EDINBURG, Texas – Corey Kizer recorded the first multi-goal game of her career and the New Mexico State women's soccer team kept its WAC Tournament hopes alive with a 3-1  road win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday night.
 
"That was our best performance since I've been here," said head coach Rob Baarts. "They put a whole game together from beginning to end. We didn't back down from tackles, we played tough and we played smart. A lot of the things we've been working on came together. It's a little late in the year to be putting it all together but in terms of the program, it's a huge step forward."
 
The Aggies (4-12-2, 3-5-0 WAC) pressured the Vaqueros early and often with the trio of Sarah Trent, Eliudth Gonzalez and Hannah Leitner making the backline and goalkeeper uncomfortable. Shea O'Connor almost gave the Aggies an early lead just 30 seconds in but her try was saved by Kinga Szemik.
 
Then, the pressure paid off when Emma Smith played a long ball to Kizer in the box. Kizer knocked the ball down and finished on the bounce to give NM State a 1-0 lead in the 9^th minute. Neither side really threatened until Sarah Bonney found Emily Zapata who finished to tie the match at one in the 42^nd minute.
 
New Mexico State continued to play aggressively out of the halftime break with Kizer registering a shot in the 53^rd minute. Emma Smith almost gave the lead back to NM State but her rocket from 22 yards was punched out by Szemik.
 
However, the Aggies continued to push and were awarded a corner kick in the 58^th minute. On the corner kick, Jody Hernandez found Jess McDow making a far-post run who poked it in to give NM State a 2-1 lead.
 
NM State's defense was steadfast against an increasingly desperate UTRGV attack as the half wore on. Then, in the 73^rd minute. Leitner burned the outside back and fed a ball into Kizer who was making a late and finished her second goal of the match and fifth of the season for the final score of 3-1.
 
Kizer finished the match with the first multi-goal game of her career while McDow scored first-career goal. Leitner added her third assist of the season and Dmitri Fong finished with five saves.
 
New Mexico State now waits to see the results of tonight's CSU Bakersfield vs. Grand Canyon match. If GCU beats CSU Bakersfield, the Aggies would advance to the WAC Tournament.
 
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