Texas A&M continues 2019 play at 6:30PM on Friday as the first round of the NCAA Tournament comes to Aggieland. As per usual, this means the Aggies are matched up against a regional team from a lower tier conference. This year, it's the University of Texas-Austin that A&M will face in the opening round.
There's a little history between these two teams. The two sides have played each other 27 times with A&M holding the lopsided 20-5-2 series advantage. A&M is undefeated (31-0-5) against all in-state opponents since 2008.
The last time the Aggies and Longhorns faced off was in A&M's very last Big 12 match in 2011. A&M won in Austin by a score of 3-0.
Fast forward to this season and the Longhorns are 11-7-1 overall and finished 6-5 in Big 12 play. Texas went 3-5-1 on the season against teams selected to the NCAA tournament with a 2-3 mark against those upper echelon teams selected as hosts.
Texas has run hot & cold this season. More honestly, they've vacillated between lukewarm and cold. Their best wins came at Kansas (1-0) and at home against Washington (2-0). Both are national seeds (3 & 4 respectively). But they also have demoralizing losses to the likes of Monmouth (0-4) and Denver (0-3).
Through the season, Texas has outscored opponents 34-25. Junior forward Haley Berg (#2) and sophomore midfielder Julia Grosso (#7) both notched 8 goals for the Longhorns this season. Berg also totalled a team high 9 assists as well as a team-high 72 shots. Grosso, an All-Big 12 selection, was more efficient with her shots, scoring her 8 goals on just 34 shots. She also had 7 assists.
Texas has had two keepers play significant time in goal this season. Savannah Madden (#0) played the full-time in 9 games and Nicole Curry (#23) played a full 10 matches. Madden started the season for Texas and has been back in goal for the last 5 matches, however Curry looks better statistically.
Madden has allowed 16 goals and made 51 saves. She also has 1 shutout. Curry allowed 9 goals while totalling 37 saves and has 6 clean sheets this season. In all, Texas is allowing an average of 1.27 goals per game and has 7 total shutouts. They've been shutout 5 times this season.
Just as a refresher, Texas is coached by Angela Kelly. Kelly is known for previously building Tennessee into a perennial soccer power. Kelly took over in Austin in 2012 and has led the team to a 74-48-19 overall record. This is the third consecutive year she has Texas in the NCAA Tournament.
Texas has proven that they can be a capable team when necessary. And A&M has shown flashes of intensity throughout the season. There's no reason both teams shouldn't be fired up for their first meeting since A&M split from the Big 12. We should have a full house on a chilly day in Aggieland to watch A&M prove that although the faces have changed, A&M is still the premiere team in the state.
There's a little history between these two teams. The two sides have played each other 27 times with A&M holding the lopsided 20-5-2 series advantage. A&M is undefeated (31-0-5) against all in-state opponents since 2008.
The last time the Aggies and Longhorns faced off was in A&M's very last Big 12 match in 2011. A&M won in Austin by a score of 3-0.
Fast forward to this season and the Longhorns are 11-7-1 overall and finished 6-5 in Big 12 play. Texas went 3-5-1 on the season against teams selected to the NCAA tournament with a 2-3 mark against those upper echelon teams selected as hosts.
Texas has run hot & cold this season. More honestly, they've vacillated between lukewarm and cold. Their best wins came at Kansas (1-0) and at home against Washington (2-0). Both are national seeds (3 & 4 respectively). But they also have demoralizing losses to the likes of Monmouth (0-4) and Denver (0-3).
Through the season, Texas has outscored opponents 34-25. Junior forward Haley Berg (#2) and sophomore midfielder Julia Grosso (#7) both notched 8 goals for the Longhorns this season. Berg also totalled a team high 9 assists as well as a team-high 72 shots. Grosso, an All-Big 12 selection, was more efficient with her shots, scoring her 8 goals on just 34 shots. She also had 7 assists.
Texas has had two keepers play significant time in goal this season. Savannah Madden (#0) played the full-time in 9 games and Nicole Curry (#23) played a full 10 matches. Madden started the season for Texas and has been back in goal for the last 5 matches, however Curry looks better statistically.
Madden has allowed 16 goals and made 51 saves. She also has 1 shutout. Curry allowed 9 goals while totalling 37 saves and has 6 clean sheets this season. In all, Texas is allowing an average of 1.27 goals per game and has 7 total shutouts. They've been shutout 5 times this season.
Just as a refresher, Texas is coached by Angela Kelly. Kelly is known for previously building Tennessee into a perennial soccer power. Kelly took over in Austin in 2012 and has led the team to a 74-48-19 overall record. This is the third consecutive year she has Texas in the NCAA Tournament.
Texas has proven that they can be a capable team when necessary. And A&M has shown flashes of intensity throughout the season. There's no reason both teams shouldn't be fired up for their first meeting since A&M split from the Big 12. We should have a full house on a chilly day in Aggieland to watch A&M prove that although the faces have changed, A&M is still the premiere team in the state.
