Texas Aggie soccer takes a break from conference action for a nice 6pm Sunday evening match against the UTRGV Vaqueros of Edinburg. The Vaqueros are a relatively new WAC team with a history only dating back to 2014. During that span, the Aggies and Vaqueros have never met on the pitch.
UTRGV is 4-2-1 on the season. Wins have come over Grambling State (1-0), Southern Utah (1-0), and Alabama State (6-0). They have also split games with TAMU-Corpus Christi, whom they have already played twice for some reason. Both games ended 1-0. A second loss came to Miami (0-4) and the Vaqueros tied UTEP (0-0).
Defensively UTRGV looks good on paper, giving up an average of .71 goals per game and totaling 5 shutouts. But, admittedly the opposition has not been very good. A&M has allowed .42 goals per game with 7 shutouts under their belts.
Though UTRGV does feature a number of players from the valley, they do cast a wide recruiting net with 11 international players on their roster, including 7 starters. Poland, Germany, Denmark, Israel, Ghana, Finland, and Canada are all represented on the Vaquero squad. Most notable are a pair of U20 national players from Ghana that bring some firepower to the RGV attack. Sarah Bonney (#14) leads the team with 4 goals on the season along with 1 assist. Fellow Ghanan, Diana Ansah (#9) has added 1 goal from her midfield position.
And just for fun: Bonney's club team was Soccer Intellectuals and Ansah played for the Ideal Ladies club.
Emily Zapata, a 2018 All-WAC First Team selection has 3 goals and 1 assist on the season with a team-high 24 shots and 2 game winners.
Zapata and Bonney combine to hold most of UTRGV's all-time single-game and single-season offensive records.
Kinga Szemik, a U20 Polish National Team player has seen most of the minutes in goal for the Vaqueros. She has given up 5 goals in 515 minutes of play and has 16 saves. Szemik was All-WAC first team last season.
This is only UTRGV's second road game of the season. That's especially surprising for a smaller school, though their WAC travel schedule is always extensive. Their only other roadtrip thus far was up the road to Corpus for their 1-0 win against the Islanders.
UTRGV is 4-2-1 on the season. Wins have come over Grambling State (1-0), Southern Utah (1-0), and Alabama State (6-0). They have also split games with TAMU-Corpus Christi, whom they have already played twice for some reason. Both games ended 1-0. A second loss came to Miami (0-4) and the Vaqueros tied UTEP (0-0).
Defensively UTRGV looks good on paper, giving up an average of .71 goals per game and totaling 5 shutouts. But, admittedly the opposition has not been very good. A&M has allowed .42 goals per game with 7 shutouts under their belts.
Though UTRGV does feature a number of players from the valley, they do cast a wide recruiting net with 11 international players on their roster, including 7 starters. Poland, Germany, Denmark, Israel, Ghana, Finland, and Canada are all represented on the Vaquero squad. Most notable are a pair of U20 national players from Ghana that bring some firepower to the RGV attack. Sarah Bonney (#14) leads the team with 4 goals on the season along with 1 assist. Fellow Ghanan, Diana Ansah (#9) has added 1 goal from her midfield position.
And just for fun: Bonney's club team was Soccer Intellectuals and Ansah played for the Ideal Ladies club.
Emily Zapata, a 2018 All-WAC First Team selection has 3 goals and 1 assist on the season with a team-high 24 shots and 2 game winners.
Zapata and Bonney combine to hold most of UTRGV's all-time single-game and single-season offensive records.
Kinga Szemik, a U20 Polish National Team player has seen most of the minutes in goal for the Vaqueros. She has given up 5 goals in 515 minutes of play and has 16 saves. Szemik was All-WAC first team last season.
This is only UTRGV's second road game of the season. That's especially surprising for a smaller school, though their WAC travel schedule is always extensive. Their only other roadtrip thus far was up the road to Corpus for their 1-0 win against the Islanders.