LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State returned to the Land of Enchantment and Las Cruces, playing host to in-state rival New Mexico for the Rio Grande Rivalry on Saturday night. In front of an over-capacity crowd of 1,262, the Aggies battled to a 1-1 draw with the Lobos following an
Esme Arenas penalty kick score.
True freshman
Thalia Smith tabbed her first collegiate start, totaling 55 minutes in the midfield, while graduate forward
Sydnee Johnson returned to action for the first time since Aug. 20, posting 27 minutes of play.
A 10
th-minute goal for the visitors would put the Aggies behind early, though the team showed fight through the opening 45 minutes of the match, firing five shots with three on goal. In the past four Crimson & White contests, the team has averaged 4.75 shots over 90 minutes with an average of 1.50 shots on goal.
Trailing 1-0 at the halftime break, NM State led in saves (4-3) and corner kicks (2-1), while behind in shots (9-5).
The Aggies continued to show fight in half two, making the most of their offensive possessions to keep the pressure on UNM. In all, six different Aggies posted shots while
Esme Arenas led the team with three in total.
Arenas' biggest shot would come in the final minute of the contest, after NM State drew a penalty on the defending Lobos in the goal box – leading to the second penalty kick opportunity of the season for the Crimson & White. Like the first, Arenas would step to the marker, sinking her shot down the middle of the net and past UNM goalkeeper Alyson Campbell to knot the score at 1-1.
The Saturday night draw became the first of the season for both NM State and UNM. Senior
Kennedy Herrera recorded her seventh consecutive 90-minute match, along with the entire Aggie backline of
Marlee Cavitt,
Gabi Hislop and
Yuliana Negrete.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rob Baarts, following the rivalry result against UNM, and the energy in the stadium: "Getting the penalty kick wasn't a surprise to me, it felt like it was coming. We had done the work, made a couple of adjustments that really caused them some problems. I'm just super proud of the perseverance of the team today.
We went through a solid amount of players today – 18 players – that's big, makes us deeper and deeper for conference.
I think it's so great for our team to see this many people come out and support them. We work so hard, our asks are
not easy. For them to get rewarded with a great crowd like this and come out with a tie is massive. And now they have good energy going into a game against UTEP."
Sophomore Esme Arenas, on her game-tying goal late in the match: "We kept fighting because we were playing for each other. We wanted it really bad, and we saw an opportunity and we took it. I had full confidence it was going in.
Our fans were huge supporters in this game. As long as we keep playing for each other and fighting to the end, we're going to keep improving."
UP NEXT
The Aggies go from the Rio Grande Rivalry to the Battle of I-10, as NM State hosts UTEP at the NM State Soccer Complex, on Thursday, Sept. 17. First kick is slated for 7 p.m. MT, with the match streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats for Sunday's match available at nmstatesports.com/stats.
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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