2010 Texas A&M Aggies women's soccer team


The 2010 Texas A&M Aggies women's soccer team represented Texas A&M University in the 2010 NCAA Division I women's college soccer season. The team belongs to the Big 12 Conference and played its home games at Aggie Soccer Stadium. The Aggies were led by G. Guerrieri, who has coached the team since the program's inception in 1993 (18 years).

2010 Texas A&M Aggies women's soccer
Big 12 Champions
NCAA tournament, 2nd Round
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
U. Soc. Coaches pollNo. 16
Record15–5–3 (8–1–1 Big-12)
Head coach
Home stadiumAggie Soccer Stadium
Uniform
Home
Away
Seasons
← 2009
2011 →
2010 Big 12 Conference women's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
No. 16 Texas A&M ‍‍‍y 8 1 1   .850 15 5 3   .717
No. 5 Oklahoma State ‍‍y 8 2 0   .800 20 4 2   .808
Nebraska ‍‍‍ 5 4 1   .550 13 7 1   .643
Oklahoma ‍‍‍y 5 4 1   .550 12 8 3   .587
Texas ‍‍‍y 4 3 3   .550 11 6 4   .619
Missouri ‍‍‍ 5 5 0   .500 7 10 2   .421
Texas Tech ‍‍‍ 4 5 1   .450 11 8 1   .575
Colorado ‍‍‍ 4 5 1   .450 8 10 2   .450
Baylor ‍‍‍ 4 6 0   .400 11 7 2   .600
Iowa State ‍‍‍ 3 7 0   .300 8 10 2   .450
Kansas ‍‍‍ 1 9 0   .100 6 13 0   .316
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
Rankings from NSCAA Coaches [1]

The Aggies finished the season 15–5–3 and won the Big 12 regular season championship with an 8–1–1 record. They advanced to the 2nd Round of the 2010 NCAA tournament before falling to Minnesota 2–0 in icy conditions in Minneapolis, MN.

The 2010 team had 26 roster players, with 14 scholarships to utilize between them.[2]

Schedule and results

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Date Opponent Location Result Record Att Rank
Aug 20, 2010 (1) North Carolina Aggie Soccer Stadium L, 0–3 0–1–0 2,822 8
Aug 22, 2010 St. John's Aggie Soccer Stadium W, 3–0 1–1–0 2,089 8
Aug 27, 2010 (16) Virginia Tech Aggie Soccer Stadium W, 5–3 2–1–0 5,560 9
Aug 29, 2010 (21) Washington St. Aggie Soccer Stadium W, 1–0 3–1–0 1,891 9
Sept 3, 2010 Davidson Aggie Soccer Stadium W, 5–1 4–1–0 2,584 7
Sept 10, 2010 at Indiana Bloomington, IN W, 5–2 5–1–0 721 7
Sept 12, 2010 at Purdue West Lafayette, IN W, 2–1 6–1–0 256 7
Sept 17, 2010 at (3) Portland Portland, OR L, 0–1 6–2–0 4,517 6
Sept 19, 2010 Cal St. Northridge Aggie Soccer Stadium W, 5–0 7–2–0 1,705 6
Sept 24, 2010 Colorado Aggie Soccer Stadium L, 1–2 OT 7–3–0 (0–1–0) 1,991 5
Sept 26, 2010 at Nebraska Lincoln, NE W, 2–1 8–3–0 (1–1–0) 597 5
Oct 1, 2010 at Kansas Lawrence, KS Archived 2011-04-15 at the Wayback Machine W, 1–0 9–3–0 (2–1–0) 520 10
Oct 8, 2010 Baylor Aggie Soccer Stadium W, 2–0 10–3–0 (3–1–0) 2,202 10
Oct 10, 2010 Texas Tech Aggie Soccer Stadium W, 4–0 11–3–0 (4–1–0) 1,874 10
Oct 15, 2010 at Iowa State Ames, IA W, 1–0 OT 12–3–0 (5–1–0) 506 7
Oct 17, 2010 at Missouri Columbia, MO Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine W, 4–2 13–3–0 (6–1–0) 1,038 7
Oct 22, 2010 Oklahoma Aggie Soccer Stadium W, 2–1 2OT 14–3–0 (7–1–0) 2,724 6
Oct 24, 2010 (5) Oklahoma St. Aggie Soccer Stadium W, 1–0 15–3–0 (8–1–0) 2,517 6
Oct 29, 2010 at Texas Austin, TX T, 1–1 2OT 15–3–1 (8–1–1) 2,829 6
Big 12 tournament
Nov 3, 2010 vs. Colorado San Antonio, TX T, 0–0 2OT (5–4 PK) 15–3–2 497 6
Nov 5, 2010 vs. Oklahoma San Antonio, TX L, 0–1 OT 15–4–2 957 6
NCAA tournament
Nov 12, 2010 vs. North Dakota St. Minneapolis, MN T, 1–1 2OT (4–3 PK) 15–4–3 896 9
Nov 14, 2010 at Minnesota Minneapolis, MN L, 0–2 15–5–3 n/a 9

