The No. 8 Texas A&M soccer team heads to Nashville to take the Vanderbilt Commodores on Thursday night at the Vanderbilt Soccer Complex.

The Aggies (7-2, 2-0 SEC) head to the Music City coming off a 2-1 win on Sunday night against UC Riverside, with goals scored by freshman defender Grace Piper and junior forward Haley Pounds.
After shutting out five-straight opponents behind the Aggies’ defense and senior keeper Danielle Rice — dating back to Aug. 28 — Pounds said the team’s defense has made her job a lot easier.

“Our defense has been solid these past six games — they’ve just been unbelievable,” Pounds said after the 2-1 win over UC Riverside. “It’s been great for the forwards too, cause they’re really great at playing balls in behind.”

Pounds is still leading the charge offensively — with her goal last night bringing her season total to five, to go alongside four assists. She leads the team in points with 14.

The Commodores (5-4, 1-1 SEC) heads home after a 2-1 win in double-overtime on the road against Mississippi State. Vanderbilt holds a 3-2 home record, and has rallied behind the offense of freshman Grace Jackson — leading the team in points at 11, to go with three goals and five assists.

In front of the net for the Commodores is junior Kaitlyn Fahrner, who has a 4-1 record for the season, to go with a shutout.

A&M Head coach G Guerrieri said Vanderbilt and the rest of the remaining schedule — all SEC play, will present different matchups from previous opponents.

“Vanderbilt is a very intelligent, very well organized and athletic team,” Guerrieri said following the match against Riverside. “So, it’s going to be another step up from what we just saw.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and will broadcast on the SEC Network + and can be heard on 1550 AM.