Soccer Head Coach G Guerrieri has reloaded a team damaged by departures a year ago.

Reload

After losing eight starters a year ago, Guerrieri has recruited a highly ranked class to fill the void

By: Travis Yoesting

Posted: 6/23/08

Losing eight seniors - including the nation's best player Ashlee Pistorius - Texas A&M soccer will lot of holes to fill in the fall.

Head Coach G Guerrieri has brought in a large recruiting class to help the returning players fill those gaps and keep the Aggies in position to defend their Big 12 championship.

"This is one of the biggest and deepest signing classes that we've ever brought to Texas A&M soccer," Guerrieri said on signing day.

Guerrieri brought in 12 recruits, 11 out of high school. Many members of the signing class have national team or regional Olympic Development Program experience.

"Any of them would be the one shining star in just about any recruiting class in our conference and across the nation," Guerrieri said.

The transfer, forward Alyssa Mautz, came from Saint Louis University where she was Atlantic-10 All-Freshman team and finished second on her team in goals.

"The timing of Alyssa's decision to come to Texas A&M couldn't have been any better for Aggie soccer fans," Guerrieri said.

Of A&M's 69 goals a year ago, 47 were scored by seniors (68 percent). Mautz is one of many incoming recruits who will be called on to help the Aggies immediately. So far, she has done that.

In the first full-sided exhibition game of the spring, Mautz scored two goals to lead the Aggies to a 4-1 victory over the Mexican under 20 national team. She later tallied an assist against Oklahoma State.

The win over Mexico kicked off an undefeated spring for A&M, including wins over Louisiana State (1-0), Big 10 champion Purdue (2-1) and a tie against Big 12-rival OSU (2-2).

Sophomore-to-be Rachel Shipley is one of few returning starters for the Aggies. She spent time with the United States under 20 national team in Chile before helping the Aggies to a 3-0-1 record in the spring. Shipley scored the first goal in the tie against OSU.

The success in the spring exhibitions - despite playing without the graduating seniors or the incoming freshman - showed that the Aggie soccer team is reloading, not rebuilding.

The Aggies do have room for improvement, Guerrieri said.

"We need to get a higher percentage of our shots on frame," Guerrieri said.

In the tie against OSU, the Aggies had 29 scoring opportunities but were off-target on 21.

But with what Guerrieri called the core of the team playing in the spring, the changing of the guard is underway.

"We've got some great leaders on this team," Guerrieri said after the Mexico win. "Now it's time for some of the natural leaders we have in our group to step up.

"It's just a matter of bringing out that leadership and making sure people understand their role."

The 2008 recruiting class is similar to the class of seniors that graduated this year. Both classes were large, deep and contained many of the nation's top recruits.

The top-ranked A&M recruiting class in 2004 included players from across the nation such as Pistorius from Bloomington, Ill., and Paige Carmichael from Glendale, Ariz.

However, that group fell short of their national championship aspirations. Despite winning at least one Big 12 trophy each year, the group was never able to crack the Final Four in the NCAA tournament.

Included in the 2008 class are two Colorado standouts from Grandview High School: Beth West and Rebecca Herrera. After leading their school to a state championship, both were named to the All-Colorado team. West was also named the player of the year in Colorado.

Team chemistry plays an important role in soccer, and Guerrieri said that this team will not be lacking in that department.

"The chemistry on the team might be the best chemistry we've ever had, which is really saying something," Guerrieri said.

Guerrieri said the incoming athletes in the 2008 recruiting class have the desire to be great teammates and will help the Aggies accomplish their goals in seasons to come.

"Our goal with Texas A&M soccer continues to be focused on winning the national championship and to build our student-soccer players into champions for life," Guerrieri said.