After surviving a tough non-conference slate with a 3-2 record, the Texas A&M soccer team begins its 2001 Big 12 schedule on the road this weekend against Texas Tech and Colorado.
The Aggies faced some of the best teams from the West coast and have climbed to No. 7 in the Soccer America poll and No. 9 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. A&M slipped one spot to No. 12 in the Soccer Buzz poll despite a close loss to No. 3 Portland and a win over No. 13 Washington this past weekend.
A&M, which finished second in the Big 12 last year with an 8-2 conference record, will start this year’s conference schedule against two of the Big 12’s worst teams from last year.
Last season, Colorado finished 8-11 and No. 7 in the Big 12 with a 4-6 record. Tech finished 10th out of the 11 Big 12 teams with a 4-14 record and a 2-8 Big 12 record.
The Red Raiders and Buffaloes are struggling again this year, but head soccer coach G. Guerrieri said both teams cannot be overlooked.
“Any time that we play against teams that are familiar with us and we have to go on the road, it is always a difficult game, more difficult than it is maybe on paper,” Guerrieri said.
Tonight, the Aggies play in Lubbock where they lost in 1999. That was the only time A&M has lost to Tech with the all-time record between the schools being 6-1 in the Aggies’ favor.
“We know that it is a difficult environment,” Guerrieri said. “They don’t particularly like Aggies and it is a very, very small field.”
Last season, the Aggies posted a 3-0 win over the Red Raiders at the Aggie Soccer Complex.
This season, Tech is 2-5 and have been outscored 15-9. Tech lost to Tulsa, which A&M beat 11-0 in exhibition play.
Colorado has also struggled this season. The Buffaloes are 1-4 and have not scored more than two goals in any game.
A&M beat Colorado twice last season, once in the regular season and once in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, by a combined score of 9-2. A&M holds a 6-0 all-time record against the Buffaloes.
The Aggies have been led by freshman Linsey Johnson this season. Johnson has scored a goal in all five of the Aggie’s games and either leads the team or is tied for the lead in all major offensive categories. She was named the Big 12 newcomer of the week for her performance in the Husky ike Invitational, where she scored the winning goal against Washington.
After the Aggies return from Boulder this weekend, they will have four consecutive games at the Aggie Soccer Complex starting with non-conference opponent Houston Oct. 5, and ending with No. 4 Nebraska on Oct. 14.