Lineup/Formation

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  • 4–5–1 was utilized for most of the season
  • Mouseover names for stats

 

K. Arnold (Sr)
K. Dyer (Sr)
R. Lenz (Fr)
L. Gnatzig (So)
M. Schmidt (So)
L. Kraus (Jr)
B. Young (Jr)
K. Bartley (Fr)
R. Balaguer (Jr)
R. Shipley (Sr)
C. Wohlers (So)
R. Tatum (So)
N. Ketchum (Sr)
A. Mautz (Sr)
N. Skelton (Sr)
C. Navalta (So)
C. Clavijo (So)
B. West (So)
C. Jones (So)
A. Gnatzig (Sr)
M. Majewski (Jr)
M. Mathias (Jr)
W. Hooper (Sr)
K. Armstrong (Sr)

Roster/statistics

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  • Starters highlighted in green
No Pos Player Cl Hometown Club GP GS G A Pts Sh Sog
33 F Alyssa Mautz Sr. O'Fallon, MO (Ft. Zumwalt West/St. Louis) St. Louis SC 23 23 12 5 29 93 34
7 M Rachel Shipley Sr. Plano, TX (Plano West) Dallas Texans 23 21 10 5 25 59 25
9 F Merritt Mathias Jr. Birmingham, AL (Oak Mountain/North Carolina) Birmingham United 20 20 9 5 23 85 43
11 D Bri Young Jr. Castle Pines North, CO (Chaparral) Real Colorado 20 19 5 7 17 71 36
6 F Whitney Hooper Sr. Houston, TX (Klein Forest) Challenge SC 23 10 4 6 14 36 21
4 M Amber Gnatzig Sr. Humble, TX (Humble) Challenge SC 21 15 0 5 5 26 11
20 M Beth West So. Centennial, CO (Grandview) Real Colorado 20 16 0 4 4 16 7
2 D Rachel Lenz Fr. Round Rock, TX (Round Rock) Lonestars SC 22 22 1 1 3 16 3
12 F Nora Skelton So. Austin, TX (James Bowie) Lonestars SC 22 5 1 0 2 12 3
26 M Megan Majewski Jr. Cypress, TX (Cy-Fair) Challenge SC 7 1 1 0 2 9 3
17 F Kat Armstrong Sr. Dime Box, TX (Caldwell) Challenge SC 12 0 1 0 2 6 4
8 M Nicole Ketchum Sr. Cypress, TX (Cy-Fair) Challenge SC 22 6 1 0 2 2 2
16 M Raven Tatum So. Dallas, TX (The Hockaday School) D'Feeters SC 23 17 0 2 2 31 11
5 D Lyndsey Gnatzig So. Humble, TX (Atascocita) Challenge SC 18 12 0 2 2 1 0
21 M Mary Grace Schmidt So. Orange, CA (Mater Dei) Slammers SC 22 20 0 1 1 8 1
25 M Carly Wohlers Jr. Plano, TX (Plano) FC Dallas 14 0 0 1 1 2 0
24 D Rachel Balaguer Jr. Austin, TX (St. Stephen's) Lonestars SC 23 23 0 1 1 1 1
0 GK Kristen Arnold Sr. Centennial, CO (Cherry Creek) Real Colorado 13 12 0 1 1 0 0
28 F Christina Navalta So. Carrollton, TX (Creekview) FC Dallas 5 0 0 0 0 1 0
19 M Chelsea Jones So. Belton, TX (Belton) Lonestars SC 10 0 0 0 0 1 0
27 F Catalina Clavijo So. Winnipeg, Manitoba CA (Shaftesbury) Manitoba Provincial 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 D Lisel Kraus Jr. Sachse, TX (Sachse) FC Dallas 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 GK Kelly Dyer Sr. Germantown, TN (St. Agnes Academy) Memphis Mercury 15 11 0 0 0 0 0
18 D Kat Bartley Fr. College Station, TX (A&M Consolidated) Challenge SC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 F Sara Ellis (RS) Fr. The Woodlands, TX (The Woodlands) Challenge SC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 F Katie Hamilton (I-RS) Jr. Spring, TX (Klein) Challenge SC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Season Review

