Razorbacks Travel To College Station To Take On Aggies
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Razorback Soccer team goes back on the road this week for just a single match in conference play when it faces 23rd-ranked Texas A&M in College Station on Friday at 7 p.m. The match will be televised online on SEC Network+.
Arkansas (6-5-1, 1-1-1 SEC) is coming off two tough matches with Vanderbilt and Ole Miss where defenses shined on both sides. The Razorbacks managed a hard-fought point against the Commodores, securing its first tie of the season as neither team scored in 110 minutes of play. Three days later, Arkansas had two goals wiped away on offsides calls, allowing the Rebels to escape with a 1-0 victory.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Jordan Harris has been a difference maker in the net over the last four matches. Over that span, she has averaged 3.25 saves per game and allowed just two goals over 380 minutes.
It hasn’t been all Harris though. Arkansas’ back line has been tremendous, holding opponents to five shots on goal or less in the last four matches. On Sunday against Ole Miss, which had been averaging nearly four goals a game, the Razorback defense held the Rebels to just one goal and three shots on target.
On the offensive end, Arkansas hopes to get a healthy Parker Goins. The Oklahoma-native went down with an injury last week against Vanderbilt and did not play against Ole Miss. Goins still leads all Razorbacks with seven goals and 18 points, but the scoring has been spread out among 12 different players.
Freshman Taylor Malham is second on the team in goals scored (4) and has been one of Arkansas’ big weapons on the attacking side. Two of her four goals have been game-winners as she joins Goins as the only two players on the team with two or more game-winning goals.
Arkansas hopes to garner its first victory over Texas A&M in seven matches, dating back to 1994. The last time both teams faced off was in 2015 with the Aggies squeaking by with a 1-0 victory in College Station.
Follow Live
Friday’s match with the Aggies will be broadcast online only on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.
Live stats for the match will be available on ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Friday, Sept. 29
7 p.m. – Arkansas (6-5-1, 1-1-1 SEC) at No. 23 Texas A&M (6-2-1, 2-1-0 SEC) – Live Stats | SEC Network+
Quick Kicks
>> With just a single match this week at No. 23 Texas A&M, Arkansas will look to stay in the conference race with a much needed three points as well as its first ranked victory of the year.
>> The Aggies will be the third ranked opponent the Razorbacks have faced this year and second in as many matches. Arkansas fell to No. 20 Ole Miss last Sunday and dropped a 4-2 decision to top-ranked Penn State last month.
>> Arkansas picked up its first tie of the season last Thursday at Vanderbilt. It was the fifth shutout of the year for the Razorbacks, just two less than they had for the entire 2016 season.
>> Freshman Parker Goins went down with an ankle injury against the Commodores 19 minutes into the match. She still leads all Razorback players with seven goals on the year and 18 points, but is not expected to be in the lineup on Friday against Texas A&M.
>> Goins’ seven goals are the second-most by a freshman in the last 17 years, only trailing teammate Kayla McKeon, who had nine goals in 2016.
>> Redshirt junior goalkeeper Jordan Harris has started four-straight matches leading up to Friday’s contest in College Station. Over that span, she has averaged 3.25 saves per game and allowed two goals over 380 minutes of play.
>> Even though Arkansas was held to no shots on goal over the last two matches, it still holds one of the best scoring offenses in the country with 2.58 goals per game, good for 13th in the nation.
>> Seven different freshmen have scored at least one goal so far this season. 18 out of Arkansas’ 31 goals have come from the feet of freshmen, seven from Parker Goins. The 18 freshmen goals is the most in the SEC.
>> Senior Jessi Hartzler has been Arkansas’ ironwoman over the last two years. This season, she has started all 12 matches and logged 1,079 minutes. In 2016, she started every match (24) and logged 2,108 out of a possible 2,220 minutes.
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