Photo by: Spencer Gnauck/Texas A&M Athletics
Position Preview: Goalkeepers
Sep 13, 2020 | Soccer
'Building on last year's success'… That is the best way to describe Texas A&M's goalkeeping force.
What a difference a year makes. Last season, with the departure of Cosette Morché following her graduation and signing a professional contract to play in Sweden, the Aggies entered play with four goalkeepers who never saw action in a collegiate match.
This season, three of those four netminders return, accounting for all but 45 minutes of action from last season.
Texas A&M Soccer welcomes back junior Jordan Burbank, and sophomores Shantel Hutton and Kenna Caldwell. All three players started at least one match, in 2019, combining for a 14-5-3 record with a 0.98 goals-against average and 10 shutouts.
Now with a seasoned keeper corps, the Maroon & White enter the 2020 campaign with the intention of making more marked improvement.
Coach G's Take – "This group has improved a whole lot since last season. Last year, we had a situation where we had four talented keepers but none of them had any collegiate experience. The goals we gave up could almost all be attributed to the fact that they were not ready to play at the college speed just yet. Now a year later with training, experience and the focus on the speed of the game, it has helped each of them. They are significantly better in every aspect than they were this time last year."
JORDAN BURBANK
Burbank made two appearances for the Aggies, allowing only one goal in 71:42 minutes of play. Her first call to action came against No. 8 Arkansas and she made her first career start at Vanderbilt.
Coach G's Take – "Jordan is a fantastic shot stopper. She is brave and has great power as a keeper. She does a great job leading the backline and she is someone who recognizes the game. She has developed a lot of great leadership skills."
KENNA CALDWELL
Caldwell saw action in six games, including four starts, tallying 462:28 minutes in her rookie campaign. The Colorado native played in three SEC games, including two starts, posting a 3-0-0 record. She compiled seven saves with just one goal allowed against Texas in the first round of the NCAA Championship.
Coach G's Take – "Kenna is someone who could play a field position for a lot of college teams around the country. She is talented with her feet which means when she is in goal our team feels confident in our ability to build out of the back to keep possession and lead attacks. She is tall and athletic and has done a great job in polishing up her game since last year."
SHANTEL HUTTON
Hutton started 17 games in her breakout season. The Georgia native logged 1,479:32 minutes, posting a 10-4-3 record with a 0.85 goals-against average. She compiled 48 saves and eight shutouts in her rookie campaign for the Maroon & White. Hutton was honored with SEC Freshman of the Week twice (8/26, 9/9).
Coach G's Take – "Shantel is one of the most athletic goal keepers we have had in a long time. She possesses solid shot-stopping ability and she has developed her game in the air. Shantel has grown up as a field player as well as a goalkeeper, which makes her comfortable on the ball. She does a great job in helping us when we have the ball to keep possession and start attacks. She has a good presence in goal and is a hard player to beat in a one-on-one situation as well as regular shot situations."
What a difference a year makes. Last season, with the departure of Cosette Morché following her graduation and signing a professional contract to play in Sweden, the Aggies entered play with four goalkeepers who never saw action in a collegiate match.
This season, three of those four netminders return, accounting for all but 45 minutes of action from last season.
Texas A&M Soccer welcomes back junior Jordan Burbank, and sophomores Shantel Hutton and Kenna Caldwell. All three players started at least one match, in 2019, combining for a 14-5-3 record with a 0.98 goals-against average and 10 shutouts.
Now with a seasoned keeper corps, the Maroon & White enter the 2020 campaign with the intention of making more marked improvement.
Coach G's Take – "This group has improved a whole lot since last season. Last year, we had a situation where we had four talented keepers but none of them had any collegiate experience. The goals we gave up could almost all be attributed to the fact that they were not ready to play at the college speed just yet. Now a year later with training, experience and the focus on the speed of the game, it has helped each of them. They are significantly better in every aspect than they were this time last year."
JORDAN BURBANK
Burbank made two appearances for the Aggies, allowing only one goal in 71:42 minutes of play. Her first call to action came against No. 8 Arkansas and she made her first career start at Vanderbilt.
Coach G's Take – "Jordan is a fantastic shot stopper. She is brave and has great power as a keeper. She does a great job leading the backline and she is someone who recognizes the game. She has developed a lot of great leadership skills."
KENNA CALDWELL
Caldwell saw action in six games, including four starts, tallying 462:28 minutes in her rookie campaign. The Colorado native played in three SEC games, including two starts, posting a 3-0-0 record. She compiled seven saves with just one goal allowed against Texas in the first round of the NCAA Championship.
Coach G's Take – "Kenna is someone who could play a field position for a lot of college teams around the country. She is talented with her feet which means when she is in goal our team feels confident in our ability to build out of the back to keep possession and lead attacks. She is tall and athletic and has done a great job in polishing up her game since last year."
SHANTEL HUTTON
Hutton started 17 games in her breakout season. The Georgia native logged 1,479:32 minutes, posting a 10-4-3 record with a 0.85 goals-against average. She compiled 48 saves and eight shutouts in her rookie campaign for the Maroon & White. Hutton was honored with SEC Freshman of the Week twice (8/26, 9/9).
Coach G's Take – "Shantel is one of the most athletic goal keepers we have had in a long time. She possesses solid shot-stopping ability and she has developed her game in the air. Shantel has grown up as a field player as well as a goalkeeper, which makes her comfortable on the ball. She does a great job in helping us when we have the ball to keep possession and start attacks. She has a good presence in goal and is a hard player to beat in a one-on-one situation as well as regular shot situations."
Players Mentioned
Media Availability: Bobby Shuttleworth
Thursday, December 11
Weekly Press Conference: G Guerrieri
Thursday, October 23
The Aggie Soccer Hour (Ep 7)
Wednesday, October 22
Mizzou Postgame: G Guerrieri, Bella Yakel, Kaylee Noble
Thursday, October 16
