Match Two
NM State (1-0-0, 0-0-0 CUSA) vs. Texas Tech (0-0-1, 0-0-0 Big 12)
Sunday, Aug. 20 | 6:00 p.m. (MT) | John Walker Soccer Complex | Lubbock, Texas
 
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Less than 72 hours after the Aggies' last-minute road win against Portland State, NM State travels 1,700 miles from Portland, Oregon to Lubbock, Texas for a matchup with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Aggies and Red Raiders are scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. MT. Fans can follow along with the action thanks to livestats. After a pair of road matches to open the season, the team will return to Las Cruces for five straight home games – where the Aggies were 7-0-2 last season, the first undefeated home record in school history.
 
Match Recap | NM State 2 Portland State 1 | 8.17.23
 

• Gia Valenti scored the Aggies first goal of the season in the 29^th minute off an assist from CUSA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Loma McNeese. This marked the second career goal for the senior from Bakersfield, and the eighth assist McNeese has posted.
• Portland State returned the favor with an equalizer in the 38^th minute, sending the game into halftime with a 1-1 score.
• A defensive battle ensued for the next forty minutes as both teams engaged in a defensive struggle; in total, 16 fouls were called with a trio of yellow cards given throughout the match.
• A second yellow card by the Vikings in the 85^th minute set up the Aggies game winning-goal, a free kick by Bianca Chacon that drifted right, in perfect position for Loma McNeese to put it in the back of the net. 

Scouting the Red Raiders
 
The Red Raiders are led by Head Coach Tom Stone, heading into his 17^th season with the program. He's led the team to a 181-98-43 record during his time in Lubbock, including five trips to the NCAA tournament since 2012. Last season, the team recorded a 9-4-6 overall record, including a runner-up finish in the Big 12 (5-1-3 conference record).
 
Returning a quartet of All-Conference selections from a season ago (goalkeeper Madison White, defenders Hannah Anderson and Kylie Bahr, and forward Ashleigh Williams), Texas Tech also adds transfer forwards Alex Kerr (Vanderbilt) and Olivia Draguicevich (Northwestern State). Texas Tech was tabbed to finish fifth in the Big 12 Preseason poll, with Anderson being named to the Big 12 Preseason Team.
 
The Red Raiders opened their season with a road game at New Mexico, playing to a 1-1 stalemate after 90 minutes. Texas Tech will also play Arizona State later in the non-conference season, while the Aggies play host to the Sun Devils on August 24 to open their 2023 home slate.
 
History vs. Texas Tech
 
The Aggies and Red Raiders have met on the soccer field two other times, both games away from the friendly confines of the NM State Soccer Athletic Complex. The Aggies have failed to produce a goal in either contest – a 5-0 loss in the 2012 season and a 1-0 loss in 2011.
 
A Long Long Time Ago…
 
Decades before either school would field a soccer program (Texas Tech began their soccer program in 1994, the Aggies in 2009), Texas Tech and NM State were both members of the Border Conference. From 1934 to 1957 the two schools, joined by programs like Arizona, Arizona State, UTEP and New Mexico, competed together in the same conference.
 
Texas Tech would go on to leave the Border Conference for the Southwest Conference, a precursor to the current version of the Big 12. In the 2024-25 season, former Border Conference foes Arizona, Arizona State and Texas Tech will compete together in the Big 12 conference, reunited for the first time in over half a century.
 
On November 5^th, 2021, NM State announced its intentions to leave the Western Athletic Conference for CUSA ahead of the 2023-24 academic year. Six weeks ago, the Aggies officially switched its affiliation to a new conference, sharing a conference with the Miners for the first time since 'Stranger on the Shore' by Acker Bilk was the top song in the country.
 
