Photo by Taylor Barnett, TexAgs
Texas A&M Soccer
G Guerrieri & Co. continue learning process after back-to-back wins
Off of back-to-back victories, Texas A&M soccer is carrying momentum into a two-game road trip to CCSU and UConn. On Tuesday, head coach G Guerrieri joined TexAgs LIVE to look back on beating TCU and Louisiana Tech before previewing A&M's upcoming matches.
Key notes from G Guerrieri interview
- We talk about learning from situations and losses. Right now, we are learning from wins. You have a different momentum when you're on a winning streak. We have been talking about getting on a roll with the players. We want to keep that momentum going through the SEC portion of the schedule.
- When you play an opponent that is outmatched, you are looking at standards. Are you keeping your foot on the gas? Are you playing down to their speed?
- We outshot Lousiana Tech 30-2. We only converted two of those chances. Finishing our chances is a high priority for us. Did we keep the pressure on them? Absolutely. They got a shot about 80 seconds into the game, and then we held them for the next 88 minutes without getting a shot.
- TCU did not get a shot the entire first half against us. That is a really good standard for us. We wanted to play with our hair on fire. We also wanted to use our depth and keep that fire burning. We checked that box this week. Thursday night, the atmosphere was awesome.
- We are going on the road for two matches in Connecticut this weekend. Then, we start the SEC schedule on the road at Missouri. Then we come back and have our charity game, the Turn It Gold Match, against Oklahoma. That will be an important game.
- It is not just our goalkeeper. Sydney Fuller is the Freshman of the Week in the SEC. We are the only team in the country with three goalkeepers with a shutout win. That shows the core of goalkeepers that we have. I thought that Grace McClellan was awesome on Sunday.
- It's not just our goalkeepers. It's how we defend from the front. When we lose the ball, how are we counter-pressing and immediately making other teams sweat? We want our players to think about pressing. One of my big heroes going through college was Nolan Richardson and his "40 Minutes of Hell.". That intensity is what we are talking about. That pressure forces other teams to cough up the ball, so you don't have to go 100 yards with the ball to score. That is what we want to do to our opponents.
- You talk about great teams around the world. What does Liverpool do? They are immediately counter-pressing. What do Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich do? They are immediately counter-pressing to get the ball back. Those are characteristics of champions.
- My career has been cool and awesome. You look at the people around me. Success comes from the people that are around me. I am the luckiest guy you know. I am lucky because I have been fortunate to be here at Texas A&M. Phil Stephenson has been with me for a long time. That is a big key to my success. The people we have been able to draw here to Texas A&M are incredibly successful. We are coming up on 500 wins here at Texas A&M. I am pretty lucky to be a part of that.
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