Texas A&M soccer may not be pleased with its 5-3 start to the season, but it can take solace in the idea that it’s not about how it starts — but how it finishes.
The Aggies wrapped up their non-conference slate with a 6-0 loss at UConn on Sept. 15 and now make the move to SEC country, which has taken on new territory with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma. A&M will look to flush a few uncharacteristic losses in the first month of the season as it kicks off the conference schedule.
“I think we’ll be ready,” coach G Guerrieri said. “We’ve identified the enemy, and the enemy is us. We’ve got to do just a better job of sticking with the game plan that we talk about and doing the things that kind of fit into playing to our strengths and not avoiding the things that are necessary for us to win.”
SEC action begins in Columbia, Missouri, where A&M will meet conference cellar-dweller Missouri at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Tigers are in sore need of a win after a 2-4-1 start to the campaign, including a 7-0 loss to Duke, who is now tied for third in the Top 25, in their last match. It’s a program the Aggies are familiar with as they hold an 18-6-4 all-time record against the Tigers, albeit without a win since 2019.
“Going into CoMo has been a difficult one for us over the past,” Guerrieri said. “It’s never been easy. … Going in there will be one where we really need to focus on kind of cleaning up some of the things from our game in Storrs, [Connecticut].”
A&M will close out the week on Sunday at 2 p.m. as it hosts former Big 12 foe Oklahoma. The Aggies have historically dominated the Sooners with a 17-2 all-time mark, although the teams last met in 2018 and haven’t played consistently since 2011.
Oklahoma has jumped to a 7-1 record in year two under former Ole Miss coach Matt Mott and is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25.
“He’s somebody that’s going to do whatever it takes to win,” Guerrieri said. “His style of his teams are looking at the strengths of the personnel that he has, and playing a style that’s not going to put those players in any kind of tactical jeopardy.”
In one of the nation’s top conferences, the SEC schedule features a list of opportunities for A&M to improve its standing entering postseason play. No. 3 Arkansas and No. 6 Auburn occupy the top 10 while No. 11 Texas, No. 20 Kentucky and No. 24 Mississippi State round out the Top 25. Oklahoma also received votes.
“In these games against SEC versus SEC contests, [there are] opportunities for us to really gain in our resume for the postseason,” Guerrieri said.
The Aggies have the benefit of traveling to Missouri and 5-4 Ole Miss while hosting Oklahoma, Auburn, Vanderbilt, LSU and Mississippi State, each of which are ahead of A&M in the conference standings. It will face its greatest challenges when visiting Texas, Alabama and Arkansas.
Last season, the Aggies went a solid 4-3-3 in SEC play and 1-1 in the conference tournament en route to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they lost 1-0 to the eventual national champion, No. 1 Florida State. A&M beat Mississippi State and Alabama and tied with Auburn and LSU on the road.
The Aggies are 2-2 away from College Station this season and will need to build upon their play on the road as they aim for their 29th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
“Pure and simple, we were not taking care of the ball at all on Sunday,” Guerrieri said. “Those are things that I think, with the talent we have, the roster we have, [then] we can do that. But the focus has got to be there, and the commitment has got to be there.”
