Texas A&M Aggies
Overall Rank: #10
#2 SEC
Texas A&M Team Page
Texas A&M finished SEC play with a 9-2-0 record and the went on to beat Auburn, South Carolina and Florida to win the SEC tournament. As a result, the Aggies were a seeded team in the NCAA Tournament. Texas A&M went as far as they were supposed to in the tournament, beating Utah and Texas Tech before falling to top seeded North Carolina in the third round. With ten starters returning, Coach G Guerrieri will have this team competing for an SEC title with the potential for so much more.
2013 Record: 18-5-2, 9-2-0
2013 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: G Guerrieri
Returning Leaders:
Goals: Shea Groom, Senior, F/M, 14
Assists: Karlie Mueller, Junior, D, 10
Shots: Shea Groom, Senior, F/M, 108
Saves: Jordan Day, Senior, GK, 79
Other Key Returnees: F Liz Keester, F Bianca Brinson, F Annie Kunz, F/M Allie Bailey, F/M Kelley Monogue, M Janae Cousineau, D Leigh Edwards, D Meghan Streight, D Grace Wright
Key Losses: D Rachel Lenz
Strengths:
At 2.24 goals per game, Texas A&M ranked 22nd in country in scoring offense. They should be able to score even more this season. Shea Groom led the way in 2013, scoring 14 goals and adding seven assists. Forward Liz Keester had a great freshman campaign, scoring ten goals with four assists. Allie Bailey added nine goals, while Kelley Monogue tallied six. Annie Kunz was often used in a reserve role, but she managed to find the back of the net five times. Players like forward Bianca Brinson and defender Karlie Mueller may not do much scoring, but both will pick up plenty of assists. Brinson totaled seven assists in 2013 and certainly has the potential to boost her scoring output this year. Mueller led the squad with ten assists. This team can attack from anywhere so the opposition has to worry just about everybody on the pitch scoring. Shutting down the A&M offense is going to be tough, even for the best defenses in the SEC.
Weaknesses:
The Aggies return plenty of talent on defense, including Streight, Leigh Edwards and Grace Wright, as well as keeper Jordan Day, but this team rarely posts a shutout and Day has to do a lot of work between the posts. The team will also have to move on without Rachel Lenz, a four year starter on the back line. Streight is a great defender and Day is a big, experienced keeper, so there is plenty of potential here, but improvement across the board must be seen if this team has College Cup dreams. Day had a great season in 2012, but took a bit of a step back in 2013, allowing 25 goals in 25 games. If the defense in front of her can make life a little less busy for Day, she will once again be considered the best keeper in the SEC.
Final Projection:
The Aggies have a little easier schedule in 2014 than they did in 2013. They do host UCF, Illinois State and Marquette, a few quality teams who will be eyeing trips to the NCAA Tournament this year, but Texas A&M will be favored to win all of those games at home. Their only non-conference road trip is out to the desert to take on Arizona and Arizona State in Tempe. Even the tougher SEC games, most notably Florida and South Carolina, are at the friendly confines of Ellis Field.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Tournament
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 2.24 (22nd in nation, 2nd in conference)
Goals-Against Average: 0.979 (75, 3)
Shutout Percentage: 0.320 (142, 8)
Save Percentage: 0.771 (178, 5)
Madness 2015 NWSL Draft Rankings:
#26 Annie Kunz
#33 Meghan Streight
Madness 2014 Women’s Soccer Recruit Rankings:
#7 Mikaela Harvey
#21 Haley Pounds
#83 Stephanie Malherbe
See All College Sports Madness Top 44 Women's Soccer Previews
