Aggies face off against Portland
By: Courtney Nelson
Issue date: 9/18/09 Section: Sports
After a close loss to top-ranked North Carolina Saturday, the No. 13 Texas A&M women's soccer team returns to the Aggie Soccer Stadium Friday to play the No. 2 Portland Pilots for the first time since 2001.
The Aggies are 3-3 this season with losses coming against Purdue, California and most recently, UNC, all Top 10 teams.
With a young team including 19 underclassmen, A&M is in the midst of an early season learning process.
"With every loss, you learn a lot about yourselves," West said. "We need to be tougher. We need to play our game and not adjust to the other team."
Portland, with a 7-0 record, has defeated three ranked teams and has outscored opponents 22-2 thus far this season.
Working in A&M's favor is the fact that they play a similar style to the type of game Portland plays.
"They play very much like us in that they like to put the ball down and play," said sophomore defender Rachael Balaguer, We pass the ball a lot and make the game beautiful rather than just running up and down the field."
After being able to play against the top ranked team in the country, the Aggies are excited for another bout with a highly ranked squad.
"North Carolina was No. 1, and we just wanted to see how we hung in," said Balaguer of Saturday's game. "Portland is a non-conference game so we get to try new things out."
It's important to play well, Balaguer said, because it will help the team prepare for conference play.
Adding to the matchup is the rivalry the two teams share in terms of home attendance. Portland came in first in the country in 2008 while A&M was second with 500 less people per game.
Assistant Coach Phil Stephenson said they are ready for Portland, and that even though it is a non-conference game, it is important because it will count later in the NCAA selection process.
"They've got a really attractive game," Stephenson said of Portland. "It is one of the most intelligent programs in the country."
When it comes to winning, Stephenson said there is a method the team must stick to.
"It's all about us," he said. "We haven't played our best yet, so we're working on that. We just have to fight and get our rhythm back. The result against UNC was not indicative of the fight we put up."
On Sunday, the Aggies will conclude their two-game home stand by hosting the 2-4-1 Sam Houston State Bearkats at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
The Aggies are 3-3 this season with losses coming against Purdue, California and most recently, UNC, all Top 10 teams.
With a young team including 19 underclassmen, A&M is in the midst of an early season learning process.
"With every loss, you learn a lot about yourselves," West said. "We need to be tougher. We need to play our game and not adjust to the other team."
Portland, with a 7-0 record, has defeated three ranked teams and has outscored opponents 22-2 thus far this season.
Working in A&M's favor is the fact that they play a similar style to the type of game Portland plays.
"They play very much like us in that they like to put the ball down and play," said sophomore defender Rachael Balaguer, We pass the ball a lot and make the game beautiful rather than just running up and down the field."
After being able to play against the top ranked team in the country, the Aggies are excited for another bout with a highly ranked squad.
"North Carolina was No. 1, and we just wanted to see how we hung in," said Balaguer of Saturday's game. "Portland is a non-conference game so we get to try new things out."
It's important to play well, Balaguer said, because it will help the team prepare for conference play.
Adding to the matchup is the rivalry the two teams share in terms of home attendance. Portland came in first in the country in 2008 while A&M was second with 500 less people per game.
Assistant Coach Phil Stephenson said they are ready for Portland, and that even though it is a non-conference game, it is important because it will count later in the NCAA selection process.
"They've got a really attractive game," Stephenson said of Portland. "It is one of the most intelligent programs in the country."
When it comes to winning, Stephenson said there is a method the team must stick to.
"It's all about us," he said. "We haven't played our best yet, so we're working on that. We just have to fight and get our rhythm back. The result against UNC was not indicative of the fight we put up."
On Sunday, the Aggies will conclude their two-game home stand by hosting the 2-4-1 Sam Houston State Bearkats at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
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