6-0 in the all-time series against Florida. The 13 matches are the most for the Aggies against the old guard of the SEC and among current league foes it trails only the 25 contests the Maroon & White have played against Missouri.
Texas A&M won the regular-season meeting this year, 2-1, with goals by Cienna Arrieta and Kendall Ritchie.
This marks the third time the teams are meeting at the SEC Tournament. The squads exchanged 2-1 victories in championship matches with Texas A&M claiming the title in 2013 and Florida winning the crown in 2015.
Florida enters play with a 14-5-0 overall mark and the Gators finished third in the SEC with a 7-3-0 league ledger. Florida advanced to the semifinal round with a 1-0 win against Auburn, buoyed by Lais Araujo's free kick in the 31st minute and Kaylan Marckese's three-save shutout.
The winner of Thursday's match advance to face either Arkansas or Vanderbilt in Sunday's championship match slated for 2:05 p.m.
Thursday's match will air on the SEC Network with Jenn Hildreth handling the play-by-play, Heather Mitts providing the analysis and Jill Loyden reporting from the sideline. The match will also be available digitally on mobile devices, computers and connect-TVs for SEC Network subscribers whose cable/satellite packages allow access to SEC Network+ through the WatchESPN app and SECSports.com. Fans can listen to the match locally on Willy 1550 or worldwide on 12thMan.com/Listen with David Ellis (play-by-play) and Kristi Leonard (color) on the call.
With her four goals against Missouri in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal round, Watt tied the Texas A&M single-game mark accomplished twice by Ashlee Pistorius. Pistorius scored four times against Baylor in 2005 and equaled her own mark against Baylor in 2007. The performance marked the first career hat trick for Watt.
The Aggies' seven goals Tuesday smashed A&M's mark for an SEC Tournament match. The old Aggie mark was three against Georgia in the 2013 quarterfinal round. The most goals the Maroon & White scored in an entire SEC Tournament was five in both 2013 and 2014, two years in which A&M captured the tournament title. The tally marked a new league tournament record for the Aggies, besting the six goals they scored against Iowa State in a Big 12 Championship quarterfinal game in 1998.
Texas A&M came up one goal shy of the SEC Tournament single-game record set by Arkansas in an 8-0 win vs. Auburn in a semifinal match in 1993 and equaled by Vanderbilt in an 8-3 win against Arkansas in a 1997 quarterfinal bout.
A win Thursday would give the Aggies a 12-game win streak, the longest single-season win streak in school annals. The overall school record is 13 consecutive wins encompassing the last 10 games of the 1994 season and the first three games of the 1995 campaign. Texas A&M won 11 consecutive games in 2001 and strung together 10-game win streaks in 1995, 2006 and 2007.
The Aggies are 7-6-0 in the all-time series against Florida. The 13 matches are the most for the Aggies against the old guard of the SEC and among current league foes it trails only the 25 contests the Maroon & White have played against Missouri.
Texas A&M won the regular-season meeting this year, 2-1, with goals by Cienna Arrieta and Kendall Ritchie.
This marks the third time the teams are meeting at the SEC Tournament. The squads exchanged 2-1 victories in championship matches with Texas A&M claiming the title in 2013 and Florida winning the crown in 2015.
Florida enters play with a 14-5-0 overall mark and the Gators finished third in the SEC with a 7-3-0 league ledger. Florida advanced to the semifinal round with a 1-0 win against Auburn, buoyed by Lais Araujo's free kick in the 31st minute and Kaylan Marckese's three-save shutout.
The winner of Thursday's match advance to face either Arkansas or Vanderbilt in Sunday's championship match slated for 2:05 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Weekly Press Conference: G Guerrieri
Monday, October 06
Highlights: Texas A&M 1, Texas 0
Thursday, October 02
Texas Postgame: G Guerrieri, Hattie Patterson, Trinity Buchanan
Thursday, October 02
The Aggie Soccer Hour (Ep 5)
Wednesday, October 01
