Women's Soccer Preview: At #12/16 Texas A&M

So what happened on Thursday night when Marquette lost to UW-Milwaukee?  Marquette was coming in with a 190 minute streak of not allowing a goal, and it seemed that they had ironed out whatever defensive issues they had while in Colorado.  Then the Panthers scored four goals on seven shots in just barely more than 62 minutes and the Golden Eagles seemed to be a complete mess.

UWM hadn't scored on Marquette since 2010, and under their current coach, UWM had been outscored 9-0.  Then, the match flipped.  Whether because UWM was bunkering or because Marquette figured something out, the Golden Eagles turned into a juggernaut, scoring four goals to level the match in just 18 minutes.  It's like the team that you would have expected to obliterate UWM suddenly showed up.

And then less than three minutes later, Milwaukee found the winner.

Is that four goal explosion something that Marquette can harness and use going forward?  Are there still massive defensive problems that head coach Markus Roeders needs to figure out?  We may get our answers tonight in College Station.

Match #8: At #12/16 Texas A&M (5-1-1)

When: Sunday, September 14, 2014, at 7pm Central
Where: Ellis Field in College Station, TX
Audio/Visual: SEC Network+ is carrying the game, so check out ESPN3.com or your favorite WatchESPN app.  If nothing else, there should be a free audio stream, and worse case scenario, live stats.
Twitter Updates: @MUWomensSoccer

The Aggies started out the season ranked 9th in the NSCAA's preseason poll and were picked to finish second in the SEC.  They picked up six first place votes, but ended up trailing the preseason favorite, Florida.  They started out a hot 4-0-0, but a trip to Tempe to face both Arizona Pac12 teams sent them back to College Station with a loss and a draw added on to their record.  They bounced back with a 2-1 win over Florida Gulf Coast back on Thursday in their most recent game.

Kylie Minogue leads Texas A&M ... wait, that can't be right.

[double checks roster]

Ohhhhh.  Okay.  Kelley Monogue leads Texas A&M in scoring this season with seven goals and four assists.  That's the team high in both goals and assists, but Shea Groom (four goals) and Annie Kunz (three assists) aren't that far behind her, either.  Renee McDermott has played almost every minute in net for TAMU, and even though she's recorded two shutouts, she still has a goals-against average of 1.28.  Her save percentage isn't great, either, as McDermott only stops a flat 70% of the shots on frame.