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LAS CRUCES, NM – New Mexico State women’s soccer has clinched a WAC tournament berth for the third consecutive season under head coach Rob Baarts.
The team accomplished this after recording a 9-4-3 overall record, and 6-2-2 conference record. This is just the second winning season in program history. Only two other teams in school history have finished with a winning record – the 2009 squad (11-9-1, 4-3-1 WAC) under former head coach Michael Needhan, and the 2011 team (10-8-3, 2 -3-2 WAC) under head coach Blair Quinn.
This is Rob Baart’s first winning season as a head coach. His first season as a head coach came in 2018 when he was announced as the fourth head coach in NM State Women’s Soccer history after spending 12 seasons as an assistant at Portland and San Jose State. Since then, he has gone a combined 29-55-7 making three WAC Tournament appearances in the five-year stretch.
His first season in the tournament, the team upset the number four seed, UTRGV, in the first round by shutting out the Vaqueros 3-0. The Aggies would wind up losing in the next round to the eventual champions Utah Valley. The team did not go down without a fight, however, taking the Wolverines into penalty kicks after 110 minutes of action.
Last season the team was bounced in the first round to former conference opponent Lamar in a tight 1-0 matchup that saw the Aggies take a whopping 32 shots in the match.
Now, the team has an opportunity to take the next leap and make some noise in the tournament. With the third best record in the conference, NM State could really be primed for a deep run in this year’s tournament.
With one game remaining, the Aggies will know who they play at the conclusion of their match with California Baptist tomorrow night as it is one of the final games to be played.
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