POSITION PREVIEW: Goalkeepers
Thomas Dick, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
This is Part One of 12thMan.com's four-part series previewing the 2024 Aggie soccer season.
The Aggies enter the 2024 campaign with a corps of three talented goalkeepers battling for time in the woodwork replacing veteran Kenna Caldwell.
Caldwell, now playing professionally with the Orlando Pride, minded the net for over 6,300 minutes during her five seasons in Aggieland, posting a 1.10 goals against average and 19 shutouts.
Vying to fill Caldwell’s shoes are veteran Grace McClellan and freshman keepers Sydney Fuller and Maysen Veronda.
Over the course of 660 minutes during the spring session and two fall exhibitions, the Aggie netminders yielded five goals for a 0.68 goals against average.
Coach G's Take -
“It’s a really smart group of players that’s been here working together since January. The two freshmen enrolled early and the spring was about growth and development and they all did that. The improvement was evident in their games, but also when talking with their coaches when they went back to play with their club teams this summer. The comments from the coaches were about how good they looked and how much they improved.”
I feel comfortable with any of them stepping in and playing. It could be a recipe where we are matching up our goalkeepers strengths to match the specific dangers of the opponent – who’s skill set among the three matches up the best with what we will see from game to game.”
SYDNEY FULLER
Fuller arrived in Aggieland after a stellar playing career at Keller High School and the FC Dallas club. Her last two seasons protecting the goal she posted a 37-6-6 record earning Texas Association of Soccer Coaches 6A All-State First Team in 2022 and Honorable Mention in 2023. With FC Dallas, Fuller earned Texas All-Conference First Team last year and helped the team to the ECNL National Finals Elite Eight in 2022.
Coach G's Take -
“Sydney is a terrific athlete. She’s got a great goalkeeper’s physique in that she’s tall and lean and angular. She’s got very good eye-hand coordination. She’s got a really high ceiling as a collegiate goalkeeper. She is someone who I think is going to be really great for us as she gains more and more experience.”
GRACE MCCLELLAN
In her first season in Aggieland, McClellan earned five starts, totaling 420 minutes with a 1.50 goals against average with 12 saves. She shared time with since graduated Jordyn Gunnarson in shutouts against Grambling and Texas Southern. McClellan made five saves in a 1-0 win at Mississippi State to earn her first career clean sheet.
McClellan started 23 matches for Keiser University in 2022, leading the Seahawks to a 22-1-1 record, Sun Conference regular season and tournament titles and a place in the NAIA Championship semifinals. She earned NAIA All-America Second Team and All-Sun Conference First Team. In 52 career matches at Keiser she racked up nearly 4,500 minutes in goal, posting a 45-4-2 record with a 0.60 goals against average, 132 saves, a .815 save percentage and 28 shutouts. During the elongated 2020-21 campaign. She played the last 10 matches for Keiser, rattling of an 8-1-1 record and winning the NAIA Championship.
Coach G's Take -
“Grace has great natural leadership characteristics. She’s really a hard worker. She’s a student of the game and has always strived to get better every day, so that’s important. It’s so admirable and as a coach it’s what you really love about any player especially the goalkeeper. She’s someone that comes in and makes everyone around her better and she’s really been a joy to work with.”
MAYSEN VERONDA
Veronda was one of the top goalkeeping prospects on the west coast. She enjoyed a stellar career playing for Slammers HB Koge from 2022-24, including claiming the 2022 Surf Cup and being named Best of the Best. Veronda also shined in a club stint with San Diego Surf (2017-22). On the prep scene, she was a three-year letterwinner at JSerra Catholic High School where she claimed All-Trinity League First Team her last two seasons.
Coach G's Take -
“Maysen is really explosive and super competitive. She has great experience coming through some elite clubs and teams in the past. She holds herself to some really high standards. She’s been fun to train and is right in the mix every day with everything we do.”
