On Sunday, the Texas A&M soccer team will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to face the No. 9 Razorbacks.
Arkansas began its SEC title defense by improving to (2-0) after beating Kentucky four goals to one in the Oct. 27 matchup, while the No. 5 Aggies (1-0) are coming off of a bye week due to a postponed game.
Sophomore defender Katie Smith said the team has been able to find positives in A&M’s unexpected bye week.
“We came off of a good win against Ole Miss, and coming back it was disappointing not to be able to play,” Smith said. “Knowing that we can play now has just made us even more excited.”
A&M coach G Guerrieri described last week’s COVID scare as an emotional rollercoaster, but said his team is focused and looking forward to playing the difficult Arkansas team.
“They know it’s a big challenge, but it’s a real opportunity for them to play against another good side,” he said. “They’re always up for these challenges, they’re always excited about it.”
Senior midfielder Addie McCain said playing Arkansas, a team that has handed the Aggies losses in their last two meetings, will be a challenge.
“They play a different kind of soccer that isn’t the prettiest,” McCain said, “but they’re really good at playing that way, and very frustrating to play against.”
Smith said the A&M defense will need to be locked in to deal with Arkansas’ attacking threat.
“They play very direct and their forwards are really quick,” she said, “so for our defense, we have to keep that in mind.”
Guerrieri emphasized how big the opportunity is to play against a team as talented as Arkansas.
“They don’t get any bigger than this one,” he said. “There’s a lot on the line for this particular game.”