With less than a week before its season opener versus No. 6 Florida State, the Texas A&M soccer team looks up for the challenge.
The Aggies closed out their exhibition slate with a 4-0 shutout against Texas State at Ellis Field on Friday, Aug. 11. A&M finishes the preseason with a perfect defensive effort after defeating SMU 2-0 in its first exhibition match on Aug. 6.
Scrimmage or not, both the Mustangs and the Bobcats represent effective tune-up opponents. SMU went 10-4-5 last season while Texas State finished 12-5-2 with a 6-3-1 mark in conference play. The Aggies, meanwhile, are looking to improve upon a 9-7-5 2022 season that saw them go 3-4-3 in the SEC with a first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament.
“To come through our exhibition season undefeated and unscored upon, we’re pleased with that,” coach G Guerrieri said.
Friday’s exhibition afforded Guerrieri and his coaching staff the opportunity to give many players valuable minutes on the pitch. Eighteen Aggies got in on the action with at least 38 minutes each, including seven substitutes.
Aggressiveness was a theme of the night for A&M, who outnumbered Texas State in shots, 20-8, and shots on goal,12-3. The Aggies absorbed plenty of contact from the Bobcats, taking 11 fouls while committing just three.
“We play in a very athletic league, so fouls are something that we’re going to see,” Guerrieri said. “People are going to foul us because we keep the ball a lot and we have the ball a lot. I was pleased that our players didn’t lose their head, they just get the ball down on the ground and we play from it.”
Senior forward and Arizona State transfer Jazmine Wilkinson picked up where she left off in the SMU match, scoring in the eighth minute with an assist from junior forward MaKhiya McDonald and sophomore defender Carolyn Calzada. Wilkinson previously closed out the scoring against the Mustangs with a goal.
Senior forward Andersen Williams put the Aggies up 2-0 heading into halftime with a goal in the 34th minute after fifth year forward and Boston College transfer Sammy Smith’s shot was blocked by the goalkeeper.
“It was a great transition, but it wasn’t really me, it was Sammy,” Williams said. “I was in the right spot at the right time, got the rebound from Sammy’s great shot and just had to tap it in.”
Fifth-year goalkeeper Kenna Caldwell added a save in the first half before junior goalie and Keiser University transfer Grace McClellan picked up a pair in the next period.
McDonald notched a goal in the 77th minute and Smith scored in the 83rd to close out the scoring. McDonald found the net unassisted while Smith did so with an assist from sophomore midfielder Sydney Becerra and freshman defender Margo Matula.
“[There were] some good individual efforts all around the field at different times, so we saw some glimpses of really good across the board,” coach G Guerrieri said.
A&M opens the regular season at home on Thursday, Aug. 17, against a Florida State squad that ended 2022 in the College Cup semifinals after winning the ACC regular season title. The Aggies opened the 2021 campaign against the No. 1 Seminoles, falling 1-0 on the road.
“We’ve got to look at this and continue to get better,” Guerrieri said. “There are some things that we still have got to do a lot better before we see Florida State.”