LAS CRUCES, N.M. – With the regular season all wrapped up, the NM State women's soccer team looks to make some noise in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament this week. The fourth-seeded Aggies are slated to take on the No. 5-seed and host, CSU Bakersfield, at 8 p.m. (MDT) on Thursday.
 
WAC Tournament
Nov. 5-8, 2015
Bakersfield, Calif.
Quarterfinal Matches: Nov. 5 | 5 p.m. / 8 p.m. (MDT)
Semifinal Matches: Nov. 6 | 5 p.m. / 8 p.m. (MDT)
Championship Match: Nov. 8 | 2 p.m. (MDT)
 
LIVE STATS: Click Here
LIVE STREAM: WAC Digital Network
SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow @NMStateWSOC on Twitter for live updates from the game.
 
SCOUTING THE 'RUNNERS
NM State and CSU Bakersfield will be clashing in the opening round of the WAC Tournament for the second-straight year. The Aggies came out on top in last year's quarterfinal match-up, 3-0.
 
Bakersfield comes into the WAC Tournament 5-11-3 on the year and 3-5-2 in conference play. Last time out against the 'Runners, Bakersfield left Las Cruces with a 2-1 win over NM State. Since then, they have gone 2-5-1 in conference play – including a scoreless tie at Grand Canyon to finish out the regular-season.
 
The Roadrunners are paced by Aminah Settles, who has 21 points (10g, 1a) on the year to go with three game-winning goals. Haley Vicente is second on the team for CSUB with 10 points (5g) while three other players are tied for third with nine points. The top five point scorers for Bakersfield have played in all 19 games.
 
Heading into Thursday's match-up, the Aggies hold a slight edge in the shots on goal percentage category, coming in at .563 compared to CSUB's .511. NM State has also held opponents to a lower shots on goal percentage than the 'Runners, checking in at .464 compared to Bakersfield's .487.
 
Between the post, Rian Niles and Ashley Martin combined for a 2.50 goals against average compared to CSUB's combined average of 1.77. Tori Ornela captains the defense for Bakersfield. Ornela has tallied 97 saves in 19 games for the Roadrunners while allowing just 34 goals for a saves percentage of .740.
 
NM STATE AT THE TOURNAMENT
Overall, the Aggies are 2-3 all-time at the WAC Tournament. NM State's last win came last year against Bakersfield, a 3-0 win in the quarterfinals before falling to Seattle in the semis, 7-0.
 
Should NM State defeat Bakersfield in its quarterfinal match-up on Thursday, the Aggies' road to the championship game will go through the No. 1-seed, Seattle, once again on Friday at 8 p.m. (MDT). As the top seed, the Redhawks will have a bye as they await the winner between the Aggies and Roadrunners.
 
The other quarterfinal match up will be between the No. 3 seed, UMKC, and the No. 6 seed, UTRGV. Utah Valley, the second seed in the tournament, is given the other bye and will play the winner between the 'Roos and Vaqueros.
 
Should the Aggies make it past the top-seeded Redhawks, the championship match is set for 2 p.m. (MDT) on Sunday, Nov. 8.
 
EYES ON THE AGGIES
Of the 16 freshmen on the team for head coach Freddy Delgado, six have played in all 19 games – including two of the team's top-three scorers. Freshman Aileen Galicia is atop the leaderboard for NM State with 12 points (5g, 2a) while sophomore Holly Abdelkader and freshman Sabrina Ruiz are tied for second with 11 points (4g, 3a) each. Devin Hart is the fourth and final double-digit point scorer for the Aggies, checking in at 10 points (4g, 2a).
 
However, Hart leads the team in conference play with all 10 points coming in WAC matches. Audrey Chavez (3g) and Abdelkader (2g, 2a) are tied for second in WAC play. Between the pipes, Nials has played in two more games than Martin, collecting 34 saves compared to Martin's 23. Martin leads Nials in the goals against category by a narrow edge, 2.00 compared to Nials' 2.34.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies weren't able to close out the season the way they wanted to, falling to UT Rio Grande Valley in their final match of the WAC regular season, 2-1. Devin Hart scored the lone goal for NM State in the loss for her 10th point (4g, 2a) in conference play, good for the team-lead.
 
Luckily for the Aggies, the loss did not set them back in the tournament seeding as they hold on to the No. 4 seed since Grand Canyon doesn't qualify for postseason play as they are finishing out the transition stage to Division I.
 
Ashley Martin played the full 90 minutes for NM State and secured a pair saves against four shots on goal. The loss put NM State at 5-14-0 on the year and 4-6 in conference play, tying the 2009 squad for most wins in conference play.
 
ALL IN THE HART
Redshirt sophomore Devin Hart rose to the occasion for head coach Freddy Delgado. The Albuquerque, N.M., native has tallied all 10 points during WAC play. Overall, the 10 points are good for first in conference play and fourth overall for the Aggies. The 10 points ties her ninth in the league for points in conference play.  
 
MARTIN ENTERS RECORD BOOKS
Ashley Martin became the single-game saves record holder this past Sunday when she racked up 16 stops against UMKC. The 16 saves broke a six year record set by Katie Graul (14) back in 2009 against Idaho State.
 
FRESHMEN GAINING EXPERIENCE
With the regular season winding down, the sixteen true freshmen for the Aggies are beginning to get in the groove of things for head coach Freddy Delgado. Of the 11 point scorers for NM State, six are first-year players. Freshman Aileen Galicia leads the team with 12 points (5 goals, 2 assist) while sophomore Holly Abdelkader and freshman Sabrina Ruiz are tied for second with 11 points (4g, 3a).
 
RIVERA TRIES OUT FOR NATIONAL TEAM
Freshman defender, Dominique Rivera, became the first player in Aggie soccer program history to try out for a national team. The Albuquerque, N.M., native was invited to try out for the Puerto Rican U20 Women's National Team for two weeks in mid-October. Rivera was able to gain international experience playing against other U20 teams from Bermuda and the Dominican Republic.
 
ABDELKADER EARNS PRESEASON HONORS
Sophomore Holly Abdelkader was named to the WAC Preseason All-Conference team as voted on by the coaches. Abdelkader was the sole NM State player to earn the honor after racking up six points in 2014, tying Stephanie Petre for the team-high amongst players returning for the 2015 season. The elusive 5-3 midfielder recorded a pair of goals to go along with a pair of assists as a freshman. She also logged over 1,300 minutes on the field while starting in 12 of the 22 games she played in.