Match Preview: at Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - The No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies wrap up the road portion of their fall slate Friday when they trek to Alabama Soccer Stadium for an SEC donnybrook against the Crimson Tide. Match time is slated for 7 p.m.

Streaming of the match is available on SEC Network +. Fans may listen to the match worldwide on 12thMan.com/live and the 12th Man Mobile App.

The teams enter the fray heading in different directions. Texas A&M is 4-1-0 on the season and in the midst of a three-game win streak that features home victories over No. 15 Florida (2-1) and Mississippi State as well as a road triumph at Tennessee (3-1). The Crimson Tide started the season with a win against Tennessee, but have stumbled since then with ties against Mississippi State (1-1) and LSU (3-3) and losses to Florida (2-1), Arkansas (2-1) and Ole Miss (2-0).

Texas A&M boasts an impressive corps of freshman, including Barbara Olivieri and Lauren Geczik who have claimed the last three SEC Freshman of the Week honors. The Maroon & White's rookies have accounted for six of the 12 goals scored this fall, including three by Olivieri, two by Geczik and one by Laney Carroll.

The Aggies are currently the most balanced SEC team in regards to offense and defense. The Maroon & White are the only team to rank among the top three in both goals per game and goals-against average. Texas A&M leads the league in goals per game at 2.40 with 12 tallies in five games. They rank third in the SEC in goals-against average at 0.80.

Texas A&M owns a 7-3-1 edge in the all-time series. After dropping the initial meeting in 1995, 3-1, in College Station, the Aggies rattled off five straight wins, including their first three matches as SEC foes. The squads are an even 2-2-1 in the last five matches with Alabama winning both contests in Tuscaloosa.

Last season, playing without All-American Ally Watt, Texas A&M battled the Tide to a 1-1 draw at Ellis Field. Alabama scored on an own goal in the 67^th minute and Jimena Lopez tied the match with a free kick in the 83^rd minute. The Aggies owned the edges in shots (15-10) and shots-on-goal (7-2), but Alabama's A.J. Crooks made six saves to keep the Crimson Tide in the fight.

The Texas A&M Soccer's uniforms will feature a special patch that will be worn by all Aggies sport teams for the 2020-21 school year. The Aggies will wear a 2 ¼-inch black patch emblazoned with the word: UNIFIED. Texas A&M's student-athletes collectively determined the patch message, and released a statement on why they chose UNIFIED.