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match six
NM State (3-2-1, 0-0 WAC) vs. Nevada (1-3-1, 0-0 Mountain West)
Friday, Sep 9 | 7:00pm MT | NM State Soccer Complex | Las Cruces, NM
Final: NM State 4, Nevada 0
box score
LAC CRUCES, NM – Scoring, defense, and more scoring. It was quite a night for the NM State women’s soccer team as they picked up their third-consecutive win and improved to 3-2-1, heading into conference play.
Like in the previous three matches, there wasn’t a lot of offense from either team in the first half, besides the one score. And just like before, the Aggies tallied most of their scoring late after the 75-minute.
Scoring summary
7′ | Immediately following a Nevada turnover, Xitlalty Hernandez connected with Bianca Chacon, who quickly gathered the pass, made a quick turnaround, fired a rocket, and found the back of the net for the first Aggie Goal of the night.
76′ | After nearly 70 minutes of no scoring, NM State made it a priority to press the up field and get some insurance. After a Nevada foul, Xitlaly Hernandez set up for the Aggie free kick inside the Wolf Pack zone. She fired a ball into the box, hoping one of her teammates would find the ball, and they did. Jena Johannes was perfectly positioned in the box, put her head into the pass, and found the net for the first time in her career.
77′ | Before anyone could breathe, there were the Aggies for another score. This time, the trio of Megan Ormson, Mya Hammack, and Loma McNeese teamed up for the score. It all started after a Nevada corner quickly turned into Mya Hammack running upfield with the ball. Hammack would find Ormson, who then passed it back to Hammack, who led McNeese in for the easy score.
79′ | Thought it was over? Well, think again. Aggies still had one more left in them, in case there was any doubt. Xitlaly Hernandez was distributing the ball flawlessly in this one. She already had two assists before she found the always speedy Sydnee Johnson out upfront for another easy score giving Hernandez three assists.
Performances / Stats of Note
• The Preseason First Team All-WAC selection had their foot in this match. Xitlaly Hernandez set a new career high in assists with three for the game. She has now doubled her career total to six.
• Double Trouble – Bianca Chacon and Loma McNeese have scored goals in consecutive games and now lead the teams in scores with three each. These also happened to be the fifth career goals for both players.
• Sydnee Johnson is second on the team in scores after her 79-minute score. The freshman now has two goals for the season.
• Defense continues to be dominant. The Aggies only allowed seven shots tonight with three on goal.
• Makenna Gottschalk added three more saves to her total this season. She has 23 for the year and 167 for her career.
• The Aggies are outscoring their last three opponents 10-0, with seven of those goals coming after the 75′-minute.
Quotable | Head coach Rob Baarts
“The first three games on the road were rough, but I think they taught us how to battle. Those lessons that we took out of those games have come big time brought home for our three wins, in my opinion. I think just kind of wearing teams down in all three games. You know, we score on in the first half, grind through, grind through, and then take our opportunity before the game’s end.”
“The way we play creates avenues to score late in the game. The other team is going to get tired from being moving around a lot. They had to move around a lot in the first half. They worked hard in the first half. That team is going to do damage in the Mountain West in my opinion. [Erin Otagaki] has got them grinding, and they’re a difficult team to play. In all fairness, I thought we were very fortunate to get a four goal win”
“We have been battling teams all through preseason to complete against [WAC Teams]. Having UVU and Seattle, I mean two fantastic teams coming in, what a great test right off the bat in the WAC. I think our team is excited to play. I think that we are probably in the best position to actually compete at the highest level in the WAC, so why not start it off with some of the best teams in the WAC.”
next up
NM State has a week off before opening conference play next week when they host Utah Valley (Friday, Sep 16) and Seattle U (Sunday, Sep 18).
For complete coverage of New Mexico State women’s soccer, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateWSOC), Instagram (@NMStateWSOC) and like us on Facebook (NM State Women’s Soccer).
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