OVERVIEW
Texas A&M attack withstood a couple season-ending injuries in 2017 and remained a formidable group mainly with the increased output from Ally Watt.
Freshman Abby Grace Cooper went down with an injury in the second game of the year and Aggies' two-time leading scorer Haley Pounds had her career come to a premature close in the 12th game of the season. Cooper is back to full health to start the 2018 campaign and although Pounds has departed, the Maroon & White had 10 games in 2017 to adjust to the massive void.
In addition to Watt and Cooper, other key returnees in the attack include Rheagen Smith and Sophie Salverino. With the excess of talent in the midfield, Cienna Arrieta, Emily Bates and Claudette Lassandro may be pushed up top of the formation from time to time.
Newcomers that may contribute at forward include Ásdís Halldórsdóttir and Tera Ziemer.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Our forwards are a combination of older and new. You have Ally (Watt), Brittany (Crabtree) and Claudette (Lassandro) who have both been in the program for three years and are well versed in the things we want to do when we have the ball as well as when we don't have the ball. Then you have the newer, younger players like A.G. (Cooper), Rheagen (Smith), Asdis (Halldorsdottir) and Sophie (Salverino) that bring extra-special qualities to our attack."
CIENNA ARRIETA
Arrieta is a dynamo in the midfield, menacing opponents to win 50-50 balls in the midfield. She has 44 Aggie caps, including 29 starts. The El Paso native has shown the ability to be a playmaker with 14 points on five goals and four assists. Arrieta is potent on free kick opportunities within 30 yards, scoring set piece goals against Florida and Missouri in 2017.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Cienna is one of the most athletic players we have. Her power and ability to get away from people makes her dangerous whether she is on the frontline or in the midfield."
EMILY BATES
Bates has shown All-America talent during her time in Aggieland, but midseason injuries have stymied her stat line each of the last two seasons. The Melissa, Texas, native has 57 Aggie caps with 53 starts. She has 45 career points on 16 goals and 13 assists. Bates started 18 games last season, posting 14 points on four goals and six assists. She showed the propensity to score in clutch situations in 2017, including the 88th minute game-winner against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament championship game and the 87th-minute game-tying tally against Notre Dame in the NCAA Championship second round. Bates enters 2017 poised to top her freshman output when she notched 20 points on seven goals and six assists in 22 games.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Emily has been our most dynamic attacking force ever since she stepped on campus in 2015. She is someone who can set people up, but can also finish off big goals at key times."
ABBY GRACE COOPER
Cooper appeared in the first two matches of the season before suffering a season-ending injury. She brings youth experience gained with the US Soccer U14 and U15 teams. She also enjoyed a prodigious prep career, selected as the Texas Player of the Year and a High School All-America by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 2015.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"A.G. is someone who comes to us with a lot of youth national team experience. She takes a great shot and has great poise in front of goal. She has the ability to play in the midfield or on the front line. She can take a game on her shoulders if she needs to."
BRITTANY CRABTREE
One of the Aggies' tri-captains, Crabtree has played in 69 games for the Aggies, including 19 starts. She has 10 points on four goals and two assists. Last season, Crabtree appeared in all 22 matches with five starts, notching a goal against Alabama. At 5-10, she gives the Aggies a formidable target in the scoring area.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Brittany is a great target for us. She does a great job for us helping to bring numbers into our attack"
ASDIS HALLDORSDOTTIR
The Reykjavik native has participated in international competitions for the Icelandic women's national teams since 2016. Her international tournaments include the UEFA U19 Championships in 2017 and 2018 and the UEFA U17 Championship in 2016. Halldórsdóttir has 13 caps for Icelandic squads, tallying three goals, all at the 2017 UEFA U19 Championship. She played in Úrvalsdeild kvenna, the highest level of women's soccer in Iceland. She scored four goals in 11 matches for her club Valur Reykjavik in 2018.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Ásdís brings a European footballer's brain to our attack. She is very smart and takes very well-timed runs to get on the ball in extremely dangerous positions."
