The grandstand was full, likely owing to it being Senior Day and the regular season finale. I could only easily find a seat in the front row near midfield, and in front some loud, obnoxious fans. It took a few minutes adjust to the complete disconnect between watching a volleyball game in an indoor arena to being at an outdoor soccer match joined in progress. It was like switching channels between two sporting events, but in fact I had actually physically switched locations.
Our opponents were the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, who will called the Vaqueros from here on out to save my fingers. Does it make sense to name a Girls’ team Vaqueros, male cowboys? Vaqueras maybe? Is that a Spanish word? They are decked out in bright orange. The Aggies are in white with crimson trim. The more I see them, the more I want one of those jerseys. The Vaqueros seemed to have a bit of a size advantage.
I was about 15 feet from the sidelines, so I could really see the action when it came by the crowd side of the field. I could actually see the girls sweat and even hear them hitting each other. The very real possibility of the action flying into my face kept me very alert. (It wouldn’t surprise me if that wasn’t the reason why most of the play occurred in the middle and far side of the field.) Much of the play for the match was on the Aggie end of the field. This caused the soccer crowd no end of consternation, which they voiced continuously. It was like sitting next to the coach on the other side of the field, multiplied several times over. Thank goodness these people weren’t at the volleyball game to make a bad situation worse. The credit I hand them is that they show up pretty consistently (as per the program attendance figures) for a team that isn’t that good.
The first Aggie chance I see happened at 14’ (left in the half) on a breakaway. There’s a collision between the player and the Vaquero goalie. 12’ and there’s a mess in front of the Aggie goal. Thankfully, the Vaquero’s didn’t have the numbers to capitalize on the opportunity. 10’ the Vaqueros get a great rush downfield in front of the Aggie goal which fizzles without an open player to pass to.
“Be aggressive!” a fan right behind me screamed out. 10 seconds later after a turnover, he shouted, “But don’t collapse your defense!” That’s great. I’m sure that helped. 4’ Aggie #18 Reilly Marks made a solo breakaway and took a shot between two defenders. “Pressure!” shouted the man behind me for the hundredth time as the Vaqueros worked the ball back into the Aggie end. 1’ Aggie keeper #1 Ashley Martin collided with a Vaqueros player. The player went down and had to come out.
The half ended at nil apiece. Officially, the Aggies had 3 shots on goal to the Vaqueros 2, but the opposition had dominated the match in ball control and opportunities. A fan screamed at the Vaqueros to go to the locker room, which seemed really unnecessary. It might have been one of their own fans. The locker room is part of the nearby football stadium. (I think it’s the Coca-Cola Weight Training facility for the football team, which is awkward since the university just switched to Pepsi.) The Aggie girls stay on the field for halftime instruction. I’m not sure if there’s room for both teams to use the building at the same time.
Halftime entertainment was another game of musical soccer, which the PA had a good time with. I like this guy, but there’s not a whole lot of announcing to do at a soccer match. Substitutions are called out, announcing “One minute remaining,” counting down the last 10 seconds, credit for opponent goals, and those, oh so sweet, Aggie “Goooooooooooooal!”calls. Baseball and softball are kind of limited to just naming players. Volleyball announcing gives the scoring, but some personality can be put into it. The top end is the football announcers, whose job is to motivate the crowd, along with giving play results.
There’s some people in the crowd wearing Texas A&M shirts. Maybe that’s near UTRGV. The A&M Aggies will also be the NMSU Aggie football team’s opponent a couple hours later at College Station. (The final of that was like 55-10. You can guess who won. NMSU actually beat the spread and earned $1.5 million to act as A&M’s tackling dummies for the evening.) I decided my seat was officially terrible as these A&M shirts and everybody else walked in front of me during the game. Kids running up and down the aluminum planks shook everything in the front row, including me. At least the warm afternoon sun was well behind me, and sitting up front, I was shaded by everyone behind me. I still had the Gatorade I bought at the volleyball game with me for hydration.
