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A&M, UT square off in soccer

Winner gets a leg up in conference race

By LARRY BOWEN
Eagle Staff Writer

The Texas A&M soccer program has established itself as the best in the Big 12 and one of the finest in the nation over the last few years, but the Aggies have struggled to demonstrate state supremacy.

A&M captured the last three conference championships, but the Aggies lost to Texas in each of the last two seasons. The Longhorns will be looking for their first three-game winning streak against A&M when the rivals collide at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Aggie Soccer Sta-dium.

The signs at the stadium and the public address announcer will tout the Lone Star Showdown series between A&M and Texas, but Friday's match has implications far beyond the state border. The Longhorns enter the match ranked fourth in the coaches poll, with the Aggies fifth. Soccer America magazine moved Texas to No. 1 this week, the first time the Longhorns have been ranked that high.

"The winner of this match will have a leg up in the conference race, but they'll also have a leg up in the regional seedings, which have an influence on the national seedings for the NCAA tournament," A&M coach G. Guerrieri said. "It's not a do-or-die game because we still have six games plus the Big 12 tournament after this, but the team who wins really gets a boost."

Despite their lofty rankings, both teams are looking up at 3-0 Missouri in the Big 12 standings. The Longhorns (9-1-2, 2-0-1) are the only other team without a league loss. The Aggies (9-2-1, 3-1) probably cannot afford another loss after falling at Missouri two weeks ago.

The Aggies' long-range goal is the NCAA Women's College Cup, which will be played at A&M's home stadium.

"This game is like the national championship to us, because we want to win the Big 12 and go far in the NCAA tournament," A&M defender Paige Carmichael said. "It starts with this game. We can't win the Big 12 if we lose this game. If we take care of business, starting with Friday, I think we have a good chance."

A&M's chances get a big boost because the match is in College Station. The Aggies lost at Austin in each of the last two seasons and have dropped three of their last four matches on the Longhorns' field.

Texas is 0-6 against the Aggies in College Station, although several matches have been close and two went to overtime.

Guerrieri said the Aggies and Longhorns are similar in many ways. Both squads are fast and strong. Both feature big-time scorers in A&M's Ashlee Pistorius and Texas' Kelsey Carpenter. Both teams are strong on defense, each allowing nine goals in 12 matches.

"They haven't played as many nationally ranked teams as we have," Guerrieri said. "They've played eight of their 12 games at home, whereas we've played seven games on the road, with five of them against ranked teams.

"We are a very good big-game team. That's one of the things we're excited about. This is a big game, oh yeah."

n Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.