Sixteen conference titles in the first 24 years. It's not something Coach G Guerrieri could imagine when he started the program.
It was unimaginable, mostly because the Aggies didn't have a conference.
In 1993, when Guerrieri was mapping out the future of the Texas A&M Soccer program, he had a series of goals. One his goals, after establishing dominance in the state of Texas, was to become a regional power. It was a vague goal at that time because Texas A&M's league, the Southwest Conference, didn't sponsor soccer and only a few schools in the fragile alliance fielded teams.
The metrics for the goal became much clearer in 1996 when the Aggies and three of their SWC brethren merged into the Big 12. And the new landing spot would have 10 schools playing soccer.
The early target was Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers won the double in the Big 12's inaugural season, capturing the regular-season and tournament titles in 1996, and the Aggies duplicated the feat the following year. Baylor snuck in and claimed a regular-season title in 1998, but then Nebraska went on to win 19 of 20 league matches in 1999 and 2000 to become the conference's first back-to-back table toppers.
The 1997 squad captured the Big 12 regular-season & tournament championships.
"It was a game people could circle on the calendar as being the key regular season match that would usually determine the title," Guerrieri said. "That was always the team that we were up against to win the Big 12 Tournament. We shared the first few titles and then they went on an extraordinary run and then we went on a run."
The early battles with Nebraska were intriguing due to the two squads' makeup and style of play. The Cornhuskers were stocked with players from the Canadian National Team, many who were stars on their nation's World Cup squad. The Aggies were mostly homegrown Texans, playing for the state's best soccer program.
"It was funny, because in those days it was the Canadian National Team against the National Team of Texas," Guerrieri said. "That's how we looked at it. We had a contrast of styles. They were big, physical and direct and we were smaller and more precise and tempo driven. It really made for a chess match whenever we played."
After battling back-and-forth with Nebraska as well as squads from Baylor, Colorado and Texas, who were all emerging in prominence, the Aggies finally rattled off an unprecedented string of success in the Big 12 starting in 2004.
The match that turned the tide came on October 10, 2004. The Aggies went into Lincoln and earned a 2-1 victory. The match featured an equalizer by Ashlee Pistorius in the 53rd minute and the game-winner by Carrie Berend in the 81st minute.
"I remember the game in Lincoln that we finally won," Guerrieri said. "Carrie and Ashlee were both incredible parts of that game. It was a huge confidence boost that we could get over this hump that had been in front of us for a while. We had some crazy games against them, but up until that point they got more wins than we did. Once we got over that hump in 2004, it was a completely different story."
For the next four years, the Maroon & White would claim four regular-season crowns and two league tournament titles. The mark of six championships in a four-year span wouldn't be matched until Texas A&M left the league. That 2-1 win against Nebraska started a string in which the Aggies would win seven of eight meetings against the Cornhuskers before NU headed to the Big 10.
The Aggies celebrate the 2005 Big 12 Championship
"That run was all based around the freshman class that came in for 2004," Guerrieri said. "It was a really solid class of leaders that we had already in the team. That's the team that had Kati Jo Spisak, Laura Probst and Amanda Burke as really strong leaders, and then you added to that one of our most influential freshman classes ever that included Pistorius, Annie Barrett, Allison Martino, Melissa Garey and Paige Carmichael. We had five Gatorade Players of the Year in the class from five different states. You had the leaders who started it when we won the double in '04, and then we won the double again in '05. Then we just kept going from then on."
In 2008, Oklahoma State emerged as the Aggies' top challenger for the Big 12 titles. The Cowgirls edged A&M by a half-game for the regular-season crown in 2008 and the Aggies returned the favor in 2010.
Texas A&M celebrates the 2010 Big 12 regular-season championship
In September 2011, it was announced the Aggies would depart the Big 12, moving to the Southeastern Conference. The Aggies had one last go-around against their Big 12 rivals. Despite playing Oklahoma State to a 0-0 draw, Texas A&M relinquished the regular-season title to the Cowgirls in 2011, finishing a half-game behind OSU.
But with the Big 12 Championship set for San Antonio, the Maroon & White were given another opportunity to take a title with them as they were walking out the door.
