The Texas A&M club men’s soccer team is scheduled to play its second-to-last game versus Texas State at home on Saturday, April 1, at 4:30 p.m.
After winning 2-1 against All-Army on March 22, the team is 1-1 for the season, and optimism is high leading into the game against Texas State, biomedical engineering junior James Sampson said. The game will take place at Penberthy Rec Sports Complex, and is free to all students interested in attending, according to the team’s website.
The team will not change its style of play against Texas State, communication senior Kian Khalilian said.
“We play our own game,” Khalilian said. “We don’t like to switch it up for a different team.”
Khalilian said the team relies on the chemistry developed during practice to win on the field.
“Outside of soccer, the guys hang out a lot together,” Khalilian said. “That bond comes onto the field, and we have fun in between drills.”
More than ever, this season the team has been able to turn on focus when they need to, Khalilian said. The focus has led to learning each other’s soccer style and playing at a high level of performance, he added.
“We did a really good job pressing [All-Army],” Sampson said. “They seemed kind of uncomfortable in the midfield where we were pressing them. I think we also got pretty aggressive.”
It was after the All-Army game, Sampson said, when the team realized they needed to focus on composure and reactions.
“At the end of the game we got scored on, and you could tell we were falling apart a little bit,” Sampson said. “And gave up a few more chances than we’d like to. So [we need to focus on] just keeping our heads if we go down a little bit or give up a goal.”
Follow Aggie men’s soccer @TAMUMensSoccer on Instagram or visit TAMUClubSoccer.com.
Riley Ballard is a communication sophomore and contributed this article from JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.