Texas A&M soccer closes out their spring irregular season at home on Saturday. The Aggies face TCU at 7PM at Ellis Field. Video of the game will not be broadcast, but audio will be available on the 12th Man app and locally on 97.3FM.
The Aggies are 12-0 all-time against TCU. The last meeting came in Knoxville in the 2nd round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The Aggies won that won 2-0.
But this is a different TCU than the Aggies have faced before. This TCU team comes with a #3 national ranking, a 10-0-1 record, and a wealth of talent.
Texas A&M will be the first non-Big 12 team that TCU plays during this 2020-2021 season. TCU faltered in their opening game in 2020 and tied Baylor 0-0, but has been a perfect 10-0 since then, outscoring their opponents 21-3 on their way to their first Big 12 Championship.
TCU has 3 players on the Hermann Trophy Watch List, which is tied for the most in the nation.
One of those players, senior midfielder Yazmeen Ryan, was drafted #6 overall in the NWSL Draft, but decided to finish out the spring season at TCU before joining the Portland Thorns. Ryan is tied for a team-leading 6 goals and has 3 assists as well. Ryan missed the last 2 games in 2020 due to injury but is back in a big way in their continued 2021 season. She has played a role in scoring all 6 goals in the spring season, notching 3 assists and putting 3 goals in herself.
Sophomore forward, Grace Collins is TCU's 2nd Hermann Trophy Watch Lister and has matched Ryan's 6 goals this season and scored the game winner against West Virginia to win the Big 12 Championship. She also has 2 assists and a team-high 34 shots. Collins has started every game since stepping on campus at TCU.
The third TCU player on the Hermann Trophy Watch List is senior goalkeeper Emily Alvarado. Alvarado has totaled 43 saves this season while allowing 3 goals. She's earned 7 shutouts on the season. Alvarado is a member of Mexico's 2020 World Cup Qualifying team. Alvarado has actually faced A&M before, in the aforementioned 2018 match and set a career high in saves with 8.
For comparison, the Aggies placed two players on the Hermann Trophy Watch List, but both Jimena Lopez and Addie McCain were drafted and are now playing with their professional teams.
This will be a tough match for the Aggies and is certainly one they need to win (or tie) to boost their tournament resume. TCU comes in as a daunting opponent that's kept their 2020 season rolling into 2021. The Aggies are more unsure as the roster and team dynamic changed with the calendar year.
It's possible with the conference-centric scheduling that certain conferences' teams get a rankings boost artificially (Big Ten Basketball). However, that doesn't appear to be the case with the Big 12 as West Virginia has notched huge victories over a couple of ACC powerhouses in Duke & Virginia. It's unusual for a visiting team to come to Ellis Field as a heavy favorite, but that looks to be the case here. It's time to see what this 2021 squad is made of.
The Aggies are 12-0 all-time against TCU. The last meeting came in Knoxville in the 2nd round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The Aggies won that won 2-0.
But this is a different TCU than the Aggies have faced before. This TCU team comes with a #3 national ranking, a 10-0-1 record, and a wealth of talent.
Texas A&M will be the first non-Big 12 team that TCU plays during this 2020-2021 season. TCU faltered in their opening game in 2020 and tied Baylor 0-0, but has been a perfect 10-0 since then, outscoring their opponents 21-3 on their way to their first Big 12 Championship.
TCU has 3 players on the Hermann Trophy Watch List, which is tied for the most in the nation.
One of those players, senior midfielder Yazmeen Ryan, was drafted #6 overall in the NWSL Draft, but decided to finish out the spring season at TCU before joining the Portland Thorns. Ryan is tied for a team-leading 6 goals and has 3 assists as well. Ryan missed the last 2 games in 2020 due to injury but is back in a big way in their continued 2021 season. She has played a role in scoring all 6 goals in the spring season, notching 3 assists and putting 3 goals in herself.
Sophomore forward, Grace Collins is TCU's 2nd Hermann Trophy Watch Lister and has matched Ryan's 6 goals this season and scored the game winner against West Virginia to win the Big 12 Championship. She also has 2 assists and a team-high 34 shots. Collins has started every game since stepping on campus at TCU.
The third TCU player on the Hermann Trophy Watch List is senior goalkeeper Emily Alvarado. Alvarado has totaled 43 saves this season while allowing 3 goals. She's earned 7 shutouts on the season. Alvarado is a member of Mexico's 2020 World Cup Qualifying team. Alvarado has actually faced A&M before, in the aforementioned 2018 match and set a career high in saves with 8.
For comparison, the Aggies placed two players on the Hermann Trophy Watch List, but both Jimena Lopez and Addie McCain were drafted and are now playing with their professional teams.
This will be a tough match for the Aggies and is certainly one they need to win (or tie) to boost their tournament resume. TCU comes in as a daunting opponent that's kept their 2020 season rolling into 2021. The Aggies are more unsure as the roster and team dynamic changed with the calendar year.
It's possible with the conference-centric scheduling that certain conferences' teams get a rankings boost artificially (Big Ten Basketball). However, that doesn't appear to be the case with the Big 12 as West Virginia has notched huge victories over a couple of ACC powerhouses in Duke & Virginia. It's unusual for a visiting team to come to Ellis Field as a heavy favorite, but that looks to be the case here. It's time to see what this 2021 squad is made of.