The NCAA Tournament streak continues for Aggie soccer, as the team enters its 27th appearance in 28 years. Texas A&M will face off against the University of Texas in a Friday evening match on Nov. 11 at 5 p.m.
In the top-right quadrant of the bracket, Texas is the No. 7 seed. The Longhorns were given a higher seed due to their 7-0-2 conference record, while the Aggies were given an at-large bid. An at-large bid is an invitation to the tournament from the selection committee.
Historically, this matchup has been in favor of the maroon and white, but the No. 16-ranked burnt orange and white have the edge this season. The Longhorns have a season record of 14-2-4, and the Aggies have a record of 9-6-5. A&M has a 21-5-2 all-time record against the University of Texas.
“It’s a big event for soccer in the state of Texas whenever these two teams get together,” coach G Guerrieri said to 12thMan.com.
When these two rivals last met, A&M defeated Texas 4-1 in an Ellis Field victory to advance to the NCAA Tournament Round 2 in 2019. The two teams meet again with the same outcome on the line, but this time in Austin at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
“You know that there’ll be a lot of energy,” Guerrieri said to 12thMan.com.
For the Longhorns, sophomore forward Trinity Byars has scored a whopping 16 goals so far this season. Her teammate with the closest amount of goals scored is freshman center back EmJ Cox with seven.
“They have got a loaded roster,” Guerrieri said to 12thMan.com.
Sophomore forward Maile Hayes has been racking up honors and awards since early October. Hayes won SEC Offensive Player of the Week three weeks in a row. She also was awarded All-SEC First Team with her nine goals this season for the Aggies.
In the goal box for Texas, graduate goalkeeper Savannah Madden has 16 goals allowed this season. Madden hasn’t given up more than two goals a game so far this fall. A&M’s senior keeper Kenna Caldwell has allowed 21 total goals this season. Caldwell hasn’t had a shutout since Oct. 10 in a 1-0 win over Rice.
In the regular season, both teams played Florida and TCU. A&M defeated Florida 4-1 and UT won 3-2. In their games against TCU, the outcomes differed. The Longhorns tied the Horned Frogs 1-1, but the Aggies lost 2-1 to the Fort Worth-based school.
The Longhorns will be coming off a 1-0 loss to West Virginia in the semifinal of the Big 12 Soccer Championship. They were given the title of regular season champions of their conference.
Returning to play off of a 2-1 overtime Round 1 loss in the SEC Tournament to Mississippi State, the Aggies will look to take control of their fate in the postseason.
The winner of this massive rivalry game will go on to play in Round 2 against the winner of the Duke-Radford game. The Round 2 game will be on Friday, Nov. 18.
