Spring will be here before you know it!

Dates and opponents are locked in.
Match times TBA. #GigEm | 👍 pic.twitter.com/mbHAZwzuGi

— Texas A&M Soccer (@AggieSoccer) January 4, 2023

Sawyer Dumond transferred to UTSA.

Aggies beat Oklahoma 1-0 in the first action of the day.

Some observations from the 60-minute match versus LSU.

Back line was a mixture of LG, Cornog, Matula, and Matula, with Adysen Armenta subbing in for LG for significant minutes.
Front line was mostly Hayes, Pante, and Colvin, with some major minutes later for McDonald and Taylor Jernigan.
Midfield was mostly Becera, Leb, Boeckmann.
Caldwell got the start in goal.

The Ags created several good chances in each half, but the timing was just slightly off among the forwards on most of them.

Hayes continues to show her tremendous tenacity and drive to make things happen. Colvin creates well from the wing. Pante seemed just a bit off, with a few mishandled touches and missed finishes.

Leb looked good in a holding midfield role, while Becera (now wearing no. 7) was very good at creating chances with diagonal through-balls. I think she'll be really important to this team's success going forward. It needs a consistently creative presence in the midfield. Boeckmann seems to complement her well.

The biggest pleasant addition to me is Armenta. She was solid in defense, matching the speed of LSU's front line and unafraid (already!) make the big, perfectly-timed tackle. She'd not a big physical presence, but she's fast, skilled, and brave. She also moved into midfield later in the match and created her own chance with a nice dribble through the back line and hard shot that barely went high. I thought it might have been the best chance of the match. So, this was a really impressive debut for Ady.

Jordyn Gunnarson got a half of work and made some good saves, but spilled one dangerously. But, still, it appears there are at least two good shot-stoppers on the roster.

Players not suited up included Calzada, Pounds, and Kniffen.

Bella James was also not in uniform. I counted 20 players available.
Seemed like we should have scored 5 goals against LSU because we got the ball inside the 6 yard box a lot. There were quite a few OU fans there.

margo matula looked like the real deal on the back line...the strength of the squad appears to be the defense and midfield...hopefully the bc transfer and/or commit from fl can solidify the attack

My take is more optimistic. We gave up two goals on goal keeping errors (major not minor), otherwise our back line was stalwart.

We moved the ball well, through the middle, not just on the wings. We dominated shots taken and shots on goal. We were without question the best team on the pitch today.

Also, we have some great freshman in Addy and Margo. The ASU transfer is not meeting expectation, but the Boston College transfer should give us finishing power, which we desperately need.

Today's issues were finishing, fitness (we could not sustain the press vs Baylor), and goal keeping (which Kenna will make a team strength this Fall).

I see a lot of potential and I'm optimistic about the Fall. But potential is just potential. We need more leadership, finishing and competitive grit (which I think is there). I suspect we'll beat TCU next week and finish the Spring with only the Baylor blemish.

The team looks better this Spring vs last Spring. They will be an SEC contender.

Ever The Optimist

Here is what I understand are the player's jersey numbers:
4 - Armenta
7 - Becerra (she wore 4 last year)
12 - Rupe
21 - Jernigan
22 - Margo Matula
24 - Wilkinson

Everyone who was in uniform played yesterday except Bella Lister.
On the sideline not in uniform were Pounds, Kniffen, Carroll, Wiiliams and Calzada.
The Baylor keeper guessed right (literally) and blocked a PK attempt by Hayes.

GigEm200$ said:

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blake2003 said:

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Aggies lose 0-1. Baylor converted one of their 2 second half shots (off a corner) to win. Exactly what we've seen from Aggie soccer for so long down. Dominate possession and shots, and lose. The inability to finish is just maddening.

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so disappointing..baylor is a bottom tier big 12 program

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did most of the girls play against Lamar as well? We missed the first game but looked like tired legs most of the Baylor game

More generous substitution in Game 1 once the outcome was clear. Limited substitution beyond the typical rotation in Game 2 with clear intent to win the match. Totally agree we looked tired. Baylor forced us to chase the ball in their backfield and we struggled to sustain a press.

Nice win over TCU. Defense was very solid. We possessed reasonably well and initiated several dangerous attacks. Outplayed TCU and won which is better than outplaying Baylor and losing.

m. matula continues to impress! was that a new formation this week or the same as used against baylor/lamar? squad thoroughly dominated the match but still struggles creating quality opportunities in the final 3rd.

Thoughts re: Saturday's spring game versus Texas State:

1. Ugh. A tie versus Texas State?
2. Ugh. Really. Tied Texas State.
3. Defense was a step slow several times, especially on the banger goal by Texas State from 20 yards. No one stepped up to stop the run or contest the shot.
4. Bright spot was, as almost always, the interaction between Hayes and Pante.
5. Appeared our women were playing a 4-4-2 for much of the match, with Hayes in midfield. I don't get that. She's the only dependable goal-scorer on this team. I don't get burying her in midfield.

Agree with the defensive breakdown on the Texas State goal, but that was the only goal ceded by the defense this Spring beyond two goal keeping errors. The back line was pretty solid and will only strengthen with the return of Calzada.

Our bigger concern is inconsistent finishing. Oklahoma scored 10 goals vs Texas State, where as we converted once despite numerous chances. This may be due to the team still adjusting to the shift in formation you noted.

On the plus side UTSA was a NCAA tourney team and we handled them easily after they defeated TX State 2-0. Much stronger finishing in that match once we broke the ice.

Sam Smith (transfer from BC) is a proven scorer. That will give us more firepower up top.

Still more reason for optimism than not for the Fall. Again, always the optimist!

I'm not counting on a lot of goals from Sam Smith. I hope I'm wrong. But her production at BC wasn't stellar:

Freshman: 8 goals in 18 starts.
Sophomore: 5 goals in 14 starts.
Junior: 4 goals in 16 starts
Senior: 7 goals in 19 starts

Compare, for example, the 2014 Aggie team. In just that season, Kelly had 18 goals, Shea had 16, BB and Allie each had 10, and Annie had 7.

Or look at the 2019 team. Ally Watt had 16 goals, Jimena 9.

Since 2015, the general trend is that goal-scoring has dropped off a lot. We'll just hope that defense will carry the day for this team.

We share the same concern! . Regarding Smith, she faced stiff competition without a strong supporting cast. If she has speed and skill she'll be additive. We need whatever firepower we can get. On the defense, we faced 3 NCAA tourney teams and gave up a single goal. I think that will be a strength. The current back line seems more cohesive and less mistake prone than last year's line-up. Given the youth back there, we should only get better and better (especially with Calzada back). SEC will be interesting not sure if there is a dominant side. I like our chances if the team gels and brings more fight to the pitch this year (which was sometimes lacking last year).