CLAUDETTE LASSANDRO
Lassandro has appeared in 46 games in her three seasons, including one start. She has shown an ability to dent the net with two goals, including one as a freshman and one as a junior.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Claudette is one of the most important members of our team. She's a unifying force both on and off the pitch. When she is on the ball she has a lethal left foot."
SOPHIE SALVERINO
An early enrollee in the spring of 2017, Salverino has been hindered by injuries since her arrival. Salverino is healthy heading into the autumn and can add depth to the attack. She brings talent as a two-time All-District 19-6A performer and holds the Texas state tournament record for quickest goal, scoring 17 seconds into a semifinal contest in 2016.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Sophie is a player who has been battling injuries her entire career that she's been here. This is the first year that she's been healthy. She has been tremendous in our attack in training and we're looking to transition that into game action."
RHEAGEN SMITH
Smith enters her sophomore season after a year of honing her skills. She appeared in 17 games as a reokie, with 314 minutes played at forward and in the midfield. Her lone goal was one of the biggest of the year for the Aggies, logging a second-half equalizer in the Maroon & White's SEC Tournament semifinal victory against Florida.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Rheagen is a very athletic player who can turn on the ball as well as anyone we have seen. She has a great team mentality, but the individual abilities to break a game open."
ALLY WATT
Watt finished the 2017 season as the Aggies' leading scorer with 24 points on a team-high 11 goals and two assists. She earned All-SEC First Team, United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region First Team and SEC Tournament All-Tournament team recognition. Watt was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 2 after scoring both goals in Texas A&M's 2-1 win over Arkansas. She picked up SEC All-Freshman recognition in 2015. She earned 26 caps that season, including 17 starts. Her rookie campaign was highlighted by seven goals, including four game winners. She scored the Aggies' lone goal in their memorable victory over North Carolina at the NCAA Championship, the first time in 32 years the Tar Heels had been vanquished before the Sweet 16.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Ally is the most electrifying big play forward in the country. She is someone who changes the game as soon as she steps on the field."
Texas A&M attack withstood a couple season-ending injuries in 2017 and remained a formidable group mainly with the increased output from Ally Watt.
Freshman Abby Grace Cooper went down with an injury in the second game of the year and Aggies' two-time leading scorer Haley Pounds had her career come to a premature close in the 12th game of the season. Cooper is back to full health to start the 2018 campaign and although Pounds has departed, the Maroon & White had 10 games in 2017 to adjust to the massive void.
In addition to Watt and Cooper, other key returnees in the attack include Rheagen Smith and Sophie Salverino. With the excess of talent in the midfield, Cienna Arrieta, Emily Bates and Claudette Lassandro may be pushed up top of the formation from time to time.
Newcomers that may contribute at forward include Ásdís Halldórsdóttir and Tera Ziemer.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Our forwards are a combination of older and new. You have Ally (Watt), Brittany (Crabtree) and Claudette (Lassandro) who have both been in the program for three years and are well versed in the things we want to do when we have the ball as well as when we don't have the ball. Then you have the newer, younger players like A.G. (Cooper), Rheagen (Smith), Asdis (Halldorsdottir) and Sophie (Salverino) that bring extra-special qualities to our attack."
CIENNA ARRIETA
Arrieta is a dynamo in the midfield, menacing opponents to win 50-50 balls in the midfield. She has 44 Aggie caps, including 29 starts. The El Paso native has shown the ability to be a playmaker with 14 points on five goals and four assists. Arrieta is potent on free kick opportunities within 30 yards, scoring set piece goals against Florida and Missouri in 2017.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Cienna is one of the most athletic players we have. Her power and ability to get away from people makes her dangerous whether she is on the frontline or in the midfield."
