Sitting below .500 in winning percentage with just one conference win going into the final three games of the regular season, no one in Aggieland, or beyond, imagined Texas A&M soccer in this dire situation.
Nonetheless, it’s a reality coach G Guerrieri must face at the end of his 32nd year as the head man of the program.
With just three remaining chances, the Maroon and White will need to tread unfamiliar waters just to keep the season alive and give themselves a chance in the Southeastern Conference women’s soccer tournament.
“Out of these last three games, we have to win at least two and draw the other one at the worst,” Guerrieri said at Monday’s press conference. “So, we’ve kind of painted ourselves in a little bit of a corner because the competitive nature of the SEC.”
Even if the battered Aggies can make it there, the chances of playing for an NCAA tournament bid still look slim to none as they would likely need to win the entire SEC Tournament to claim the conference’s autobid, beating out some of the top-ranked, one-conference-loss teams in No. 6 Arkansas, No. 4 Tennessee and No. 22 Georgia.
But pressure is a challenge that Guerrieri and his squads are all too familiar with, and it’s why he has the eighth-most wins of any Division 1 college women’s soccer coach.
“Pressure means that there’s something on the line and that people are watching,” Guerrieri said. “There’s a lot of people playing for programs around the country that no one’s watching them, but here in the SEC and especially here at Texas A&M, as the most successful program in the league and in the state, is that pressure is always on us.”
A winning hand wasn’t dealt to the storied program head this season, partially due to a massive roster overhaul and injuries galore. Even still, Guerrieri’s time in Aggieland hasn’t seen as far of a slide as it has had in the past two seasons after missing out on an NCAA tournament berth last year, and likely again this season. The last time that happened was when the program was first beginning in 1993-94, and that group would have made it if not for a rule barring programs in their inaugural years.
These are uncharted waters for the coach, and it comes at a time where Guerrieri doesn’t have his long-time associate head coach Phil Stephenson — a 26-year veteran of the program — to lean on after his retirement at the end of last season.
So who can the man in charge rely on in such a pivotal moment in the program’s history?
Well, there are a few names that come to mind when examining the elements of the slow-and-steady rebuild that Guerrieri has made all too clear for the 12th Man to see.
Assistant coach Aylssa Mautz Bower arrived in College Station in July of 2022, just days after retiring from a 10-year NWSL career with the Chicago Red Stars, and her impact was noticed immediately.
A former midfielder at A&M, Bower found her knack for developing stars like All-SEC honorees in former players Maile Hayes and Mia Pante, who both now play in professional leagues.
The list didn’t stop there, showing she also knows both sides of the ball well by setting up what could have been a promising backline in All-SEC sections and now-Vanderbilt junior defenders Margo Matula and Adysen Armenta, as well as Notre Dame graduate D Carolyn Calzada.
Bower’s coaching has proof in the pudding, but can she do it alone? Well, she won’t have to if the newest additions to the staff, assistant coaches Tim Strader can find a way to help pull the current squad out of its 1-5-1 conference slump.
The last time Guerrieri’s squads advanced past the NCAA Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, it was 2014 and “Happy” by Pharrell Williams was still playing on the radio. It’s almost 11 years later, and Guerrieri still hasn’t led a team back to the Women’s College Cup semifinals.
Rubbing dirt in the metaphorical wound that is the postseason performance — A&M has never advanced to the championship in the 32 years of the program’s existence. That’s something to be considered when choosing the next face of the program.
While Guerrieri’s contract runs through 2026, the ink is fading as quickly as the Aggies’ chances for making the SEC Tournament.
