2014 was a year for the books in A&M women’s soccer.
And now A&M returns to 2015 coming off a regular season and tournament conference title and an appearance in the National Semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. Now, with a tough schedule, three returning starters and loads of younger talent, this year’s squad looks to go even further.
“We didn’t accomplish all of our goals last year. Our goal last year was to win the national championship,” said A&M head coach G. Guerrieri, entering his 23rd season at the helm. “There are not many teams across the country in given sports that can say that.”
Coming into the year, the Aggies were selected as second in the conference by the coaches, behind the Florida Gators.
There is a lot of youth on the team, which features only two seniors and four juniors. A great incoming freshman class gives depth to the roster. Senior Janae Cousineau said there is not a particular freshman that has stood out yet, but they all possess talents that can make them potential game changers when the situation presents itself.
“They all have their own unique talent that the team can use,” Cousineau said. “It kind of depends on the game and the circumstances that we are in.”
This year, the road to where the team wants to be will be tough. A&M starts the year off against Tulsa at home, then travels down the road to Houston to take on C-USA favorites the Rice Owls for a tough road match. In September, they will also take on Atlantic Ten favorite Dayton on the road.
A&M’s toughest game comes not even one month into the season, as the team takes a trip to the Sunshine State to face off against the top ranked team in the nation, the Florida State Seminoles. Then, the tough SEC slate gets going, and A&M’s first SEC game is a road trip down to Florida again, but to take on the SEC pre-season favorite, the Florida Gators.
Guerrieri said they accept that underdog role.
“That is not really a role we’ve seen. Being an underdog for us, and me, is kind of a welcome change,” Guerrieri said. “The team that we have and the program that we have, we have a big target on our back … It will be interesting. We talked about one of the themes and one of our ideas this year of the coaching staff is that we are ‘young and unafraid’ and that is our motto going into this year.”
The 2015 run to a national title begins Saturday night. The Aggies will kick off the season under the lights of Ellis Field in College Station against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.