Important week ahead for Guerrieri & Co. against two top-five foes

As conference play winds down, Texas A&M soccer head coach G Guerrieri joined TexAgs Live on Wednesday morning to discuss last week's draw against LSU and a pair of upcoming tough matches against No. 5 Arkansas and No. 3 Mississippi State.

Key notes from G Guerrieri interview

• The LSU game was a frustrating game in many ways. We were in control of the game, consistently putting them on their heels. We moved the ball great. If my memory serves correctly, we outshot them 24-6. We scored two great goals. It was a great finish for my MaKhiya McDonald to get the first goal.
   
• It got out of our hands a little bit. Without complaining too much about the referee, he scored two goals. Things seemed a little bit unjust. That is when my head exploded. I left the venue by his decision.
   
• The team responded. Sydney Beccera got an equalizer late to get a 2-2 draw. It probably should have been a 3-2 or 3-1 win for us. We now have to beat one of the two teams this week, who are No.1 and No. 2 in the SEC standings. They are also No. 2 and No. 5 in the RPI. It will be a tough road.
   
• It is always tough to play in Fayetteville. Arkansas is 11-1-1 on the season. We play at home on Sunday against Mississippi State, the only team that has beaten Arkansas and is undefeated in the league. These are two teams having the best years of their programs' history. It is a big week for us.
   
• We have two wins over the top-15 teams nationally. We beat them pretty soundly. It is in our wheelhouse to beat these teams. The issue for us has been our finishing.
   
• Our most exciting forwards are redshirting this year because of injuries. Our goalkeeper has some injuries, too. Those are your two key people on both ends of the field. Sydney Fuller is feeling better now. We are still searching for who can put the ball in the back of the net.
   
• Needing one play here or there is the definition of frustration. No program has won more championships than ours. We have set the standard high and set ourselves up to win. We set a schedule to play at a championship level. We don't have some of the pieces we need to play at that level. We have given away some goals that have cost us the ability to win some of these games. We have also had gifts given away by whistles. When the offense isn't clicking, it puts much more pressure on the defense.
   
• Frustrating is a good way to explain our season. That said, it is still right there. We have the ability to get the result that we want this week and fight our way into the postseason. These are two pressure games, but they are also two great opportunities. We can get a massive bounce in the RPI out of these. We will scheme specifically for these games and have ourselves ready to compete.
   
• We have the opportunity to play in these games because of who we are and where we are. This is why these players came to Texas A&M. These are big games. We get to play on TV tomorrow night and Sunday. This is why you put on the Maroon & White.
   
• We have seven seniors in this class. A couple of them came in as transfers. Allison Lowery was here for one year, and Jazmine Wilkinson came in for two seasons. She was our leading scorer last year. Some players have been here for their entire collegiate careers. People like Mia Pante and McDonald. Those are two key players that people point to in our program. It's the same thing with Macy Matula, who is also one of our academic stalwarts. She is an engineering student-athlete with a 3.8 GPA. Olivia Fetzer came to us from California and has been an amazing teammate. She has played on the backline for us and done terrific things for us her entire career. She did super for us, starting in Alabama. It is a great group of people from great families.
   
• My biggest message for my team this week is, "Here it is." This is why you came to A&M. These are big games with low numbers next to our opponents. It is the greatest team that Mississippi State has ever had. Both teams are trying to be the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. It is a chance for us to put ourselves in a great position for the postseason. This is why you came. Let's go out and put our best foot forward.