EMILY BATES
Bates has shown All-America talent during her time in Aggieland, but midseason injuries have stymied her stat line each of the last two seasons. The Melissa, Texas, native has 57 Aggie caps with 53 starts. She has 45 career points on 16 goals and 13 assists. Bates started 18 games last season, posting 14 points on four goals and six assists. She showed the propensity to score in clutch situations in 2017, including the 88th minute game-winner against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament championship game and the 87th-minute game-tying tally against Notre Dame in the NCAA Championship second round. Bates enters 2017 poised to top her freshman output when she notched 20 points on seven goals and six assists in 22 games.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Emily has been our most dynamic attacking force ever since she stepped on campus in 2015. She is someone who can set people up, but can also finish off big goals at key times."
ABBY GRACE COOPER
Cooper appeared in the first two matches of the season before suffering a season-ending injury. She brings youth experience gained with the US Soccer U14 and U15 teams. She also enjoyed a prodigious prep career, selected as the Texas Player of the Year and a High School All-America by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 2015.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"A.G. is someone who comes to us with a lot of youth national team experience. She takes a great shot and has great poise in front of goal. She has the ability to play in the midfield or on the front line. She can take a game on her shoulders if she needs to."
BRITTANY CRABTREE
One of the Aggies' tri-captains, Crabtree has played in 69 games for the Aggies, including 19 starts. She has 10 points on four goals and two assists. Last season, Crabtree appeared in all 22 matches with five starts, notching a goal against Alabama. At 5-10, she gives the Aggies a formidable target in the scoring area.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Brittany is a great target for us. She does a great job for us helping to bring numbers into our attack"
ASDIS HALLDORSDOTTIR
The Reykjavik native has participated in international competitions for the Icelandic women's national teams since 2016. Her international tournaments include the UEFA U19 Championships in 2017 and 2018 and the UEFA U17 Championship in 2016. Halldórsdóttir has 13 caps for Icelandic squads, tallying three goals, all at the 2017 UEFA U19 Championship. She played in Úrvalsdeild kvenna, the highest level of women's soccer in Iceland. She scored four goals in 11 matches for her club Valur Reykjavik in 2018.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Ásdís brings a European footballer's brain to our attack. She is very smart and takes very well-timed runs to get on the ball in extremely dangerous positions."
CLAUDETTE LASSANDRO
Lassandro has appeared in 46 games in her three seasons, including one start. She has shown an ability to dent the net with two goals, including one as a freshman and one as a junior.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Claudette is one of the most important members of our team. She's a unifying force both on and off the pitch. When she is on the ball she has a lethal left foot."
SOPHIE SALVERINO
An early enrollee in the spring of 2017, Salverino has been hindered by injuries since her arrival. Salverino is healthy heading into the autumn and can add depth to the attack. She brings talent as a two-time All-District 19-6A performer and holds the Texas state tournament record for quickest goal, scoring 17 seconds into a semifinal contest in 2016.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Sophie is a player who has been battling injuries her entire career that she's been here. This is the first year that she's been healthy. She has been tremendous in our attack in training and we're looking to transition that into game action."
RHEAGEN SMITH
Smith enters her sophomore season after a year of honing her skills. She appeared in 17 games as a reokie, with 314 minutes played at forward and in the midfield. Her lone goal was one of the biggest of the year for the Aggies, logging a second-half equalizer in the Maroon & White's SEC Tournament semifinal victory against Florida.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Rheagen is a very athletic player who can turn on the ball as well as anyone we have seen. She has a great team mentality, but the individual abilities to break a game open."
ALLY WATT
Watt finished the 2017 season as the Aggies' leading scorer with 24 points on a team-high 11 goals and two assists. She earned All-SEC First Team, United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region First Team and SEC Tournament All-Tournament team recognition. Watt was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 2 after scoring both goals in Texas A&M's 2-1 win over Arkansas. She picked up SEC All-Freshman recognition in 2015. She earned 26 caps that season, including 17 starts. Her rookie campaign was highlighted by seven goals, including four game winners. She scored the Aggies' lone goal in their memorable victory over North Carolina at the NCAA Championship, the first time in 32 years the Tar Heels had been vanquished before the Sweet 16.
COACH G'S TAKE...
"Ally is the most electrifying big play forward in the country. She is someone who changes the game as soon as she steps on the field."