The Shuttleworth era is making its way to the SEC.
With momentum high after taking three of their last four, Texas A&M soccer (4-3-0, 0-0-0) has a chance to kick off their conference slate against Kentucky (4-3-0, 0-0-0), who’ve been battle-tested as of late.
The Aggies head to Lexington for a 6:30 p.m. CT start on Friday, Sept. 11, after coming off a decisive 4-0 shutout over SFA last weekend.
“I thought the group looked pretty confident,” head coach Bobby Shuttleworth said. “Obviously, there are things that we can and should be doing better, but you saw us with the ball. We were a lot more confident on the ball, and our movement and decision-making were way more decisive.”
A&M stepped up its shot output against SFA, totaling 33. A high-octane game like that was needed after a slower outing against No. 19 TCU when the Aggies only put up 10 shots.
The stars continued to shine bright against the Ladyjacks, headlined by senior midfielder Trinity Buchanan and freshman forward Ireland Churchill.
Buchanan tacked on to her team-leading goal count of six against SFA, also sending an assist to freshman forward Finley Lacher.
“Obviously, she's got goals and assists in her,” Shuttleworth said. “But I think she does a lot of things that you don't see on a stat sheet. She covers a lot of ground. The options she provides around the ball consistently, her reactions in transition. I think she's a professional player.”
Churchill has also been making her presence known early in her Aggie career. The Eastvale, Calif., native follows right behind Buchanan in both goals and points, with five and 12, respectively.
With the preseason over, all eyes turn to Kentucky to kick off the SEC slate.
“[They’re a] good team,” Shuttleworth said of the Wildcats. “They've scored a ton of goals this year and not really given up a lot of goals. [I] watched quite a bit of them, and we're going to have our hands full.”
Kentucky ended non-conference play on a short slide, dropping back-to-back games against Louisville and Bowling Green.
The Wildcats have been able to pile on goals, though, with four games already this season with at least five scores.
For Shuttleworth and his troops, the focus will be less on the opponent across the pitch and more on playing their style of soccer.
“I think with our team, it's so much of it is about us,” Shuttleworth said. “I think if we are doing all of the right things, we are a very difficult team to play against. I think if we're inconsistent in that, then not so hard to play against.”
The launch of SEC play will keep the Aggies on the road for two weeks, testing their preparation in places not familiar to a team with a number of freshman starters.
“I think we're ready,” Buchanan said. “I think we've been through a lot. We've experienced wins and losses, and I think in SEC play nothing's perfect. So, we'll know how to respond to each game, and we know we got to earn it.”
Fans will be able to catch A&M’s SEC opener on SEC Network+.
