Match Five
NM State (3-1) at Incarnate Word (0-4)
Sunday, September 5 | 10:00 a.m. | Gayle & Tom Benson Stadium | San Antonio, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
THE KICKOFF
• At the midway point of a six-match road swing, the NM State women's soccer team is set to play its second-straight match in the state of Texas when it heads to the Alamo City for a Sunday morning showdown with Southland Conference foe Incarnate Word.
• Kickoff from Gayle & Tom Benson Stadium is set for 10:00 a.m. MT.
• In possession of a varied offense, the Aggies have seen five of their players net goals through the first four matches of the season. With two goals each, Hannah Leitner and Shea O'Connor are tied for third in the WAC in terms of total goals.
• Leitner currently leads the WAC in terms of points per game (1.50), assists (two) and total points (six).
SERIES HISTORY
• NM State owns a 1-1 all-time record against Incarnate Word. The Aggies won the inaugural matchup between the two clubs by a 2-1 tally back on Aug. 31, 2014 in Las Cruces.
• Incarnate Word evened the series at 1-1 on September 10, 2017, by getting by NM State by a 3-2 score in Las Cruces. Devin Hart punched in a pair of goals for the Aggies in that showdown, but the Cardinals bounced back from a 2-1 deficit by netting goals in the 68th and 69th minutes to collect the win.
• Sunday marks the first meeting between the two clubs in San Antonio.
AGGIES AGAINST THE SOUTHLAND
• NM State owns a 3-2 (.600) all-time record against current members of the Southland Conference.
• Fourth-year head coach Rob Baarts has never faced a current Southland Conference program as the Aggies' bench boss.
LAST TIME OUT | NM State 0, at Texas 4
• The Aggies' three-match winning streak to begin the season was snapped as the Longhorns scored all four of their goals in the first 34:20 of action to collect a 4-0 win.
• The first matchup between the two programs resulted in the Texas' first win of 2021.
• NM State suffered its first shutout loss since a 2-0 defeat at the hands of WAC foe Grand Canyon back on Friday, April 9. 2021.
SCOUTING INCARNATE WORD | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Mired in a six-match losing skid dating back to April of 2021, Incarnate Word has scored just one goal thus far in its latest campaign.
• All four of the Cardinals' losses this season have come by one-goal margins.
• Sierra Wannamaker has Incarnate Word's lone goal on the year. It came in a 2-1 home setback to Texas State in the season opener for both clubs.
• Despite the difficult start, the Cardinals still have all of their Southland Conference matches in front of them. In the 2021 preseason poll, Incarnate Word was selected to finish second in the seven-team league, picking up 55 points in the listing.
• In addition to Wannamaker (First Team), five other Cardinals - Keely Ayala (Second Team) Isabella Beletic (First Team), Eve Clarkson (First Team), Lauren Miller (Second Team) and Hannah Walsh (First Team) - earned spots on the Southland's 2021 preseason teams.
• Makenzie Hall and Margaret Kofron have both logged minutes between the pipes for the Cardinals this season. Hall (0-3) has been the team's go-to option in net, giving up four goals in three full games. Twelve of the Cardinals' 15 saves have come courtesy of Hall while Kofron (0-1) has totaled a trio of saves in her lone match of the season.
COMING UP NEXT
• While they remain on the road, the Aggies' next contest away from Las Cruces will be relatively close to it. NM State heads across the border to Texas where it will duke it out with I-10 rival UTEP Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.
++NM State++
