2010 Season preview

By Will James

Atlanta, GA - The Texas A&M Men's Lacrosse team announces the release of their 2010 Schedule. The schedule is highlighted by a trip to Memphis, Tennessee the first weekend of March. The Aggies will host Arizona and Texas Tech as the showcase games of the Aggieland Classic lacrosse tournament February 13th and 14th.

The Aggies open away at Texas Christian in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday, February 6th. The Aggies are 5-0 against TCU in the last ten years and absolutely must open strong against the Horned Frogs if they hope to have a successful season.

The next weekend the Aggies will host Arizona and Texas Tech in what may be one of the toughest weekends of their schedule. Although Arizona has had a tough last couple of years, not living up to their usual standard of winning seasons, they will look to have a good Texas trip and always provide a tough opponent for the Aggies having 4 wins and only 1 loss to Texas A&M in the last ten years. Texas Tech also provides a formidable opponent under the conditions the Aggies will face during the tournament. Tournament games are always tough since all the players put in hours out in the elements running the tournament and are typically not in their best shape. But if the Aggies preserve their strength, they should be able to pull out a win against both opponents to kick start their season into full gear. As a note, Texas A&M is 11-4 vs. Texas Tech in the last 10 years.

The next weekend A&M will face Texas State away in San Marcos. This is also a must win game for the Aggies since they will have all week to prepare. This game is also important as it is their first conference game, and will provide a solid base for them to work towards a bye in the conference playoffs. A&M is 7-3 vs the Bobcats in the last ten years.

The next weekend will be a big home weekend for the Aggies and an opportunity for their fans to gather for two nice out of state opponents. Kansas and A&M have only met once in recent years, with the Aggies coming out on top in what was a hard hitting game in Dallas Texas at the short lived Big XII Tournament. USC and Texas A&M met last year, with the Aggies pulling out a win in Tallahassee.

The next weekend Texas A&M will take a long trip out to Memphis, Tennessee. There they will face Illinois State, Lindenwood, and Tennessee. The Aggies have notably never faced the Illinois State Redbirds (at least in the last ten years), and will look to defeat this relatively unknown opponent. The Redbirds went a weak 5-5 last year and finished well below the Aggies in the power ratings. Lindenwood is another matter however, and the Aggies will have their work cut out for them. As of late, Lindenwood has become somewhat of a rival, having played A&M the last two years, and coming out victorious both times. If the Aggies can beat the Lions in Memphis, they will set themselves up for a successful season.

Finally the Aggies mustn't forget the Tennessee Vols, who, although they have not met in the last 5 years, do have a history between 1999 and 2003, where the Aggies topped the Vols 3-1. Tennessee finished a respectable 9-4 in 2009, and will certainly be fighting for their own part for a bid to the top 25 like the Aggies.

A 3-0 weekend in Memphis would be unheard of, as the Aggies have not had an undefeated trip out of state for some years, but would be extremely welcome by Aggie fans. If the Aggies can overcome Lindenwood, the team that should be the focus of the weekend, they will have a chance at finishing the season ranked in the top 15 which is essential if the Aggies are to make any progress past the first round of the national tournament.

The Aggies will return on Sunday, only to have to drive out to Baton Rouge on Friday of the next week to face an oft beaten Louisiana State Team. The Aggies have never lost to LSU, going 7-0 since 1999.

The Aggies can then return, rest the rest of the weekend of the 12th of March, and then must drive to Dallas to face SMU in the Patriots Cup on Saturday the 20th. The Aggies are 6-0 against the Mustangs in the last ten years and should look to continue that streak.

The next weekend the Aggies will travel for the 4th weekend in a row, but not far, down to the Woodlands and Houston to face Baylor and Rice, who A&M is 7-0 and 11-0 against in the last ten years respectively.

Then that week they must drive out to Sam Houston State University in Huntsville on Wednesday night for an out of conference game against the developing SHSU Bearkats. The Aggies and the Bearkats have not met in the regular season since 1999, where the Aggies won handily. Since then the Bearkats have dissolved and been reformed at least once. The Aggies will travel to Huntsville to provide valuable experience for the Bearkats as they seek to rebuild their program.

Finally the Aggies will get a break weekend where they can rest and prepare for the biggest game of the season against the defending LSA champs, Texas.

The Aggies face Texas in Austin at 1pm on Saturday April 10th. This promises to be a well attended game and close in score. A&M and Texas have faced one another at least 16 times in the last 10 years, with A&M coming out on top 13 times. Aggie fans will be looking for a 14th victory to avenge for last year's tragic loss in College Station.

Then the Aggies have all the rest of April to prepare for the LSA Playoffs and hopefully a national championship.

The Aggies should go at least 9-6, however, that will not be enough to ensure a berth to the national championship. The Aggies should hope to sustain no more than one loss on their record if they want to make it to nationals, depending on the success of Arizona and Texas nationally. Best case scenario, they go undefeated in the regular season and enter the national tournament ranked between 10 and 15, depending on the national success of Arizona, Lindenwood, and Texas. If they drop the Lindenwood game, or other games such as Arizona, Texas Tech, or Tennessee (toughest games of the season in my opinion), then they will be hard pressed to go to nationals ranked above 16th, assuming they do go on an AQ after winning the conference. If they can't win the conference, they'll have little chance of making nationals unless they go undefeated in the regular season and Lindenwood, Arizona, Tennessee and Texas have exceptional regular seasons. It will be an interesting season, but the schedule is an extremely tough one with only 4 home games and a stretch of 4 travel weekends in a row.

Good luck to the Ags this year! Comments appreciated below! Log in using your gmail, yahoo, AIM, or openid account!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

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