LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Forward Audriana Chavez came through in the clutch for the New Mexico State women's soccer team with the game-winning goal, 2-1, in double overtime Friday night on their home field over Battle of I-10 rival UTEP.
 

WATCH | @audrianachavez knocks in the golden goal for NM State to claim the 2-1 victory over UTEP!! #AggieUp

A post shared by NM State Women's Soccer (@nmstatewsoc) on Aug 18, 2017 at 7:46pm PDT

In front of a sell-out crowd, Chavez made a huge play for the Aggies which led them to claim their first victory in the Battle of I-10. It was the first win for any head coach in NM State women's soccer history.
 
The first period of the match showcased the defensive talents of both the Aggies and Miners. With UTEP claiming the first goal at the 30:20 mark, the Aggies went into halftime optimistic. Head coach Freddy Delgado knew his team was strong, but had to work on a few techniques in order to make a comeback in the second period.
 
 "We thought we were playing pretty well and then we made a mistake," Delgado said. "UTEP kept pressing us and they're a good team. They were able to capitalize. Going into halftime, we felt like we were playing pretty well and doing the things we wanted to do, so we felt like if we just continued going in the right direction that it was going to break open for us."
 
Despite being scoreless in the first period of the match, the Aggies pushed on and kept taking chances with their shots against the Miners. With three minutes remaining in the match, Chavez made a stellar pass to senior Devin Hart to knot the game up 1-1.
 
"Anytime that you can put up shots and even though some of them weren't the best shots, but it got into our heads to keep taking chances, keep pressing and keep shooting," said Delgado. "That wears on the defenders as well. We kept the pressure on them and we kept pushing. It took us 87 minutes to get the first goal, but we kept pushing through and finally got the equalizer."
 
That equalizer led the Aggies into not one, but two overtime periods against their counterpart. In the end, it paid off as junior Aileen Galicia made a huge play with a pass to Chavez, scoring the winning goal for the Aggies.
 
"It's the first time in our history that we've beaten UTEP and we're happy to be the first team to be able to do it," Delgado said. "You can only have so many firsts in your program and I think this group is very deserving to get that first win."
 
NM State heads to Northern Illinois for the first road game of the season taking place Aug. 20 at noon.