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Non-Conference

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Texas A&M opened a highly anticipated season by hosting annual rival North Carolina in College Station. Many thought the Aggies were heavy favorites considering their talented and experienced roster, while the Tar Heels (although ranked #1 coming off their national title) were completely rebuilding with several freshmen starting their first game on the road. Instead, the Tar Heels came out on fire, attacking the Aggies early and often with precision passing and scoring a quick goal in the 3rd minute by Meghan Klingenberg from 30 yards out. Although A&M temporarily righted the ship, UNC added a second goal in the 20th minute off a header by Ali Hawkins on a corner kick. The Aggies' best chance to score came in the 28th minute when Alyssa Mautz struck the crossbar with a shot that then bounced off the Tar Heel goalkeeper out-of-bounds. North Carolina added a 3rd goal for the 3–0 win in the 60th minute, but by that point in the match they had complete control and were basically on cruise control. The loss for the Aggies was only the third season-opening loss and was a crushing blow both for the team and the fans (2,822 in attendance), and it signaled that this team might not be quite at the lofty level that most thought it would be before the season.[3]

However, A&M would respond to this disappointment by ripping off 6 straight wins, with a notable 5–3 win over Virginia Tech in the annual Fish Camp game that drew 5,560 fans to the Aggie Soccer Stadium.[4] A&M's first road trip of the season resulted in wins over Indiana (5–2)[5] and Purdue (2–1),[6] but the following weekend the anticipated rematch with #3 Portland resulted in a 1–0 loss in Portland that was not as close as the score indicated.[7] The Pilots controlled the match from the outset, dominating possession and firing off multiple shots on goal early in the match. If not for a heroic effort from GK Kelly Dyer, who made several spectacular saves after replacing the injured Kristen Arnold, A&M would have lost by a large margin. The Aggies were able to conclude the non-conference slate with a home win over an overmatched Cal State Northridge side 5–0.[8]

Conference

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A&M had not won a Big 12 championship since 2007, a fact that loomed large in the minds of the coaches and players, who had dedicated themselves to regaining the conference crown in 2010. Things got off to a rocky start with a shocking 2–1 OT loss to Colorado at home after a lightning delay that sent many fans home because of the late start. CU's Lizzy Herzl netted the winning goal in the 99th minute, sending the stunned crowd home in silence.[9] However, as they did after the tough loss to UNC in the home opener, the Aggies re-focused and won 8 straight games. A big win over Nebraska[10] (which was moving to the Big Ten in 2011) in Lincoln 2–1 (which snapped the Huskers' 18-game home winning streak) highlighted the next five games as A&M usually took control of matches early and posted four straight shutouts over Kansas, Baylor, Texas Tech, and Iowa State.

