Sitting at 3-4 in conference play, Texas A&M soccer can return to .500 when LSU comes to town this Friday at Ellis Field. Head coach G Guerrieri joined Wednesday's edition of TexAgs Live to preview the meeting as SEC play winds down.
Key notes from G Guerrieri interview
- We are in sixth place in the SEC right now. The last mock that I saw for the NCAA Tournament had us as a No. 8 seed, which is alright. We have to keep winning. This game on Friday is paramount. LSU comes in as a wounded Tiger.
- We have been wounded, as well. We have been dancing around injuries all season. This past week, our back line suffered a lot of injuries.
- We are a game over .500, which is unprecedented territory for us. We have to get our goal-scoring going again.
- Sydney Fuller wasn't able to play against Vanderbilt. We lost 2-0. We were able to get her back against Alabama, but we weren't able to score. We lost that match 1-0. We had a lot of key players go down in that game.
- We had some players having to play in new positions because of injuries. Ella Goodwin did a great job stepping in. Players stepped up, but we could not break the seal on the other team's goal.
- We are creating lots of goal-scoring chances, but we aren't finishing those off. Scoring goals is a specific skill. There are shooters and finishers, absolute marksmen and shooters. Some of our finishers are injured and out this year. They will be back next year. We have had other people step up into new roles.
- Brie Severns is a graduate transfer. We have been getting her back. She is finally healthy. She has been out on the field the last three games. We are hoping she is getting back into game speed.
- Allison Lowrey has been getting back into game speed. Kennedy Clark has had to play that role before. She is a great setup person, but we are also looking for people who are great finishers. That is what we need against a really solid and physical LSU team.
- There are some great promotions on Friday night. There will be hot dogs and five-dollar beers. The kickoff is at 7 p.m., and volleyball is at 8 p.m. There are only two home games left. Next Sunday is Senior Night. It is an important weekend for us.
- Friday night is a must-win. The girls know that. We have not been finishing, but we have been doing a lot of good things. We are on the doorstep, but we need to kick in the door. We are trying to accentuate the positives. We need to polish up the things we aren't doing as well as we can.
- We need to get the players that have been on the shelf better. Next week, we play two of the top five teams in the country. We are on the road against Arkansas and home against Mississippi State. Those are the two teams at the top of the SEC table. Those games will be paramount in how the season finishes.
- Every experience can be a growth experience. Every experience can be one you lean on going forward. We want these to be positive learning experiences. Winning is what we are looking to do.
- We have a charity golf event coming up. It is an annual event for local kids here in the Brazos Valley. The Traditions Club has been closed due to renovations. Our golf event will be one of the first events once it opens. The tournament will be on December 9. All the money will go to local families. To sign up, go HERE. This helps local kids play competitive youth sports.