2022 Aggie Review

• The 2022 campaign saw the NM State program reach new heights – a school record 13 wins, the first undefeated (7-0-2) season at home and the first conference titles and NCAA postseason appearances for the young program, first established in 2009.
• Loma McNeese became the first Aggie to earn first team all-conference honors since 2017 (fourth overall); she also vaulted herself into the NM State record book in various single-season categories – game-winning goals (3; tied-second), goals (10; tied-third in program history) and points (25; tied-third).
• Makenna Gottschalk recorded 91 saves, the third-most single-season saves in program history, also setting new single-season records for shutouts (11), wins (13), and save percentage (.843). After recording three straight shutouts in the 2022 WAC Tournament including a 1-0 win in the WAC Championship game against Utah Valley, she was named the WAC Tournament MVP – the first such honor in NM State history.
• Gottschalk, Xitlaly Hernandez and Landy Williams were named All-Conference second-team selections; Gottschalk, Hernandez, McNeese, Sofia Beerworth and Tati Jerman were the five Aggies named to the 2022 WAC All-Tournament team.
• NM State battled for all ninety minutes in their NCAA Tournament matchup with Mississippi State. Falling behind 1-0 late in the first half, Loma McNeese slipped a ball past the Lady Bulldogs' goalkeeper to even things at one apiece. Mere minutes before the game would head to overtime, Mississippi State scored their second goal of the afternoon, securing a 2-1 victory.

Watch the Throne
 
While leading the Aggies to their first WAC title in program history is the crowning jewel of their time at NM State, Loma McNeese and Xitlaly Hernandez have provided outstanding offensive impact throughout their time in Las Cruces. Heading into the season, the pair have already breached the top-ten lists in multiple offensive categories, with room to climb even higher.

• Loma McNeese currently sits in seventh place on the career goals list with 14, her next goal will tie Yolanda McMilion for sixth all-time. After recording a goal and assist on Thursday, she is now in a tie with McMilion in career points (36).
• After securing the game winning-goal to lift NM State over the Vikings, McNeese is tied for the second most in Aggie history with five. She also sits tenth in career shots with room to race the record books.
• Xitlaly Hernandez sports nine career goals, needing one this season to enter a tie with Crystal Burns for eighth-most all-time. Totaling 100 career shots, Hernandez needs just one shot to enter a three-way tie for sixth, as well as one assist before moving into a three-way tie for second place on the career assists list.

New Places, New and Old Faces
 
As the Aggies head into a new conference for the first time in the program's history, lots of change is expected. Makenna Gottschalk, the Aggies' all-time leader in saves, graduated and now plays professionally in Austria for FC Pinzgau. 2023 All-WAC Second Team defender Landy Williams has also moved onto her post-NM State career, joining Gottschalk in suiting up to play for FC Pinzgau.  
 
One area that should provide plenty of familiarity for the Aggies is the offensive end. Following a season with 32 goals scored, NM State returns 94% of its offensive production – including 86% of the team's assists from a season ago.
 
The Aggies also welcome a slew of newcomers – nine in total – who look to make their mark while wearing the Crimson & White. Ariana Leamons joins NM State after competing at the JUCO level for two seasons with Phoenix College, totaling 42 goals and 35 assists in just 39 games. A 2022 NJCAA Division II All-American, she helped her school to an 18-2-1 record and their second NJCAA Division II Championship. Emma O'Neill comes to Las Cruces via the Sun City and El Paso High School, where she earned the 2022 District 1-5A defensive MVP along with a Second Team All-City nod. In 2023 she helped her school to a 21-5 record and their second straight 5A Regional appearance after recording 14 goals (second on the team) and seven assists.
 
Louisiana transfer Carolina Rodriguez adds experience to the NM State backline, appearing in 33 games (seven starts) over two seasons with the Ragin' Cajuns. Before making her way to the U.S., Rodriguez was a member Zaragoza CFF of the Segunda Federación – a second-tier women's soccer league in Spain – where she helped her team to league championships in 2017-18 and 2019-20.

Guerreras del Fútbol
 
Despite losing their top two student-athletes by minutes played, the Aggies return a strong core who played at least 75% of the team's total minutes – Mya Hammack, Loma McNeese, Brooke Schultz, Xitlaly Hernandez and Bianca Chacon earned that distinction on the field last season, and look to lead NM State into a new year filled with new battles and new challenges.
 
Missed But Not Forgotten
 
Just a short time ago, the NM State soccer program lost an important member of its family. On July 11, junior defender Thalia Chaverria suddenly passed away at the age of 20. Thalia was entering her third season with the program.
 
Head Coach Rob Baarts said "T was an inspiration and rock to this team. She will be missed but not forgotten. Her spirit will be with us every day, on and off the pitch."
 
True to Coach Baarts' word, Thalia will not be forgotten as the team will honor her with a patch worn on the shoulder of each Aggie this season. The patch will feature Thalia's number on the field (2) and her initials (TC) in white text surrounded by a black circle.
 
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