COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M captured two of the SEC’s five major awards as Shea Groom was tabbed SEC Offensive Player of the Year and G Guerrieri was named SEC Coach of the Year on Sunday in voting conducted by the head coaches.
Groom became the first Texas A&M soccer player to ever earn a major SEC award.
It marked the second consecutive SEC Coach of the Year honor for Guerrieri who garnered Coach of the Year accolades on two occasions in the Big 12. Guerrieri is the first coach to repeat as SEC Coach of the Year since former Tennessee coach Angela Kelly earned the honor three consecutive years from 2003-05.
Kentucky’s Arin Gilliland was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year, South Carolina’s Savannah McCaskill was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and Alabama’s Laura Lee Smith was tabbed SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Aggies finished the regular-season with a 15-2-2 overall mark and they claimed an SEC regular-season crown with 28 points, on a 9-1-1 league ledger, their second consecutive league title. After their lone league loss of the season, 1-0 vs. Florida, the Aggies bounced back to go 6-0-1 in their last seven games to take advantage of two losses by the Gators.
Groom ranks second in the SEC in goals (13) and third in points (29) this season. On Thursday night, she tallied the championship-winning goal as the Aggies earned an outright SEC regular-season title with a 2-1 win over the Georgia Bulldogs. Groom is credited with six game-winning goals on the season.
For her career, Groom has appeared in 77 matches, including 72 starts. Her 97 points ranks eighth on Texas A&M’s career list and her 38 goals ranks seventh. She is one of 13 active NCAA Division I players with 30 or more goals and 20 or more assists.
Groom has been honored repeatedly for her prowess on the field and in the classroom during her four years at Texas A&M. Last season, she was named to the National Soccer Coaches of Association of America (NSCAA) All-America Third Team as well as the NSCAA Scholar All-America First Team. The Liberty, Missouri native is a two-time All-SEC selection and has twice been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Guerrieri ended the regular-season with a 387-120-29 career record. His .749 winning percentage ranks sixth among active coaches. He enters the week ranked fifth on the NCAA Division I career victories list.
Under Guerrieri, the Maroon and White have never experienced a losing season and the Aggies have notched at least 15 wins in 20 of their 22 campaigns, including the last 11 seasons.
During his tenure in College Station, Guerrieri has led the Aggies to 19 NCAA Tournaments, 12 NCAA Sweet Sixteens, four NCAA Quarterfinals, nine conference regular-season titles and six conference tournament crowns.
The Aggies return to action on Wednesday when they will play either Arkansas or Georgia at 5 pm Central in the quarterfinal round of the 2014 SEC Women’s Soccer Tournament in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics