It was a bright, warm cloudless, windless day for outdoor sports. I was already sweating by the time I got to the complex parking lot. This was bad omen, since I was also planning on going to see the softball double header right after the match. Since the last time I’d seen the team, they’d played the UMKC Roos to a tie. This was considered to be a very good effort against a much better team. (“A tie.” “Good effort.” Soccer. Sigh.)
I picked up a hot dog, chips, and a Mountain Dew before the match at the concessions. I was hungry enough to quickly eat the meal without complaint. The large grandstand was unexpectedly nearly full. By the program stats, if the other two games I’ve been at had over 400, I’d say this crowd might have been near 600. Good to see the team getting plenty of support. I finally swallowed my pride and brought an umbrella for shade, but was afraid to open it with so many people around me. I also figured out what the little pavilions on top of the nearby softball stands are for. That’s where the PA and the rest of the staff sit when calling soccer games. In front of the stands, I could see a young woman instructing the little ball kids on what to do. These kids were a bit younger than the other ones I’ve seen.
The teams and officials went out for introductions. Again, I’m struck by how young and small the girls seem here. Maybe it’s because they’re further away out on the large pitch, or maybe it’s just in comparison to the other female athletes in volleyball and softball. Our opponents today are the Utah Valley Wolverines. They have a 7-6-1 record that the Aggies at 4-10-1 wouldn’t mind having. The UV girls are in attractive lime green/dark green uniforms, with their goalie in an off red and black top. The team let out a scream of a cheer before being introduced. The Aggie girls were looking good in white with crimson trim (and I’d still like to have one of those shirts). Local girl, #16 Christina Bertoldo is one of the starters. During the anthem, a fellow behind me sang it out. And with that, we’re playing.
Our first opportunity comes with 42’ minutes left in the half. (I’m not counting back to figure out the proper soccer accounting of time.) #10 Aileen Galicia takes a shot on a breakaway. The crowd is still filled with a bunch of would-be coaches, shouting out instant criticism to our players. Early on, a fan, I hope a parent, starts shouting instructions to one of the little ball kids. I’m not kidding here. I’m tempted to shout back, “He’s four years old, and he’s not in the damn game! Shut up!” At least there’s enough people present that there’s also plenty of encouragement.
I notice the Utah Valley girls were doing a lot of holding and grabbing early on. The refs do as well and call it. The ball mostly stays in the Aggie end of the field for the half. At 29’, #0 Raeann Garcia comes out of the box for a save. At 21’, a ball on the sidelines rolls in between one of the ball kid’s legs as he tries to catch it. Everyone gets a laugh, though I’m cringing waiting for a call from the stands, “You do that again and we’re putting you up for adoption!” Thankfully, this doesn’t happen. 17’, there’s some great passing and positioning for the Wolverines in front of the Aggie net, but they miss. The crowd around me was yelling at the girls to shoot and I suddenly realize I’m sitting with fans of the other team. Well, they act the same as our fans at times, but were generally more encouraging.
The half continued with more shots on the Aggie goal, including an almost intercepted dangerous back pass to the goalie. I was tempted to start shouting myself at that point. I’d seen a goal scored off that before. 8’ left and a great chance for UV gets stopped on a hand ball foul in the box. Finally, Wolverine #10 Breanna McCarter finds the net on a shot. 0-1 Utah Valley. [Edit: Somehow I missed making a note about the first goal of the match. I might have been waiting for an announcement of the players involved that never came. I am an idiot. I mean really. Given all the other stuff I'm taking notes on and I miss a goal?] The crowd is really getting on the Aggie girls now. Maybe it works, as at 6’, Aileen makes another breakaway attempt, which causes the goalie to come out to stop her.
4’ and a UV shot goes way high and hits the metal scoreboard behind the Aggie goal with a resounding “clang.” My remaining Mountain Dew has become boiling hot in the 90 degree heat. It’s no longer refreshing. A couple more attacks on the Aggie goal are broken up. Within the last minute, an Aggie breakaway is called offsides . . . at midfield? How does anybody score in this sport with rules like this? The half ends with the Aggies having 1 shot on goal and 1 corner, to the Wolverines’ 1 goal, 3 shots, and 2 corners. Of course these statistics are meaningless except for the goals, but they have to put something up on the scoreboard.
Our halftime entertainment is again a game of musical soccer, this time with a group of young girls. Once again, there’s some rules confusion, which the PA has a good time teasing the girls with. One of the parents started shouting instructions at one of the girls. I kid you not. Out in the heat running around, the two finalists end the game exhausted and soaked and presumably having gained more appreciation for the players. The winner got free tickets to next week’s football game for her whole family.
The Aggies were standing by a wall next to the nearby football stadium in the shade, getting instructed by coach. I don’t see the Wolverines anywhere. I hop up and grab a cup of courtesy water from a cooler by the entrance. God bless them for not making me pay $3 for a bottle of water. Having a little space around me when I return, I pop my now vintage El Paso Diablos giveaway umbrella. I’d been afraid of accidentally hitting someone with it or blocking their view. Most people with umbrellas sit on the top row.
We don’t have to wait long for something to happen when play resumes. At 43’, on their first opportunity, the Wolverines make a good pass in front of the goal and it’s kicked in. All too easy. The UV bench screams. Unfortunately, there’s no announcement about who did it so that I could give them proper credit. [Edit: It's Wolverine #15 Adrene Harding, with an assist by McCarter, our first goal scorer.] The crowd gets ominously quiet at 0-2 Utah Valley. The girls on the field are making more noise than the crowd. There’s actually lots of chatter on field during the game, you just can’t usually hear it, except for yelling and the occasional “Aggie up!” shouts from the girls.
40’ there’s a yellow card as a UV player runs over an Aggie player. 36’ and Aileen gets a shot off in front of the goal that goes just wide. From some conversations going on in the crowd, I notice two former Aggie players nearby. I found myself eavesdropping on one of the girls as she described the horrible injuries that ended her career. She seemed to be okay now and was extremely pretty, so I think things will work out for her.
At 24’ left, there’s a slow developing two on one breakaway towards the UV goal. #21 Holly Abdelkader just barely kicks it past the goalie coming out on her, and the ball slowly rolls right into the net. #3 Audrey Chavez gets the assist. We’re now at 1-2 Wolverines. The PA had scarcely finished his “Gooool!” call when at 22’, Abdelkader gets the ball outside the penalty box and slams a hard shot right into the net. If the first Aggie goal caught everyone by surprise by being so quiet, this one finished with an exclamation point. #12 Kelly Burton gets the assist. We’re at two all and a brand new game.
I look over at the pretty ex-player. She’s had head down over her phone the whole time. I wonder why she’s here. Well, I at least am excited. The Aggies keep up the pressure for much of the rest of the half. The Wolverine keeper makes a couple of good saves on attacks. Aggie #22 Gabby Campbell, the smallest player on the field gets a good opportunity at 4’. She gets a big cheer from the crowd and appears to be a fan favorite. The PA announces “One minute remaining,” with a sense of urgency, and the crowd gets into it before regulation ends.
What happens next is amazing. The PA actually explains the rules for overtime. Trust me, there have been several times at Aggie sporting events where I wish they’d explain the rules. The Wolverines get on the offensive. 7’ left and the Aggie keeper Raeann and a UV player collide by the net. With the overtime, criticism of officials also steps up. 4’ and Aileen makes a solo charge downfield. She's slow to get back afterward, probably cramped up. The Aggies get two chances in the final minute. The UV goalie makes a good punch save on one and a mid-air catch on a corner kick.
We start a second 10’ overtime. The Wolverines make a couple of attacks, with Raeann having to come out to stop one of them. With a couple minutes left, the refs let a couple of obvious UV holds go. The crowd doesn’t seem to expect any better officiating at this point. The whistle blows and it ends in a 2-2 tie. In hockey, they play four on four for OT to open up the game a bit, then they go to a shootout. Just saying, that soccer and the NFL are the only sports that allow ties in games that count. Still, it was a great comeback for the Aggies. It’s just a pity that the rules don’t really facilitate a better chance at a resolution.
An autograph session was announced for after the game. Unlike the volleyball signing, this affair is a bit disorganized. This is mostly due to this event being held on a field and tables have to be brought in and there’s no chairs for the girls. It’s also a bit loud and rushed. I do get to speak to #24 Tuti Tirado for a second. She’s another small player and is from Puerto Rico and played on their national team. I told her that I saw her profile on TV, which immediately brightened her day. I asked her if what she about the facilities and equipment here at NMSU being better than Puerto Rico’s national team is for real. I can just barely hear her over of the crowd, but she did confirm that.
I’d hoped to talk to #20 Dominique Rivera, since she’d been featured in that profile too. I’d also wanted to tell Aileen Galicia how impressed I was with her in the previous game with Chicago State. I was going to tell Christina Bertoldo that I work with her sister in law. Most of all, I wanted to congratulate Holly Abdelkader and ask if she was related to or knew of the hockey player with the same last name (such a cool name). I didn’t even finish with the same poster I’d started with and was lucky there was a signed poster left over at the end. (A little boy got mine with his name signed on it by the girls. I was almost resigned to going away empty-handed.) Still, as I said in another post, given the physical distance between the fans the players on field, some get-togethers are crucial to building a relationship with the sport.
It was a pretty good morning at the pitch. I enjoyed it, even though there wasn’t a winner. Soccer has a way of lowering your expectations. Unfortunately, their last home game is probably going to conflict with the last volleyball home game, unless there’s a very efficient winner at the volleyball match. That’s bad scheduling there. My opinion of soccer hasn’t really changed over these three games, but at least I found these games with the Aggie girls entertaining and liked supporting them.
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