POSITION PREVIEW: Goalkeepers
Thomas Dick, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
What a difference a year makes.
Head coach G Guerrieri is much more comfortable with his goalkeeping situation headed into this season, one year removed from a 2024 campaign which featured inexperience and a challenge to stay healthy.
Last year’s edition entered play with just five career Division I starts, all from the graduated Grace McClellan.
The two other keepers were freshmen Sydney Fuller and Maysen Veronda. Veronda claimed the starting job, but suffered a season-ending injury just days after recording a shutout in the season-opener at Lamar. Fuller would start 14 games and earn SEC Freshman of the Week twice, but she also suffered an injury which caused her to miss a handful of matches.
This season, Fuller and Veronda return healthy and with solid playing experience in the portfolio. Coach Guerrieri also hit the portal to add Erica Defferding, the Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Year.
COACH G’S TAKE…
This spring we had the very pleasant discovery that we had three very good Division I goalkeepers. So no matter who is in goal, we are in great shape.
GAINING NATIONAL TEAM EXPERIENCE
For Fuller and Veronda, the offseason was not only about getting healthy, but also about gaining invaluable international experience. Fuller was invited to a U.S. Soccer Collegiate ID Camp while Veronda spent time training with the Philippines National Team in Manila.
COACH G’S TAKE…
It was a real confidence building experience for both of them. It’s an acknowledgement from an outside group that they are not just elite, but they’re one of the best in the country. For Maysen to be able to go and train in the Philippines with their full national team is an extraordinary compliment. And the amount of growth Sydney went from being a high school player who graduated early to then go through an SEC season as starter and then get a national team training camp is an extraordinary journey. The experience has made them better goalkeepers.
ERICA DEFFERDING
Defferding, who arrived in Aggieland with two years of eligibility remaining, was a two-year standout at Incarnate Word. As a sophomore, she was tabbed GLC Goalkeeper of the Year. She enjoyed a record-breaking campaign for the Cardinals, recording seven shutouts and 92 saves which were both UIW high-water marks as a Division I program. She started 18 of the Cardinals’ 19 matches, posting a 0.94 goals-against average and .844 save percentage in 1,620 minutes. She started all 10 conference matches, recording a 0.60 goals-against average, five shutouts and an .885 save percentage.
COACH G’S TAKE…
Erica came in with experience as a starter and goalkeeper of the year in another league and she was great in the spring. She saved us several times, especially early in the spring as we were sort of getting our defensive organization sorted out. Erica is cat quick. She reads the game very well. She is very good in the air because of her athleticism and judgment of the ball. She’s a top-level shot stopper. If we can polish all those parts of the game, she will be a phenomenal keeper.
SYDNEY FULLER
Fuller started 14 matches, playing all 90 minutes in each game. She posted a 1.14 goals-against average, four shutouts, 49 saves and a .754 save percentage in 1,260 minutes. Fuller manned the woodwork, logging 35 saves, a 1.22 goals-against average, two shutouts and a .761 save percentage in 810 minutes. She logged a clean sheet against Missouri in her first SEC match. The Keller, Texas, product made a season-high 10 saves in a 0-0 stalemate against Arkansas. Fuller also had shutouts against Fairfield and TCU.
COACH G’S TAKE…
Sydney is finally 100 percent healthy after playing banged up for most of the fall. Now she comes in with more confidence. She is significantly more game savvy and understands the game better. She becomes a real asset both in starting attacks and obviously with the defense. Sydney fought through injuries to have a solid season as our starter. She impressed enough to get an invitation to a national team camp which had some of the best sophomores in the country.
MAYSEN VERONDA
Veronda’s rookie campaign was cut short with a training in jury after one game. The San Clemente, California, product battled hard in the fall training camp to earn the starting assignment in the opener. She registered three saves in 5-0 shutout at Lamar. Veronda was one of 31 players called up for the Philippine Football Federation’s February training camp.
COACH G’S TAKE…
Maysen earned the starting spot last year and she is a much better goalkeeper today. She has had the time to mature while also becoming a better athlete and more durable. She has been able to come back fully from her injury and she is better than ever. She is more seasoned because she knows what to expect in the college season. On the sidelines last year, she absorbed all the information she could.
AGGIE GOALKEEPING LEGACY
Following the 2024 campaign, McClellan signed a professional contract with Finnish club, KTP. The deal gave Texas A&M three active professional goalkeepers, including Cosette Morché playing with Fort Lauderdale United FC and Kenna Caldwell with Norwegian club Molde FK. Coach Guerrieri has mentored seven professional goalkeepers, including Kristi Arnold, Danielle Rice and Kati Jo Spisak and Melanie Wilson.
COACH G’S TAKE…
It’s a real source of fulfillment. We really pride ourselves on developing great goalkeepers. I think all three of the players we have can add to that legacy
