Texas A&M is coming off of a 5-3 victory over Missouri, riding a two-game win streak as the Aggies head into their final regular season game of the season against Ole Miss.
No. 17 A&M is in second place in the SEC West division due to the team’s efficient offensive output. The Aggies rank 17th in the country in scoring offense and stand out as an aggressive team, holding the fourth overall ranking in shots per game.
Coach G Guerrieri said he is proud of his offense for coming from behind and bringing the team back A&M last two wins, though he would like to see a stronger start to games.
“For us to come from behind in dramatic fashion was something that I’m proud the girls were able to come back from,” Guerrieri said. “We need to do a better job of starting strong so we don’t give up those early goals, and that will obviously be something we’ll focus on.”
The team also features two dangerous offensive players in junior defender Jimena Lopez and senior forward Ally Watt. Lopez ranks fourth nationally in assists per game, while Watt ranks eighth nationally in total goals.
Guerrieri said the team needs to keep improving in other areas so that these two can be utilized to the best of their abilities.
“Watt is the hottest goal scorer in the country, so it’s nice to have that in our repertoire,” Guerrieri said. “We’d like to be a little more dangerous in some other situations. You’ve [got] Jimena Lopez, who leads the nation in assists, on one flank, and you’ve got Macy Kolb, who has done an outstanding job in getting forward and getting the ball across the face of the goal, on the other side, so we’re creating a lot of chances. We just need to finish them off.”
Ole Miss will pose a challenge for the Aggies, as the Rebels play in a similar style to A&M’s team. The Rebels rank 19th nationally in shots per game.
Junior midfielder Addie McCain said if A&M plays how it has all season, her team has a great chance of beating future opponents.
“Our goal is to just go out there and play soccer,” McCain said. “We want to keep the ball and out-possess them and hopefully come out on top. If we bring the energy and the effort and play our style of soccer, then we can match- up well against anybody.”
Junior forward Taylor Ziemer said the matchup has implications for the postseason, but the team will approach the game like any other.
“We just want to get three points,” Ziemer said. “We’re setting ourselves up going into the SEC tournament, so it’s a big game, but it’s like any other game. We want to win, and we want to finish the regular season on a strong note and go into the postseason doing well.
The Aggies will host Ole Miss on Oct. 31 at Ellis Field. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on SEC Network +.