NM State Soccer Takes on Portland State Saturday Night

 
Las Cruces, N.M. – Coming off their first win on Thursday, the NM State women’s soccer team will have to make a quick turnaround as they host Portland State Saturday night at 7 p.m. This will be the second of five consecutive home matches for the Aggies early in the year.  

The Aggies are still fresh off their 3-0 victory to UTEP on Thursday, which saw the Miners only get off two shots the entirety of the match. On the other end, NM State was able to get off 19 shots, seven on goal. Three separate Aggies found the net – Xitlaly Hernandez (4′), Tania Tapia (78′) and Sofia Beerworth (85′). Beerworth was also credited on the Hernandez goal, Loma McNeese was credited on the Tapia goal. 

This might have been the Aggies first victory, but the energy has been high, and momentum has slowly been building, despite what early results might indicate. The Aggies first three opponents have a combined record of 7-1-5 as of yesterday. Oregon and Texas A&M play in two of the strongest conferences in the country, and CSU Fullerton always bolsters a competitive team.

There is a lot of upside for this team going forward, especially with conference play approaching. But before NM State can start worrying about conference opponents, they must get through Portland State and Nevada first. 

Follow Along | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets

Aggie Nation can follow along with all the action thanks to live stats from StatBroadcast. Subsequently, fans can also stream the action through WAC International – formally known as WAC Digital Network. To stream, you will need to create a free account through WAC International, however, no subscription is needed.

Last Time Out | NM State 3, vs. Texas A&M 0 | Thursday, September 1, 2022 | Box Score

•NM State was out-shot UTEP 19-2. The Aggies had seven shots on goal, Miners with just one. 

•Xitlaly Hernandez got the scoring started with a Header in the fourth minute of the game off an assist from Sofia Beerworth

•Tania Tapia recorded her first career goal after sneaking past the defense and tapping in a perfect pass from Loma McNeese in the box. For McNeese, this is the second assist of the season, fourth of her career. 

•Along with the assist in the fourth minute, Sofia Beerworth also scored a goal in the 85 minutes. 

•Aggie defense only allowed two shots the entirety of the match, frustrating Miner scorers throughout the game. 

 

WAC Leaders

• Makenna Gottschalk currently leads the conference in saves with 16. Gottschalk only recorded one save Thursday night, but that was enough to give her sole possession of the lead. Megan Short of Seattle U is in second with 15. 

• The Aggies are top-five in the conference in shots (53) and assists (6). Southern Utah leads the WAC in both statistical categories. (84 shots, 14 assists)

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• Portland State is coming off back-to-back draws against South Dakota (2-2) and New Mexico (1-1). The Lobos out-shot the Vikings 18-9, but the Vikings had more shots on goal (4) than the Lobos (3).

• Opponents are outscoring the Vikings 13-8 on the year. 

• PSU’s lone win can against Western Oregon (Aug. 21) in a 4-1 victory. 

• Sophomore midfielder, Abi Hoffman leads the team in goals with three. She’s taken nine shots with a .333 shot percentage and .667 shot-on-goal percentage. 

• Portland State seems to go with a platoon strategy when choosing goalkeeper. Both Enya Hernandez and Sidney O’billovich have seen playing time in all five matches this season. 

• Hernandez leads the team with 15 saves on the season while only allowing five goals. Sidney O’billovich is second in saves with twelve but leads the team in goals allowed with seven. 

Next Up

Following the Saturday’s match against Portland State, the Aggies will have a week of rest before taking on the Wolf Pack of Nevada. After that, the Aggies will begin conference play at home when they take on Utah Valley Sep. 16.