THE KICKOFF
• Following an emotional Thursday night victory, the NM State women's soccer team closes out its two-match WAC homestand Sunday afternoon by going in search of its third league victory of the year when California Baptist heads to the Land of Enchantment.
• Kickoff for the fifth all-time meetings between the Aggies and Lancers is set for 1:00 p.m. from the NM State Soccer Athletics Complex.
 
THE SERIES
• NM State is going in search of the first victory over California Baptist in program history Sunday afternoon.
• The Aggies head into Sunday's matchup with an 0-4 all-time record against the Lancers. In the only match in Las Cruces between the two program, CBU collected a 1-0 victory back on Oct. 6, 2019.
• NM State has been outscored 9-2 in the four showdowns between the two clubs.
• Rob Baarts is the only NM State head coach who has ever faced off against California Baptist as all of the meetings between the two teams have come since 2018.
 
LAST TIME OUT | NM State 2, Seattle U 1 | Friday, Oct. 1, 2021
• Seattle U netted a game-tying goal with 1:42 remaining, but sophomore Bella Garcia made sure the Aggies had the last laugh as she punched in a game-winning goal with 41 seconds to go in order to life NM State to a 2-1 triumph over Seattle U.
• NM State moved to 2-12 all-time against Seattle U, putting an end to a five-match losing skid to the Redhawks in the process.
• All three of the game's goals came in the second half and the scoring spree started when Bianca Chacon lofted in her second goal of the season in the 75^th minute.
• Garcia's goal was her second of the season and both of those scores have been game winners against WAC opposition.
• Heading into Friday night's match, Seattle U had outscored the Aggies by a 44-8 margin in the 13 previous meetings between the two programs.
• NM State's victory was its first over Seattle U at home.
 
ABOUT THE AGGIES
• NM State currently sits in second place in the WAC's West Division standings. The Aggies' 2-1 record has translated to six points, putting them just one point back of Grand Canyon (9-2-1, 2-0-1 WAC) for the lead in the division.
• NM State evened its home record at 2-2 for the 2021 season with Thursday night's win. The Aggies have been outscored 9-5 in their four home matches, but have picked up victories over each of the WAC institutions they have taken on at the NM State Soccer Athletics Complex.
• Fourteen different Aggies have either scored a goal or generated an assist this season. That list is headlined by Hannah Leitner who tops the team's charts in both points (eight) and assists (four).
• Shea O'Connor leads a list of six Aggies who have generated multiple goals this season with three to her credit.
• Senior goalkeeper Makenna Gottschalk evened her 2021 record at 6-6 with Thursday night's victory. The Broomfield, Colo., product made a trio of saves in the win, hiking her season total up to 46. For her career, Gottschalk has stopped 105 shots in an Aggie uniform – the sixth-most all-time. With 10 more saves, she'll move up to fifth on the program's all-time saves list.
• Gottschalk's save total this season is the seventh-highest among all WAC netminders and her two clean sheets are the fourth-most when stacked up against that same group.
• Leitner is the program's all-time leader in assists with 12 throughout her career in the Crimson and White. Additionally, Leitner ranks eighth all-time on the NM State goal scoring charts with 10 in her career.
• Three other Aggies have been making their way up the program's all-time goal scoring charts since the season began, too. O'Connor has booted in 11 during her NM State career. Those 11 goals are the seventh-most all-time.
• Like Leitner, Corey Kizer is tied for eighth all-time in career goals scored with 10. On the year Kizer has accounted for two of the Aggies' 13 scores.
• With an assist on Garcia's game winning goal Thursday night, Grace Olson notched her first point of the season.
 
SCOUTING CALIFORNIA BAPTIST | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• After picking up a 1-0 win over Seattle U last Saturday night, the Lancers began their first WAC road trip of the season by taking a 6-1 loss at Grand Canyon Friday night.
• Most of the Lancers' contests have been played on the road this season. California Baptist owns a 2-4-1 record in its road contests and a 1-1 mark at home. The Lancers share victories with the Aggies over Incarnate Word (1-0), Nevada (3-1) as well as Seattle U.
• No player on California Baptist's squad has multiple goals to their credit this season. In all, six players have put in one goal apiece for the Lancers and Madison Sonerholm leads the team with three points (one goal, one assist).
• Romy Salvador patrols the mouth of the Lancers' net and has constructed a 3-4-1 mark. Through her nine starts in net, Salvador has amassed 24 saves and possesses a goals against average of 1.21.
 
COMING UP NEXT
• For their only match in a span of almost two weeks, the Aggies will travel west to Phoenix, Ariz., to battle WAC adversary Grand Canyon Saturday night. Kickoff in Arizona between the Aggies and Lopes is set for 8:00 p.m. and NM State is seeking its second-straight victory over the Lopes on their home turf.
 
++NM State++