Lobos get some sweet revenge on rival Aggies
Women’s soccer team earns a tough 1-0 win over New Mexico State
A windless night at the UNM Soccer Complex meant the pregame red smoke lingered over the pitch before kickoff. Unfortunately for the New Mexico women’s soccer team, so did the New Mexico State Aggies (1-7-0).
The Lobos (4-3-0) earned a 1-0 win over the rival Aggies. New Mexico improved to 8-1 all-time against New Mexico State, avenging a late loss a season ago.
“I’m their biggest fan except for one game of the year,” Lobo Coach Heather Dyche said. “It makes it a different emotion, you want them to play well, just lose one game.”
Freshman Alesia Garcia had the decisive score in the 74th minute, turning an Aggie defender before being hauled down in the penalty area. Garcia then thumped home the resultant penalty kick, sending goalie Ashley Martin the wrong way. It was Garcia’s team-best fourth goal of the season.
“I didn’t think I was taking it. I just had to step up,” Garcia said. “You see what the game gives you. We could make those runs in and beat them with our speed.”
The Aggies had better possession spells early, leading to four sights of goal though none on frame. The Lobos grew into the match, stiffening the midfield spine to win the ball.
New Mexico looked to forwards Leilani Baker and Gwen Maly for hold-up play to facilitate the attack. Some heavy touches and loose passes too often undermined the New Mexico buildup.
The Lobos had a pair of chances in the 20th minute, hitting side netting and the crossbar. In the 36th, Jadyn Edwards rounded Martin but saw her shot blocked and cleared by a covering Aggie defender. At the end of the first half the Lobos had a penalty appeal denied.
“As a team I was disappointed with our effort in the first half,” Dyche said. “All we talked about at halftime was effort. There’s no point in fixing tactics if you aren’t going to work hard.”
The Lobos directed traffic in the second half, rarely letting the visitors connect passes in the middle or forward third.
New Mexico State hammered a shot inches wide in the 84th minute but otherwise failed to seriously threaten to equalize. New Mexico recorded its second clean sheet of the season.
“We’ve gotten a lot better at staying compact,” defender Sarah Lucero said. “We had big gaps in the first half and
we fixed that in the second half.”
All four New Mexico wins have come at home this season. The Lobos open Mountain West Conference play next weekend with home games Friday (Colorado State) and Sunday (Wyoming).
NOTES: The Lobos and Aggies tabled the rivalry to join forces to raise money for the Children’s Cancer Fund of New Mexico in the annual “Kickin’ Childhood Cancer” event. The teams wore matching gray T-shirts during warmups featuring a black soccer ball logo and yellow ribbon. The same shirts were sold at the merchandise stand with proceeds benefiting the fund. A GoFundMe page raised over $1,500 since its inception Tuesday.
Emma Davis, age 7, is in remission for leukemia. She is in her third season as honorary co-captain of the Lobo women’s soccer team. She has some advice for other kids diagnosed with cancer. “Keep fighting,” Davis said. … New Mexico entered Friday’s game committing the most fouls per contest among Mountain West teams. The Lobos helped drop that to 12.2 fouls/game average by committing just four against the Aggies. The first Lobo foul was whistled in the 56th minute.