In the quarterfinal, Texas A&M were taken to the mat by an upstart Kansas team. Texas A&M battled back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the 74th minute. Kansas knotted the game with a goal in the 90th minute and the Aggies were taken to a penalty kick shootout. A&M prevailed, 5-3.
The semifinal found Texas A&M squaring off with Missouri. A 1-0 loss to the Tigers midway through the season ultimately cost the Aggies the 2011 regular-season crown. The Maroon & White got their revenge, pummeling Missouri 3-0.
Texas A&M was given one last shot at Oklahoma State and a Big 12 banner. The two teams played even for 89:51 before Megan Majewski found the back of the net to break the 0-0 tie. The first and only goal either team would score in their 200 minutes of play against each other that season gave Texas A&M its 12th Big 12 title.
The Aggies won the Big 12 Tournament title in 2011 before leaving for the SEC.
"It was great," Guerrieri said. "It was interesting because our rivalry against Oklahoma State was 16-1-3 and in truth it didn't feel like that type of dominance, especially in the last three or four years. Those were Oklahoma State's peak years in 2008, '09, '10 and '11. For us to overcome them at their peak was a fitting end to the run in the Big 12."
In their initial campaign in the SEC, the Aggies proved to be worthy opponents. The Maroon & White claimed the SEC Western Division crown in the last year of divisional play. In the overall standings, Texas A&M finished just a half-game behind regular-season champion, Florida.
"With the SEC we came in to a conference that has been dominated by Florida for as long as we were dominating the Big 12," Guerrieri said. "It's funny because we already had a natural rivalry with Florida based on respect. We had beaten them to go to the Elite Eight in 2008. We had some great games back and forth since '98. We tried to play them whenever we could in non-conference. So when we moved in they automatically became the natural rival."
Texas A&M and Florida would duke it out at the top of the table for two more years. In 2013, the Aggies and Gators shared the regular-season title and the Maroon & White bested UF, 2-1, in the league tournament championship match to earn their first SEC double. The following year, Texas A&M won their first outright regular-season title and bested Kentucky in the championship match, 1-0, to become the first back-to-back SEC double team since Florida in 2000-01.
Texas A&M won the SEC regular-season & tournament titles in 2013 & 2014.
"It was a great way for us to make a big splash early and for us to say that Texas A&M is here and we are going to be in the mix from the get-go," Guerrieri said. "It turned the attention from fans and officials from East to West. It really baptized us by fire to what the SEC is going to be."
A youthful 2015 squad finished in the middle of the pack of the SEC, but surged late to advance to their third straight SEC Tournament championship match, before falling to Florida, 2-1. After that heartbreaking loss, they regrouped and made their sixth NCAA Elite Eight.
Last season, injuries ravaged the squad and with 47 total matches missed by starters, Texas A&M finished in the middle of the table.
"We've seen how tough it is to stay on top," Guerrieri said. "The last year with the number of injuries that we had, it finally gave those teams that never had a chance to beat Texas A&M. The door opened a little bit and a few of them stepped through in big fashion to get it done. It reminded our players and our coaches that winning doesn't just come. You still have to show up. It's not just putting on the jersey, it's the heart beneath the jersey."
Despite their league ledger the last two seasons, SEC coaches showed Texas A&M respect by tabbing them to finish second in the league. But Guerrieri knows the preseason platitudes will need to be backed up on the field.
"This is a great conference with teams that are capable of doing great things," Guerrieri said. "Any given year a team from in our conference, even if they don't win the conference championship, is still capable of a College Cup run. Just the same way it is in the other sports in the SEC. You can look at Vanderbilt baseball not winning the conference championship and then winning the national championship. That's how this league is becoming in soccer. So winning a conference title is going to take a lot of hard work and playing your best every match"
In their 25th season, the Aggies' numbers regarding conference titles is extraordinary. The Maroon & White has been associated with a league in 21 of the previous 24 years. Texas A&M has reaped 16 combined titles, or 38 percent of the conference crowns they've had available for claiming.
"As much as anything, it's about the consistency of excellence that we always strive for," Guerrieri said. "Year in and year out, we are going to do whatever we can to bring a trophy to Ellis Field."
