SEATTLE, Wash. – The New Mexico State women's soccer team defeated Seattle U, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon for the first time in program history. The Aggies are now 2-1-1 in Western Athletic Conference play and 8-7-2 overall.
 
The NM State defense was tested early in the first half of the match as Seattle U (5-8-2, 1-2-1 WAC) fired off 10 shots, five of them on goal. The Aggies were finally able to break through in the 17th minute when Aileen Galicia passed the ball to Audriana Chavez and found the back of the net, giving NM State the 1-0 lead. Seattle U continued its attack on the Aggie defense and capitalized at 29:48 when Isabelle Butterfield shot the ball around goalkeeper Dmitri Fong and scored the equalizer. Heading into halftime, Fong racked up four saves for New Mexico State.
 
"I am extremely proud of our team," head coach Freddy Delgado said. "We challenged our defense after the game on Friday and they stepped up and played much better. There were times where Seattle had the run-of-play and we stayed disciplined. We played strong, communicated well and did very well defensively. On the attacking end, we know we only need a few chances to get a goal. I was very proud of our forwards and attackers at how they made the most of their chances."
 
In the second half, the Aggies paced themselves and it paid off in the 62nd minute of action. Jody Hernandez shot a long ball down the right side of the field to Aileen Galicia who finished it off with a goal, extending the lead to 2-1. The Redhawks made four shot-on-goal attempts throughout the second half, but Fong stood her ground and NM State held on for the 2-1 victory. Following today's match, Chavez moves into second-place in the Aggie record book for most goals in a single-season with nine.
 
"I'm so proud of Audriana (Chavez) and her work ethic this season," Delgado said. "She's meant so much to our team, not just in scoring goals, but her leadership, work ethic and demeanor overall has been tremendous. She's been a huge piece to our team."    
 
The New Mexico State women's soccer team returns to the Soccer Athletic Complex for its final home match of the 2017 season as they host UMKC on Sunday, Oct. 22, at noon.