Soccer Hosts Turn It Gold Match Thursday versus No. 7 Alabama

The Texas A&M soccer team hosts its annual Turn It Gold Match, you can donate at 12thMan.com/turnitgold.
The Aggies own a 9-5-2 edge in the all-time series against Alabama.
Ireland Churchill and Trinity Buchanan both rank among the SEC’s top 10 in goals scored, with seven and six goals, respectively.

COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M soccer team returns to Ellis Field Thursday when it takes on the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide for a 7 p.m. contest.

The Aggie offense has found a spark it lacked in 2025. This season, Texas A&M has 18 goals through nine matches, averaging 2.0 goals per game. The Maroon & White managed just 17 goals over the entire 17-match slate last season. The Aggies are averaging 3.3 more shots, 3.0 more shots-on-goal and 0.2 more corner kicks per match this season.

Freshmen Ireland Churchill and Finley Lacher account for 10 of the Aggies’ 18 goals. Churchill has 16 points on seven goals and two assists. Lacher boasts nine points on three goals and three assists. Trinity Buchanan has added six goals and she joins Churchill in the SEC’s top 10 in goals scored.

The Aggies (4-5-0, 0-2-0) sit 14th in the SEC standings with zero points after the second week of conference play. Texas A&M looks to earn their first points of the season against a ranked Alabama side.

Last time out, the Maroon & White were on the losing end of a 5-0 decision against No. 4 Vanderbilt last Friday. Despite the result, Lucy Landherr, Ciara Jade Mitchell and Adelaide Paredes each made their first starts of the season. Paredes recorded eight saves, her most in an Aggie jersey.

The Aggies own a 9-5-2 edge in the all-time series against Alabama. The Crimson Tide won the initial meeting, 3-1, in 1995, but the Maroon & White responded by reeling off five consecutive wins, including their first three meetings as SEC foes by a combined tally of 12-0. The series has been evenly matched in recent years, with the teams splitting the last 10 meetings 4-4-2.

Alabama has started the season in strong form, posting a 9-1-0 record and opening the campaign with a seven-game win streak that included a 2-1 victory at No. 21 Memphis and a 3-2 win over No. 15 TCU. In its previous outing, the Crimson Tide cruised to a 2-0 victory over Arkansas.

Larkin Thomason and Ashley Roni lead the Alabama attack with eight and six goals, respectively, while each has also contributed two assists. The Crimson Tide have been equally impressive defensively, posting six clean sheets through their first 10 matches.

PROMOTIONS
Turn it Gold Match:

Turn It Gold shirts for sale for $20 and scarves available for $15 – Funds from sales go towards Turn It Gold Foundation.
Bravery Medal presentation at halftime.
More info and to donate visit 12thMan.com/TurnitGold.

Texas A&M Faculty & Staff Promo Tickets: Discounted tckets available for Texas A&M faculty and staff.
12th Man Rewards: 100Points (Double Point Event)

Interview: Bobby Shuttleworth

Yeah, obviously it's not easy, the last two results. The Kentucky game is a frustrating game. It's a disappointing way to lose that game. Then you step into Vanderbilt, and obviously we get punished for those mistakes. On the road for the first two games in an SEC schedule with a young team, you could see from our game in Kentucky that there were some nerves going into that game...I think we started seven freshmen. They'd never experienced SEC soccer before, and now they have. And they'll be better for those experiences. We've just got to continue to grow and stay united within our group and keep doing the things that we know put us in positions to be successful.

-- Bobby Shuttleworth

Interview: Juliet Haras

I'm really excited to have another home game, especially in SEC play. (I'm) Excited for the crowd to be here and hopefully we have a good amount of people showing up, just to bring the energy for the team...It definitely won't be easy, but we're ready to put the work in for it.

-- Juliet Haras