The Texas A&M soccer team managed to pull off another SEC win against the Florida Gators, 4-1 on Thursday, Oct. 27, marking head coach G Guerrieri’s 500th career win.
A&M got on the board early with a goal from sophomore forward Maile Hayes off an assist coming from sophomore forward MaKhiya McDonald and junior defender Kate Colvin. About six and a half minutes later, sophomore defender Macy Mutula sent her second goal of the season into the back of the net for a 2-1 lead.
The Gators attempted to get back in the game with a goal during the 68th minute, but Hayes had other ideas and launched her second goal of the night about a minute later to seal the 4-1 result.
During the month of October, the Aggies haven’t posted a single loss to stay undefeated and close out the season. The team rallied around its goals and stayed focused on the finish line, Hayes said.
“We’ve really turned it around this season,” Hayes said. “I think it comes with staying focused on our end goal and never giving up. This team is really special and we’re all in it. We want the same goal in the end and we’re not going to stop working.”
With this win, Guerreri became only the fifth coach in NCAA Division I women’s soccer and 10th coach in all three divisions to reach the 500-win milestone. His 400th win also came at the expense of Florida back in 2015.
“500 wins, my friend [former A&M women’s basketball coach] Gary Blair talks about when he was always getting to those accomplishments just shows how you’ve been here a long time,” Guerrieri said. “For me, the obvious starts with the great players that have played for us over the the years. My wife, Terry, and my kids have made huge sacrifices to make Texas A&M soccer what it has become over these years. It wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for those guys.”
A&M finished off the season with a 9-5-5 overall record and 2-3-1 in conference play for fourth place in the SEC West standings.
“Finishing the regular season on the right frame of mind and being able to go undefeated still in October and win with a statement [is big],” Guerrieri said. “Four goals and winning going away against a storied program as Florida, they’ve done a good job of making it really difficult to play against them.”
After defeating the Gators, the Aggies snagged the ninth seed in the SEC Tournament after missing it last season for the first time in 26 years. The last time A&M made it into the tournament was in 2020 where the team earned the seventh seed and advanced to the semifinals before losing to Vanderbilt, 3-1.
After last year’s ending to the season, graduate defender Karlina Sample utilized her fifth-year option to stay with the team and give it one more shot to make it deep in the postseason.
“I’m proud of the team for how we ended,” Sample said. “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. We always talked about growing throughout the season. The finish we had tonight really showed our growth.”
The Aggies will face off against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 3:30 p.m. The winner of the matchup will compete against the Alabama Crimson Tide who earned the No. 1 seed and SEC regular-season conference championship.