LAS CRUCES, N.M.- The Aggies will head into game two of the 2025 season to host Abilene Christian for the fourth time in program history. After a 1-2 loss against Colorado College on Thursday, NM State will look to claim its first team victory at the Soccer Athletic Complex.

WHO: NM State (0-1-0) vs. Abilene Christian (1-0-0)
WHERE: NM State Soccer Athletic Complex
WHEN: Sunday, August 17 at 1:00 p.m.

Last Year's Record…
The Aggies finished third in the CUSA regular season standings with a record of five wins, two losses, and two ties. They also went 1-for-2 in the CUSA tournament held at FIU in Miami, Fla., after defeating Jax State in the first round to qualify to the CUSA semi finals where they fell to Liberty in the final minutes of play.
 

Last Game...
NM State fell to Colorado College on Thursday by a one-goal margin. Meredith Scott scored the Aggies' first goal of the season after an assist coming off from Tessa O'Neill in the first half.
 

Preseason Watchlist…
Jena Johannes was named to the 2025 Preseason All-Conference team after her spectacular defensive performance last season. With a strong outing against Gonzaga on Sept. 12 and Middle Tennessee on Sept. 29, she was able to pick up two Defensive Player of the Week honors for the Aggies. Last year, Johannes ranked also second in minutes among all Aggie field players.
 

Guess Who's Back, Back Again…
The Aggies were able to return 22 players from last year's roster and tacked on nine newcomers. Returning in the box is Valerie Guha, who had an incredible season last year as she picked up a Goalie of the Week award against Gonzaga on Sept. 12. Coming back from a severe injury which kept her off the field last year is Bianca Chacon. Chacon previously led the Aggies in season assists before Alum, Loma McNeese. The El Paso midfielder will be a strong asset off the ball. This also includes four other individuals who earned a spot in the starting lineup in more than half of the team's contests last season as Marlee Cavitt, Jena Johanes, Meredith Scott and Ariana Ellison. In total, the Aggies bring back a total of 60.6% (11,941/19,706) of the team's minutes from a season ago.
 

One of Us…
NM State includes just one transfer athlete, Amaya Simoni-Walters, from Saint Mary's College. She competed in three seasons for them and played in eight matches last year. The team also consists of eight freshmen to fill out the rest of this year's roster. These players include Ainsleigh Thomson, Evelyn Grossman, Doriela Norzagaray, Esme Arenas, Arleth Arroya, Sophie Rush, Tessa O'Neill, and Yayu Wu who is from Taichung, Taiwan.
 

Bianca is Back...
Bianca Chacon, who missed all of last year due to injury, last played a major role for the CUSA Champion Aggies during the 2023 season. In 2023, she led the Aggies in assists (seven) and currently ranks second in program history in career assists (16). After a year long recovery, she enters the field for the Crimson and White once again.
 

Fresh Face...
A total of five newcomers logged their first minutes in the opener as Tessa O'Neill, Amaya Simoni-Walters, Doriela Norzagaray, Daniela Portillo and Rachel Haan all appeared Thursday night.
 

Against the Wildcats...
This matchup will be the 5th time that these two teams have clashed. Coaching in his third season with ACU, the team is led by Stephen Salas, who named the second-ever head coach of the Abilene Christian University women's soccer program. He was a key part of the coaching staff that helped lead the Wildcats to what was the best season in program history, a 15-6-1 2018 season that saw the Wildcats win its first-ever Southland Conference Championship.
 

Scoring the 2nd half of play, both Raegan Hollis and Abby Smith punched in ACU's first two goals of the season against UTEP on Thursday.
 

Feels Good to be Home...
The game between the two opponents will be hosted by the Aggies at the NM State Soccer Complex tomorrow. Fans can watch on ESPN+ with Scott Galetti (play-by-play) and Heidi Moccia (color analyst) on the call.

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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