LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State Women's Soccer is back for another season! The Aggies are set to open their season against the University of Oregon Thursday, August 18, at 6 p.m. (MT). This will be the first of three road games for the Aggies to start the 2022 season. After their date with the Ducks in Eugene, Oreg., the Aggies will head to Southern California to take on California State Fullerton Sunday, August 21, at 6 p.m. (MT) followed by Texas A&M next week.
Follow Along
Aggie Nation can follow along with all the action thanks to live stats from StatBroadcast. Subsequently, the match versus Oregon will be available to watch on PAC-12 Network, or you can listen on KWVA 88.1 FM / kwva.uoregon.edu/listen-live.
Guess Who's Back
The Aggies lost their top-three scorers from last season. The trio of Hannah Leitner, Shea O'Connor and Corey Kizer were tied for the team lead in goals with three each. However, the Aggies still have a strong group of veterans returning from last year to help fill those shoes.
Bella Garcia, Loma McNeese, Bianca Chacon, Megan Ormson and Brooke Schultz are just a few starters from last year's squad that will be returning for the 2022 season. Between the five of them, they accounted for nine of the Aggies 20 goals last season.
Also returning for their senior seasons are captains Makenna Gottschalk and Xitlaly Hernandez. Gottschalk is coming off her best season by far after recording a career high in saves with 84 and a .724 save percentage. This was the third-highest save total in the WAC last season. Her eight wins last year was also the second highest win total in program history, only trailing Katie Graul from the 2009 team. She is also third in program history in all-time saves with 144. Dimitri Fong (2017-18) and Ashley Martin (2015-18) are atop of that leaderboard; Fong is the all-time leader with 265 saves followed by Martin with 242.
Hernandez also had quite the year last season. From an offensive standpoint, the goals were not as high as the spring where she scored a career high seven goals, but her presence was still felt on the pitch. Hernandez played over 1,000 minutes for the second time in her career, she led the team in shots-on-goal and even scored in the season opener against Abilene Christian (8/19). This was enough to earn her a spot on the 2021 All-WAC Second Team list, and was named to this years 2022 Preseason All-WAC Team.
Other key returners include: Thalia Chaverria; Mya Hammack; Hannah Draper; Gia Valenti; Jocelyn Tallent-Burleson; Tati Jerman; Kaitlynn Melton; Elise Madril; Hailey Denman; Blakley Edgar; Landy Williams.
Fresh Faces
The Aggies come into the year having lost six of their eleven starters and eight letter winners form last season. With that being said, the Aggies have brought in a new wave of young talent with 12 newcomers joining the squad in the offseason: Macey Henderson; Sofia Beerworth; Tania Tapia; Mya Gonzales; Sydnee Johnson; Jenna Johannes; Lauren Machuca; Isabella Fraser; Elise Madril; Megan Sheehan; Lisimani Helu; Valerie Guha.
Macey Henderson - transfer from University of Dallas - and Megan Sheehan - transfer from Middle Tennessee - are the only newcomers with collegiate experience. Last season for the crusaders, Henderson recorded a 6-3-0 record with 55 saves, four shutouts, and just 10 goals allowed for a 1.08 goals allowed average. She recorded a season-high 16 saves against Trinity University on March 20, 2021.
The pride of Ireland, Megan Sheehan played five games for the Blue Raiders last season, appearing in five games totaling 55 minutes played. Her only shot attempt came against Belmont on August 20, 2021. Prior to playing at Middle Tennessee, Sheehan attended Daytona State College in Florida. She played two seasons for the Falcons appearing in 17 games, scoring two goals on 17 shots, with two assists and six points.
Season Tickets
Aggie Nation can pick up season tickets for all Aggie home matches for just $50. NM State is set to host eight home matches at the Soccer Athletic Complex. The Aggies first home game is set for September 1, at 7 p.m. where they will face UTEP in the battle of I-10.
Tickets are available in person at the Pan Am ticket office or by calling the Pan Am ticket office at 575-646-1420 with faculty, staff and senior citizens receiving discounted rates. Season tickets can also be purchased through the Aggie Country pass.
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).
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