THE BATTALION
Page 7
Life on the fast track
Freshman forward making immediate
impact on Aggie soccer squad
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There are athletes who must
balance the demands of both
their coaches and professors.
There are the cowgirls
and cowboys who enjoy
A&M’s rural atmosphere
and its great agricultural school. There
are those who bleed maroon inherited
from their parents. There are those who
are very religious and look to God to
guide them . There also are those who are
leaving home to settle down with their
one true partner.
It is unusual when all of these descrip
tions fit one person. However, that is the case
with the Texas A&M soccer team's new star,
freshman forward Linsey Johnson.
The side of Johnson that most people see
is the blazing speed that allows her to knife
through defenses and catch goal keepers
off guard.
Johnson scored a goal in each of the
Aggie’s first six games before her
streak ended with Colorado on
Sunday. If she holds that pace, she
will break the A&M freshman record
of 13 goals set by Jamie Csizmadia in
the Aggie’s inaugural season, 1993.
Johnson holds the team’s second
fastest 40-yard-dash time — only
freshman Emma Smith was able to
beat her — but it may be her speed at
adjusting that has helped Johnson
the most.
“Most freshmen, no matter how
good they are, their heads are spin
ning,” said soccer head coach G.
Guerrieri. “She got a lot of that out
of her system in the spring.”
GUY ROGERS • THE BATTALION
No. 24 Aggies look to
D
Story by JEREMY BROWN
Johnson gained an advantage over most freshmen by graduat
ing from high school after the fall semester of her senior year and
attending A&M during the spring. That enabled her to practice
with the Aggies for an entire semester before playing any games.
“I’ve never really had the opportunity to have excellent coaching
or playing with an excellent team of this caliber, and it apparently
paid off,” Johnson said.
With Hermann Award-nominee Nicky Thrasher and All-Big 12
first-teamer Heather Ragsdale returning at forward, Guerrieri origi
nally tried moving Johnson to another position. But when she con
tinued to score goals every day in practice from the defender and
midfielder positions, Guerrieri decided to move her back to forward.
With such an impressive show in practice, Guerrieri was not sur
prised with her offensive explosion.
"We totally expected it,” Guerrieri said. “When we brought her
in, we knew she was a great athlete.”
The others schools recruiting Johnson had little chance because
of her early graduation and her many ties to A&M.
Her parents, Dennis and Laquita, her brother. Matt, and her great
grandfather, Elvin Thompson, all attended A&M, but her strongest fam
ily tie is to her fiance Brad Woodard, who already was attending A&M.
They were engaged this August and are planning to be married in July.
“We just have both felt that God has shown us to be together
and be married, and we didn't see the point in waiting another
four years before I graduate to get married,” Johnson said. “I
think it will actually help me with soccer because he is such a
huge supporter.”
Johnson began playing soccer at the age of four. She played eight
seasons for the Midland Blast Soccer Club and was the leader in
scoring and assists every year.
At Midland Lee High School, she was the school’s all-time goal
scorer despite playing only three seasons. Soccer was not her only
athletic venture as she gained letters in track and tennis.
However, the activity she enjoyed most was the rodeo.
“I'm a real big cowgirl,” Johnson said. “I grew up with horses
and cattle. I have my horse that I miss really bad. I love the rodeo
and working cattle, and I miss it so much. I love that stuff.”
After falling short of a Big 12 championship last season, the
Aggies welcome Johnson to a team that should make another run at
the title.
“With the record that Nicky and Heather have and the speed of
Emma, I hope we are a force to be reckoned with,” Johnson
said. “We are still moving up the ladder. We haven’t even
peaked. I just think it’s going to continue to get better.”
up Big 12 race
on’t look now, but the
Texas A&M football
team is starting to roll.
After playing relatively close
games in their first two outings,
the Aggies have completely
dominated both Oklahoma State
and Notre Dame with a stifling
defense that did not allow the
opposition more than 200 yards per game.
After Saturday’s 24-3 win over Notre Dame,
A&M made its first appearance of the season in
the two major polls, coming in at No. 24 in the
Associated Press rankings and No. 22 in the
ESPN-ESA Today Coaches poll.
The Aggies (4-0, 1-0 in Big 12) look like a
team that has potential to post major upsets this
season — something they have plenty of chances
to do. Road games are on the schedule against
Colorado, No. 12 Kansas State, No. 3 Oklahoma
and always-tough Texas Tech.
The Aggies also will play No. 5 University of
Texas at Kyle Field Nov. 23.
Of the seven Big 12 teams left on the A&M
schedule, there is a record of 18-4. The road will
not be easy.
But it was not easy in 1998 when the Aggies
stunned the college football world by capturing
the only Big 12 championship in school history.
The Aggies started the 1998 season ranked
No. 14, but looked lethargic during their noncon
ference schedule, never scoring more than 28
points in a game.
Then, in its second conference game, A&M
suiprised the nation by upsetting defending nation
al champion Nebraska, 28-21, at Kyle Field.
The win gave A&M the momentum to run off
five more wins and earn a spot in the Big 12
championship game.
Now, after Saturday’s thrashing of Notre
Dame, A&M looks to be gaining momentum
much like it did in 1998.
The similarities between 1998 and 2001 are
not lost on football head coach R. C. Slocum.
“I told the players all week that this reminded
me of the Nebraska game in 1998,” Slocum said
after Saturday’s game. “Prior to that game ... the
team really hadn’t played all that well. But we
came out and beat Nebraska and grew up a lot
that day.
“As the season progressed, we grew into a
championship team,” Slocum said.
It is obvious after four games this year that
A&M has grown.
In the last two games alone, the defense has
brought its ‘A’ game, recording 12 sacks, forcing
15 punts and giving up an average of just 67
yards rushing. The special teams has converted
two blocked punts into touchdowns and averaged
15.3 yards on kickoff and punt returns.
The offense also has shown flashes of
improvement, mounting scoring drives of 80 and
76 yards against Notre Dame and using an effec
tive running game to control the clock.
This Saturday’s game against Baylor will
give the Aggies a chance to grow together
more, and if they do, the rest of the Big 12 will
be in for a surprise.
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