LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The NM State (0-3) soccer squad will open up WAC play on Saturday night against Chicago State (0-2) at University Field in El Paso, Texas. The two teams will now play at 8 p.m. on Saturday and 11:30 a.m. on Monday due to travel issues with Chicago State. Both games can be seen live on the WAC Digital Network.

Aggies Have New Home
The Aggies have found their new home for the 2020-21 season, as the remaining "home" games will be played at University Field on the campus of UTEP in El Paso, Texas. University Field has been the home of UTEP soccer since 1996 with the addition of lights in 1999. The facility was upgraded in 2015 when they added CoolPlay FieldTurf to the facility. No fans will be permitted to attend Aggie "home" games for the rest of the season.

"We are super appreciative that our administrators and UTEP could come together and help us out in these unprecedented times," head coach Rob Baarts said. "Being able to play our games this spring is a bonus and playing in El Paso keeps us close to home. Hopefully we will be able to play some home games in Las Cruces before the season ends!"

Last Time Out
The Aggies are coming off a 4-0 loss to Arizona last Sunday in Tucson. The Aggies had many opportunities on offense with a season-high five corner kicks but were only able to generate two shots in the match. Junior Makenna Gottschalk added to her season total with three saves against the Wildcats. 

Scouting the Cougars
The Cougars will come into the weekend series with the Aggies with an 0-2 record after losses to Marquette and Valparaiso. The Cougars are led by senior Sara Quevedo who has scored the Cougars only goal of the season. Sophomore Barbara Castellanos returns for her second season after leading Chicago State with three goals in the 2019 season. Freshman Stella Chiara Chiaradia will be the goalkeeper for the Cougars, as she has recorded 15 saves in the 2020-21 season. The Cougars are coached by Cristiano Costa who is in his third season with Chicago State.

The Series
The Aggies have never lost to Chicago State posting a perfect 8-0 record against the Cougars. In 2019, the Aggies squeaked out a 2-1 victory in overtime in Chicago. In the eight meetings between the two teams, the Aggies have dominated outscoring the Cougars 32-6. Their largest victory came in 2017 when they defeated the Cougars 8-0.

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