COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The seventh-ranked Texas A&M soccer team kicks off the 2009 regular season Saturday as it welcomes the 2007 national champion and No. 8 USC Trojans to the Aggie Soccer Stadium for a 7 p.m. match.

In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, fans can witness an array of U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team(WNT) players as junior Kristin Arnold and sophomore Bri Young play against former U.S. U-23 teammates, Megan Ohai and Kristin Olsen. Aggie Alyssa Mautz also earned a gold medal with the U.S. U-20 WNT at the 2008 World Cup.

Fans can follow all the action of Saturday's match with free live video, audio and live stats on AggieAthletics.com.

Parking is free and is available in the Reed Arena parking lots. For added convenience, there are now two entrances on the north end of the stadium.

LISTEN TO THE GAME AT THE STADIUM
Fans bring your radio to Saturday’s game and listen to play-by-play announcer David Ellis call all the action live on a select FM frequency to be announced prior to the start of the match.

TICKETS
Individual and season tickets to all 12 A&M home matches are available for purchase online at tickets.12thmanfoundation.com or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE.

A&M IN SEASON OPENERS
Since 1993, Texas A&M is undefeated (12-0) when it opens its season at home and is 14-2 all-time in the first match of the year. The Aggies have kicked off the season four times at neutral sites with a 2-2 record.

2008 SEASON OPENER
The Aggie soccer team opened the 2008 season with a 3-2 victory over Rhode Island in front of 6,712 fans at the Aggie Soccer Stadium – the second-largest crown in program history. Rachel Shipley, Beth West and Alyssa Mautz scored as A&M took the lead early and held on for its first win of the year.

SCOUTING USC
The Trojans’ highest preseason ranking is No. 8 according to the NSCAA/adidas poll. They are ranked 9, 11 and 12 in three other polls. USC was tabbed the top team in the 2008 preseason poll following a 2007 year that saw the Women’ of Troy lifting a national championship trophy at the Women’s College Cup in College Station. This season the team returns seven starters and 15 letterwinners from a 2008 team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen before falling to cross-town rival UCLA to finish the year 16-5-2 overall and 5-3-1 (3rd) Pac-10 record. Seven newcomers are added the USC’s roster while head coach Ali Kjosroshahin enters his third year with the program.

UAB EXHIBITION MATCH
The Texas A&M soccer team put on a dominating performance in its exhibition match against UAB with a 4-0 victory in front of 915 fans at the Aggie Soccer Stadium. Four different Aggies scored (Kim Castleberry, Rachel Shipley, Beth West and Catalina Clavijo) and every fit and healthy A&M player saw time on the field.

2009 ROSTER
The Aggies’ 29-player roster features nine upperclassmen and 20 freshmen and sophomores. A&M’s young squad is guided by seniors Cydne Currie, Amber Gnatzig (captain) and Emily Peterson, and redshirt juniors, Kristin Arnold (captain) and Nicole Ketchum (captain). The team returns nine starters and has eight talented newcomers. Junior goalkeepers Kristin Arnold and Kelly Dyer split time evenly for the combined shutout.

POWERS SQUARE OFF ON OPENING WEEKEND
A&M and USC are not the only ranked opponents facing off this weekend; No. 11 Virginia is at No. 6 Penn State on Friday and on Saturday No. 3 UCLA plays at No. 1 North Carolina and No. 24 Oklahoma State travels to No. 17 Colorado for an early season Big 12 matchup.

TOP 10 AGAIN
With the 2009 No. 7 preseason ranking, A&M has been in the national top 10 every year since 1995.

WHERE ARE THE AGGIES RANKED?
A&M is ranked No. 7 in three preseason polls. The Aggies were also ranked seventh in the final poll of 2008. In the NSCAA/adidas poll, North Carolina claimed the top spot followed by Stanford, Notre Dame, Portland, UCLA and Florida State.

HOME SCHEDULE
A&M’s home schedule in 2008 is quite favorable and should bring lots of excitement to the Aggie Soccer Stadium. There are 11 regular season contests on the home slate as opposed to just eight on the road. The regular season action begins Aug. 22 with No. 8 USC and concludes on Oct. 30 with senior night against No. 15 Texas. The Aggies play five Big 12 games at home, including three in a row to end the season.

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
In preparing to win its 11th Big 12 title, A&M will face one of America’s toughest non-conference schedules. The Aggies eight-game slate will pit them against four teams that advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2008, three of which advanced to the Sweet 16, two that moved on to the Elite Eight, and the defending national champion, No. 1 UNC.

PICKED TO WIN THE BIG 12
Texas A&M received the top spot in the 2009 Big 12 Soccer Preseason Poll, after receiving six of the 10 first-place votes. Missouri tallied four, however, and both teams finished with 91 cumulative points to tie for the first-place preseason ranking. Colorado was chosen third with 76 points, while Oklahoma State (68) and Texas (66) came in fourth and fifth place, respectively. The remainder of the poll consisted of Kansas (59), Nebraska (53), Texas Tech (39), Oklahoma (28), Baylor (20) and Iowa State (14).

FOUR ON PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 TEAM
Juniors Kristin Arnold and Kelly Dyer and sophomores Bri Young and Beth West earned a spot on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, making Texas A&M the only team in the Big 12 with four players garnering honors.

TWO SELECTED TO 2009 HERMANN TROPHY WATCHLIST
Texas A&M junior Kristin Arnold and sophomore Bri Young highlight 45 of the best women’s Division I intercollegiate soccer players that comprise the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy Watch List for 2009. The Aggie soccer team was the only school in the Big 12 to have two players named to the list.

AGGIE SOCCER ON TV
Two regular season Aggie soccer games are broadcast on the tube this year – Missouri on ESPNU Oct. 4 and Loyola Chicago on the Fox Soccer Channel Oct. 11. In addition, the finals of the Big 12 Championship are broadcast live on FSN.

SOCCER TO BROADCAST EVERY GAME OF 2009 SEASON
Texas A&M soccer fans can listen to every single match of the 2009 season free through Aggie All-Access on AggieAthletics.com. All road games will have live audio via AggieAthletics.com and starting with the exhibition match against UAB on Saturday, Aug. 15, all home A&M soccer games can be viewed with live video and audio.

2008 REVIEW
Texas A&M reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament last season and finished the year with an 18-5-1 overall record. The Aggies finished second in the Big 12, going 7-2-1, and ended 2008 with the same preseason ranking they received in 2009 - No. 7 - by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

2009 NCAA WOMEN’S COLLEGE CUP
All session tickets for the 2009 NCAA Women’s College Cup at the Aggie Soccer Stadium on December 4 and 6 are now on sale through the 12th Man Foundation. Tickets may be purchased online at tickets.12thmanfoundation.com, by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE, or by visiting the Athletic Ticket Center in person at the north end of Kyle Field. Advance orders are being accepted through August 31, 2009. All seats are general admission. 2009 marks the third time in the past five years that Texas A&M serves as the host of the NCAA Women’s College Cup. The Aggie Soccer Stadium was also the site of the 2005 and 2007 College Cup.