MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – With its back against the wall, the Aggies turned in one of their best performances of the season to tally a 2-1 victory on the road at Middle Tennessee. The win marks NM State's second victory of the year, its first in Conference USA competition and its first away from home.
With much of the first half being controlled by the home side, it took just one scoring opportunity for the Aggies to make the difference. Following an opening 30 minutes that saw the Blue Raiders attempt six shots, including one on goal, NM State's
Meredith Scott buried a shot to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead in the 34
th minute. The Scott goal was initially set up by a pass into the box from
Milana Eyrich that ricocheted off an MTSU defender and just outside of the six-yard box. This would be the lone goal of the opening 45 minutes and
Valerie Guha's one first half save allowed the Aggies to carry a one-goal advantage into the locker room at the break.
NM State created another chance in the 51
st minute, but the Blue Raider goalie would prove to be up to the task. Following a bit of back-and-forth play that included three shots and two corner kicks for the home side and another corner kick earned by the Aggies, Middle Tennessee broke through for the equalizer in the 69
th minute.
Just four minutes later, the Aggies would earn their second corner of the period to set an opportunity for
Amaya Simoni-Walters to play a ball into the box. Simoni-Walters' cross bounced off the frame and fell to
Jaiden McClellan who poked the ball into the back of the net with her right foot to score her first goal as an Aggie and first of her collegiate career since the 2021 season. This would put the Aggies back in front 2-1, with just 18 minutes remaining.
From this point, the NM State defense would dig its heels in the ground and would allow the Blue Raiders to get off just two shots in the closing minutes. One of these did find the mouth of the goal, but
Valerie Guha stuffed the shot.
UP NEXT
Following the Thursday night bout at Middle Tennessee, the Aggies make the trip to Bowling Green, Ky., where they will meet up with Western Kentucky at the WKU Soccer Complex on Sunday, Oct. 19. The Hilltoppers will be coming off of a 1-1 tie with UTEP. NM State and WKU will get underway at Noon MT, with the game available to watch on ESPN+.
For complete coverage of NM State Soccer, visit
NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateWSOC), Instagram (@NMStateWSOC), and like us on Facebook (NMStateWSOC).
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