The penultimate moment of the season probably came at Missouri in a hard fought 4–2 win in a game that was nationally televised by ESPNU. F Merritt Mathias netted 2 goals, while M Rachel Shipley and F Nora Skelton each added a goal in the come from behind effort.[11] The impressive win came with a high price, however, as M Beth West went down with an injury that would plague her the rest of the season. With 3 games left, A&M only needed to win their next 2 at home against Oklahoma and league leader Oklahoma State to clinch a share of the conference title. The Sooners proved to be a difficult out as they forced A&M to extra time before F Alyssa Mautz concluded her terrific match by scoring the winning goal in the 2OT.[12] In the de facto Big 12 championship game, A&M took an early lead on #5 Oklahoma State when F Whitney Hooper was taken down in the penalty box for a penalty kick. M Rachel Shipley calmly put away the goal for a 1–0 lead that would hold up for the win, clinching A&M's 11th Big 12 title.[13] The Aggies' defense, which had arguably been an achilles' heel over the years, continued their stellar play, stifling the OSU offense and limiting the Cowgirls to 3 shots on goal. The back line of Bri Young, Rachel Balaguer, Mary Schmidt, and freshman sensation Rachel Lenz was possibly A&M's best defense in school history, especially in the second half of the season. The regular season ended with a 1–1 draw at Texas in a game that was played at a fierce pace, with F Alyssa Mautz scoring the goal for the Aggies.[14]

At the Big 12 tournament in San Antonio, A&M escaped an upset bid by Colorado (in their last meeting before CU moved to the new Pac-12 in 2011) in the quarterfinals by advancing via penalty kicks 5–4 after a 0–0 draw in regulation and OT.[15] But the upset did occur in a semifinal loss to Oklahoma, 1–0 in OT.[16] The mounting injuries on A&M's side became a major factor entering the postseason, which would be confirmed the following week in Minnesota.

NCAA tournament

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Texas A&M was awarded a 4-seed by the NCAA tournament committee, but they were surprisingly sent to Minneapolis, MN in a pod with Minnesota, Creighton, and North Dakota St. The Aggies were clearly disappointed with this seeding and not being able to host for the second straight year after hosting the 1st/2nd Round games for 14 consecutive years (1995–2008). A&M battled cool conditions (low 40s) to forge a tie with North Dakota St. 1–1 through 2OT, but prevailed in a penalty shootout 4–3 when GK Kelly Dyer saved a Bison PK to advance to the 2nd Round. M Rachel Shipley converted a PK in the 7th minute to give A&M an early lead before the Bison tied the game in the 75th minute.[17]

The weather conditions for the 2nd Round game against Minnesota almost postponed the match entirely. 82,000 cubic feet (2,300 m3) of snow had to be cleared from the playing surface the morning of the game, while temperatures hovered around 32 degrees at kickoff. Clearly out of their element, the Aggies struggled to find possession or any rhythm as the Gophers quickly took control of the match early and scored their first goal in the 13th minute off a corner kick. GK Kristen Arnold (8 saves) played valiantly, keeping the Aggies in the match with multiple point blank saves in the 1st Half as the Gophers had an 11–1 shot advantage at the half. A&M played better in the 2nd half and their best chance came in the 55th minute when F Whitney Hooper slipped on the wet field during a breakaway on goal. Minnesota put the game away in the 76th minute off a rebound in the box for the 2–0 victory.[18]

A&M's season ended abruptly and was considered very disappointing considering the team's high expectations before the season began. Several key injuries to starters throughout the season derailed the Aggies chances for a deep tournament run. Beth West, Bri Young, and Katie Hamilton were all lost with season-ending injuries, while others such as Merritt Mathias and Whitney Hooper battled injuries down the stretch but still managed to play in the post-season.[19] It was a bitter end for the 8 seniors that had won 2 Big 12 titles and advanced to both the Elite 8 and Sweet 16 in their careers, although they still were one of the winningest classes in school history.

