WAC Tournament Second Round

#3 NM State (11-4-3, 7-3-2 WAC) vs. #2 Seattle U. (11-5-3, 8-2-2 WAC)

Wednesday, Nov. 4 | 5:00 p.m. (MT) | Championship Field | Seattle, Wash.

WATCH

SEATTLE, Wash. – Following Wednesday's nights thrilling victory over California Baptist in the first round of the WAC Tournament, NM State gets set to take on the #2 seed in the semifinal round of the tournament, Seattle U. 

The Aggies were able to sneak away with a win last night thanks to an overtime goal by Sofia Beerworth in the 97-minute of the match. Those who tuned in also saw a stellar performance by Makenna Gottschalk who racked up seven saves against the Lancers securing her ninth shutout of the year. 

Now the Aggies look ahead to Friday when they take on the host of this year's tournament, Seattle U for a rematch of their game in September which saw the Aggies and Redhawks draw (1-1) in Las Cruces. 

FOLLOW ALONG

• Aggie Nation can stream all this week's action through ESPN+
• Additionally, fans can follow the action through Live Stats thanks to Statbroadcast

KICKOFF

• Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m. (PT), 5:00 p.m. (MT) from Championship Field in Seattle.
• The Aggies are riding a four-game winning streak coming into this match. Their last two wins came against California Baptist: Once in the regular season finale (2-1) and once in the WAC Tournament (1-0 2OT)
• After nearly a week off, Seattle U will look to take advantage of their home field as they prepare for their first WAC Tournament action in over a year.
• The last time the Redhawks were in the tournament was during the spring 2021 season when the team lost in the Championship round to Utah Valley (1-0). 

LAST TIME OUT | NM State 1, CBU 0 (2OT) | November 2, 2022 | Seattle, WA

• With this win, NM State moves to 11-4-3 overall.  
• This is the most wins by and Aggies team since the program's inception in 2009. 
• NM State advances to the WAC Semifinals for the second time in three seasons.
• The Lancers outshot the Aggies 16-9.
• NM state had five shots on goal, CBU had seven. 
• CBU took ten corner kicks, NM state took two. 
• Sofia Beerworth recorded her third goal of the season tying her with fellow freshman, Sydnee Johnson for third most on the team. 
• Makenna Gottschalk nearly tied her season high in saves after she recorded seven. Her season high came against Grand Canyon (10/27) when she tallied eight saves in a 2-1 victory over the Lopes. 
• Gottschalk also secured her ninth shutout of the season. 
• Both teams racked up the fouls in the match combining for 29 total. 
• Four yellow cards were handed out during the match: Loma McNeese (30'), Landy Williams (68'), Ari Coronado (82'), Sydnee Johnson (106')

NM STATE IN THE WAC TOURNAMENT

• This is the ninth time in school history the Aggies have qualified for the WAC Women's Soccer Tournament - the third consecutive season they have qualified
• Their overall record in the Tournament stands at 4-9.
• The four wins came in 2011 against Hawaii (2-1), 2014 versus CSU Bakersfield (3-0), 2021 defeating UTRGV 3-0 and last night versus California Baptist (1-0)
• Last year, the Aggies were bounced in the first round of the tournament losing to Lamar 1-0.

HISTORY VS. SEATTLE U.

• The Redhawks lead the all-time series 11-2-1 against the Aggies.
• The last time these two teams met was in Las Cruces resulting in a 1-1 draw after a lengthy rain delay that forced both teams to resume play the following day. 
• The first meeting was on Sep. 29, 2013 - a game that saw SU shutout the Aggies 3-0 on their home turf.
• The Aggies first win against the Lancers didn't come until their sixth meeting on Oct. 14, 2017- NM State took the 2-1 victory in Seattle. 

ALL-WAC HONOREES

• Seven Aggies saw their name appear on the Western Athletic Conference's postseason awards list that the league announced Tuesday.
• Loma McNeese becomes the first Aggies to earn All-WAC First Team honors since 2017 and just the fourth player in NM State history to earn First Team honors. McNeese leads the Aggies with nine goals and 23 points this season. With nine goals, McNeese has tied Audriana Chavez for fourth on NM State's single-season goals record.
• Makenna Gottschalk, Landy Williams, and Xitlaly Hernandez each earned a selection to the All-WAC Second Team. Hernandez also earned second team honors in the fall of 2021, making her the only current Aggie to earn multiple career selections.
• Hernandez split the team lead in assists with Bianca Chacon at seven apiece, while also landing 16 shots on goal. The highlight of Hernandez's season came against Nevada on September 9 when she dished out three assists.
• Gottschalk posted a stellar season in net for the Aggies, recording eight shutouts. Posting what is currently the fourth highest save percentage in school history, Gottschalk shattered the NM State records for shutouts in a single-season and goals-against-average.
  Throughout the season, Gottschalk received plenty of assistance from her back line which featured Williams. In her second season with the Aggies, Williams logged 1,492 minutes – Third highest among the NM State roster. The defense allowed just 15 goals this season, obliterating the previous low of 25, set by the 2011 team.  
• The Aggies also saw a trio of players in Jena Johannes, Sofia Beerworth, and Sydney Johnson selected to the Freshman All-WAC Team. Beerworth was the lone freshman to log over 1,000 minutes, playing in 1,034. The Montreal, Canada native picked up two goals and two assists in her freshman campaign. Beerworth logged her first career goal in the crimson and white on September 1 against UTEP.
• Johannes recorded her first career assist in NM State's contest versus California Baptist on Sep. 29. The freshman defender appeared in 15 contests, making 11 starts and tallying three points. The freshman from Kihei, Hawai'i found the back of the net for the first time against Nevada on September 9.
• As a true freshman, Johnson appeared in all 17 matches for NM State, making eight starts. Johnson beat the keeper three times this season, notching goals against Portland State, Nevada, and Southern Utah, including a game winner.

NEXT UP

The winner of this match will go on to the WAC Championship Sunday to face the winner of the Grand Canyon and Utah Valley match. All this week's action will be streamed through ESPN+. 

For complete coverage of New Mexico State women's soccer, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateWSOC), Instagram (@NMStateWSOC) and like us on Facebook (NM State Women's Soccer).

++NM State +