The Texas A&M soccer team takes on the No.6 Florida Gators Thursday night at Ellis Field.
The Aggies (4-2-1, 0-1 SEC) are coming off a 1-0 loss at Auburn last Thursday in their SEC-opener.
Florida (7-1-1, 1-0 SEC) has won their last three matches dating back to Sept. 10, and Thursday’s game is the first matchup between the Gators and Aggies since the 2015 SEC Tournament Championship Game, which Florida won 2-1.
Senior midfielder Mikaela Harvey, who played in the 2015 SEC title game, looked back at the close match.
“We were a much younger team by having nine freshmen on the team and we have grown, and communicated together to get where we’re today to be one the top teams in our conference,” Harvey said.
The Gators are led by senior midfielder Gabby Seiler and freshman forward Deanne Rose. Seiler has five goals on the year while playing 685 minutes. Rose has three goals on the year while logging 594 minutes. Sophomore goalkeeper Susi Espinoza also has 14 saves on the year with 545 minutes on the pitch.
Despite the Gators accolades, A&M head coach G Guerreri is optimistic going into the matchup.
“They have too many good players just to focus on three players, they have talent on all the lines and they’re favorites going into the year to win the SEC and a top 10 powerhouse,” Guerreri said. “The matchup will come down to the midfield, where we have really good players and they have really good players, this is why this is the premier matchup for the SEC.”
A&M is led by sophomore forward Cienna Arrieta, who leads the team with three goals and 373 minutes played. Harvey has one goal on the year with 532 minutes played. The Aggies anchor though, has been junior goalkeeper Cosette Morchie, who transferred from Louisiana-Lafayette in 2015.
Morchie has 653 minutes logged while only giving up six goals and has recorded 16 saves on the year.
“I’ve faced SEC teams in the past before being an Aggie, and it’s definitely helped prepare me to where I am now from early spring to the summer,” Morchie said. “Defensively our back field has changed, but communication has been key to keep them out of the box.”
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday at Ellis Field. The game will be televised on SEC Network.