Accolades/Notes

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  • Texas A&M made its 16th straight NCAA tournament appearance.
  • Texas A&M finished #14 in the RPI and was awarded a #4 seed in the NCAA tournament.
  • 2010 was only the 2nd time (and 2nd straight year) the Aggies started the NCAA tournament on the road.
  • Texas A&M failed to advance to at least the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament for only the 3rd time since 1999.
  • After starting the season 15–3–0, the Aggies finished the season 0–2–3.
  • Texas A&M finished the season ranked #16, its 2nd lowest final ranking in school history.
  • Texas A&M won its 11th Big 12 championship (7 regular season, 4 tourney).
  • 5 Aggies were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, tied for the most in school history (1996).
  • Midfielder Rachel Shipley was named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
  • GK Kelly Dyer finished her career with the 2nd-best Goals Against Average in school history at 0.93 per game.
  • Texas A&M averaged 2,542 fans per game at the Aggie Soccer Stadium, its lowest average home attendance since 2003.
NSCAA All-American[20]
Pos Player Team
D Bri Young 4th Team
Soccer America Freshman All-American[21]
Pos Player Team
D Rachel Lenz 1st Team
NSCAA All-Central Region[22]
Pos Player Team
F Merritt Mathias 1st Team
M Rachel Shipley 1st Team
D Bri Young 1st Team
D Rachel Lenz 2nd Team
All-Big 12[23]
Pos Player Team
F Alyssa Mautz 1st Team
F Merritt Mathias 1st Team
M Rachel Shipley 1st Team
D Bri Young 1st Team
D Rachel Lenz 1st Team
Aggie Team Awards[24]
Award Player
Leading Scorer Alyssa Mautz
Assists Leader Bri Young
Offensive MVP Alyssa Mautz
Midfield MVP Alyssa Mautz
Defensive MVP Rachel Lenz
Perseverance Award Beth West
Newcomer of the Year Rachel Lenz
12th Man Award Megan Mejewski
Spirit of Aggieland Award Kat Armstrong & Nicole Ketchum
Most Improved Bri Young
Iron Aggie Alyssa Mautz

References

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  1. ^ "2019-2020 Big 12 Conference Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 151–152. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "The scholarship game: Numbers add up for parents".
  3. ^ "Aggies Fall to No. 1 North Carolina". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Mautz Records Hat Trick in 5–3 Win Over No. 16 Virginia Tech". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  5. ^ "No. 7 Soccer Nets First Road Win". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Young's Golden Goal Lifts Aggies to Victory". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  7. ^ "Aggies Drop 1–0 Match at No. 3 Portland". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  8. ^ "No. 6 Aggies Blank Matadors Sunday". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Aggies Drop Heartbreaker to Colorado in Overtime". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  10. ^ "No. 5 Aggies Snap Nebraska's 18-Game Home Winning Streak". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  11. ^ "No. 7 Aggie Soccer Tops Mizzou, 4–2". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Aggies Take Oklahoma in Double Overtime". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "No. 6 Aggies Take Big 12 Championship Title in 1–0 Defeat of No. 5 Oklahoma State". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  14. ^ "No. 6 Aggie Soccer Draws With No. 24 Texas". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  15. ^ "No. 6 Aggies Advance to Semifinal in 5–4 Penalty Kick Shootout". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Sixth-Ranked Soccer Falls to OU in Overtime". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 10 November 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  17. ^ "No. 9 Aggies Advance to NCAA Second Round on PKs". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "No. 9 Soccer Ends Season in NCAA Second Round with 2–0 Loss to Minnesota". Aggie Athletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  19. ^ "Another Championship Season". CoachG.com. 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  20. ^ "Nine Players Repeat as NSCAA/Performance Subaru Women's Division I All-Americas". NSCAA.com. 2010. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  21. ^ "Lenz Named to Soccer America All-Freshman Team". AggieAthletics.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  22. ^ "2010 NSCAA/Performance Subaru NCAA Division I Women All-Central Region". NSCAA.com. 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  23. ^ "Big 12 Announces 2010 Soccer Postseason Awards". Big12Sports.com. 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  24. ^ "Team Awards Announced at Annual Soccer Banquet". AggieAthletics.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
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