LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State women's soccer team hosts South Dakota on Thursday, Sept. 20, at 4 p.m. (MT) before wrapping up its non-conference slate at UTEP for the Battle of I 10 on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m.
 
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Where to Watch
Aggie fans unable to attend Thursday's match can watch all the action via livestream from the WAC Digital Network. The Battle of I 10 is set to be streamed thanks to Watch Conference USA.
 
Follow Along
Follow along with every NM State women's soccer match throughout the season via live stats from StatBroadcast.
 
10 Years in the Making
To help the New Mexico State women's soccer team celebrate its 10^th season on the pitch, there are game day promotions throughout the year. Thursday's match against South Dakota is Los Aggies Day! Help Los Aggies Futbol celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and the Hispanic heritage of our great state.
 
As always, children 12 and under as well as students with valid student ID receive free entry to all matches at the Soccer Athletic Complex.
 
Quick Hits
Los Aggies return to Las Cruces for a 4 p.m. (MT) tilt against South Dakota on Thursday, Sept. 20, before their last non-conference game at Battle of I 10 rival UTEP on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m.
 
Eight different Aggies have notched at least two points this season including Aileen Galicia (4g), Alexa Barrera (4a), Emma Smith, (1g, 2a), Katie Martinez (2g), Samantha Afonso (1g), Rebecca Mazzie (1g), Micaela Milavec (1g) and Kelly Burton (1g).
 
Barrera's four assists give the freshman from El Paso, Texas, the team lead in assists and are good for a third-place tie in the Western Athletic Conference.
 
Keep Your Enemies Closer
Despite being in two different states, the campuses of NM State and UTEP are just 38 miles apart on I 10. Here is a look at some other college rivalries that keep their enemies close:
 
Cincinnati and Xavier – 3 miles
Rice and Houston – 3 miles
Wright State and Dayton – 10 miles
Duke and North Carolina – 10 miles
USC and UCLA – 13 miles
Bowling Green and Toledo – 24 miles
NC State and North Carolina – 24 miles
Cal and Stanford – 31 miles
 
Scouting South Dakota
The Coyotes (4-2-2) visit the City of Crosses on a two-game winning streak for their first-ever matchup with the Aggies.

Along with its two-game winning streak South Dakota is unbeaten in six of its last seven contests including four wins and two draws. The Coyotes recorded three shutouts during this streak.
 
Offensively South Dakota is paced by freshman forward Tiannah Moore, who leads the team in goals (4) and is tied for the team lead in points (9). Joining Moore with nine points is junior forward Kellee Willer whose two goals are good for third on the team while her five assists are first. The Coyote's second leading goal-scorer is midfielder Amanda Carpio with three.
 
Moore's four goals are good for a third-place tie in the Summit League while her and Willer's nine points place them in a fourth-place tie in the conference.
 
The Coyotes are anchored by senior goalkeeper Parker Rytz who has recorded 44 saves to go with a .830 save percent and a 1.07 goals-against average. She is ranked third in the Summit League in saves, fourth in goals-against average and fourth in save percent.
 
A Look at the Miners
This is the eighth all-time meeting between the rivals with UTEP (5-3-1) holding a 6-1 advantage. The two rivals last met in 2017 in Las Cruces where NM State picked up its first-ever win over the Miners 2-1 in double-overtime. Audriana Chavez scored the golden goal in the 106^th minute on an assist from Aileen Galicia.
 
UTEP is on a two-game unbeaten streak with a 0-0 draw at Weber State and a 2-0 win at Florida International while it plays Marshall on Thursday, Sept. 20, at home. Its 16 goals on the season are good for fourth in Conference USA.
 
The Miners attack is led by junior defender Lauren Crenshaw with four goals and nine points, good for eighth and ninth in the C-USA respectively. After Crenshaw, four different players have scored two goals including April Pate, Vic Bohdan, Jojo Ngongo and Anna Jimmerson.
 
The UTEP defense is led by senior goalie Alyssa Palacios who sits at second all-time in saves (380) and third in wins with 36. Her 38 saves on the year are good for a third-place tie in C-USA while her goals-against average (0.95) and save percentage (.809) place her at fourth in the conference.  
 
Week in Review
In the Aggies' only game of the weekend they traveled to Albuquerque for the Battle of I 25 against rival New Mexico on Friday, Sept. 14.
 
Despite outshooting the Lobos 21-16 on the night, NM State dropped a 1-0 decision. UNM's lone goal came in the 75^th minute when a one-on-one in the box led to a penalty on an Aggie defender. New Mexico's Alesia Garcia then stepped to the spot and found the back of the net for the decisive goal.
 
A Look ahead
New Mexico State opens conference play with a home contest against defending WAC Tournament champion Utah Valley on Friday, Sept. 28, at 4 p.m. (MT). Fans unable to make it out to the Soccer Athletic Complex and catch the all the action via livestream from the WAC Digital Network. As always, students with a valid student ID as well as kids 12 and under receive free admission to all New Mexico State home games.