Aggies Continue SEC Play With Road Contest at No. 4 Vanderbilt

The Maroon & White have already eclipsed last season’s goal tally with 18.
The Aggies are 10-4-0 all-time against the Commodores.
The bout streams live on the SEC Network +.

NASHVILLE – The Texas A&M Aggies continue SEC play Friday with a road match against the Vanderbilt Commodores. First kick from the Vanderbilt Soccer Complex is slated for 8 p.m.

Bobby Shuttleworth’s tactics have completely reinvigorated an offense that struggled for goals last season. The Aggies have already eclipsed last season’s goal tally with 18 through just eight games. Ireland Churchill continues to be in red-hot form, scoring seven goals over a six-match span and becoming the first Texas A&M freshman to reach that mark since Annie Kunz in 2011.

Last time out, Texas A&M (4-4-0, 0-1-0 SEC) suffered a loss to Kentucky in Lexington, conceding a scrappy 77th minute goal that the Aggies were unable to recover from. The Maroon & White had a chance to equalize from the spot in the 85th minute after Churchill was fouled in the box, but Kentucky goalkeeper Megan Holland denied the skipper.

Trinity Buchanan scored five goals through the first four games, becoming the first Aggie since Kelley Monogue in 2014 to accomplish the feat. Buchanan has since matched her career high with six goals, reaching that total for the third time in her career. Her six goals have already surpassed Texas A&M’s individual high from last season, when Buchanan led the team with five.

The Maroon & White are 10-4-0 all-time against the Commodores. The first meeting came in 1995, when the Aggies notched a 4-2 win in College Station. The teams have met 11 times as SEC foes, with A&M holding a 7-4-0 advantage. Vanderbilt’s 6-0 win in 2023 marked Texas A&M’s largest conference defeat since joining the SEC, while the Commodores have outscored the Aggies 8-0 across the last two meetings.

Vanderbilt owns a 7-0-1 record, opening the campaign with a seven-match winning streak that included a 4-1 victory over No. 21 Memphis. The Commodores’ streak came to an end with a 1-1 draw against Georgia in Athens. The Black & Gold have scored 29 goals through their first eight contests but have been less consistent defensively, recording just two clean sheets.

Press Conference: Bobby Shuttleworth

Against Kentucky, we had some of our highest numbers in terms of our high-speed running. The effort, the intensity of the actions is not something that I could fault in them. They worked hard and sprinted when they needed to sprint for the most part, so I can't fault that. I think what we're lacking is an attention to detail. All of that hunger and desire needs to be put into the right places and mentally staying on task and doing the things that we need to do....that's pretty much our main point of focus for this week and then going into this game.

-- Bobby Shuttleworth

Press Conference: Ireland Churchill

I think coming in the Spring helped me a lot to grow into the player I am today, thanks to Bobby and the other coaching staff. Being with this team, it's a great team. Everyone's so friendly here. They welcomed all the freshmen with open arms, so I think that made it a lot easier to get comfortable and just play my normal play.

-- Ireland Churchill