The second half began. #0 Raeann Garcia was now between the pipes, err . . . in the net for the Aggies. Actually, I had to read about that on the website. I got confused by the switch at the game and thought I’d written it down wrong. I wasn’t there for starting player introductions to begin with. No explanation was given for this platooning of goalies. Perhaps Ashley was injured on that last play of the first half. A fresh keeper may have been a good idea anyway, because Raeann was about to get a workout.
44’ the Vaqueros took a long shot on goal, followed by roller. Both were stopped. The loudmouth behind had moved for the second half, but don’t worry, there were still plenty of idiots around me shouting out instructions to the girls. 38’ there’s a two on two in front of the Aggie goal. Great defense by #28 Sarina Stockton (I think, it was hard to see the number that far away) stopped the drive, but she paid the price and came off hurt. 37’ Raeann came out to stop a breakaway. 32’ #10 Aileen Galicia took a long shot at the Vaquero goal for the Aggies’ first chance.
At this point, after that crushing volleyball loss, I was in a really bad mood and was starting to expect a loss, or worse, a scoreless tie. I was mentally telling myself, if these girls lose or tie or go scoreless here, I’m not coming back next season. Enough is enough. I can’t stand these people in the grandstand, and I don’t even like soccer to begin with. Okay, now we have some real stakes involved in the outcome.
At 29’ we had possibly the play of the match. Raeann came out to the top of the box to make a diving deflection of a shot. The ball remained in play in the box. Another Aggie player ran to the net and kicked away a second shot. The ball was still loose in the box. Raeann finally smothered a third shot rolling on the ground. The crowd roared and applauded in approval. (Finally, they’re happy.) The whole exchange took seconds, but was riveting.
24’ on a near corner kick, Aileen made two headers on the play before the Vaquero keeper caught it. 21’ a near miss on the Aggie goal. 20’ two Aggies almost get to a dangerous back pass to the Vaquero goalie. I don’t know why coaches allow their players to do that. 16’ Raeann made a jump save. 15’ the Vaqueros employ some trickery on a penalty shot at the top of the box. Fakes by a couple of players allowed a third to get a clear shot on goal. It just went a bit too high. 11’ the Aggies mounted a good coordinated attack. The final shot just went wide. 9’ Raeann caught a chest high shot. 8’ remaining and a shot is kicked into the base of the stands hard enough to shake the whole structure. Good thing that didn’t go into the crowd.
6’ there’s a busted Aggie play on the right wing in the Vaqueros’ box. #3 Audrey Chavez powered through a defender to pass the ball to Aileen. She’s covered, but forced her way forward to find an opening and took the shot. It was a hard angle, but the ball flew right into the upper left corner of the Vaqueros’ net. “Goooooooooooooooooooooooal!” The opposing goalie had no chance on it. None of that play should have worked for the Aggies. They were outnumbered and in a bad position. The Vaquero defense probably had it played right. Aileen and Audrey just willed their way past them and in to score.
For the next five minutes, there was not much drama, as the Vaqueros were unable mount any offense. They knew they’d been beaten today. The Aggies won 1-0. The Vaqueros had dominated the match, but come away with nil. The official shots on goal stat showed it even at 4 to 4 surprisingly. My player of the game is #0 Raeann Garcia. She may have only played a half, but it was a heck of a half. Finally, I was worried that my plain crimson shirt with the big Aggie button stuck on it was unlucky and I wouldn’t be able to wear it to games anymore. I’m relieved.
After the match, the girls came out to midfield to wave to the crowd. After a talk by the coach, the Senior Day ceremonies started. Unlike a couple of other such ceremonies I’ve seen, the opposing team didn’t stick around to watch or participate. The girls made two lines and the seniors walked between them, one at a time, and received roses while the PA read off their accomplishments. #22 Gabby Campbell’s exit was particularly memorable as one of the team’s captains. At 4’11” she’s a crowd and team favorite for her tenacity. As the PA put it, “Gabby wears a size 3 cleat, but is leaving behind some big shoes to fill.” The girls gathered for a picture by the grandstand where the graduating seniors’ numbers had been sprayed on the field. I wished I’d had a camera. The fans were invited to go down to the field to talk to the players. I was tempted, but I needed to go get dinner and the World Series started in a half hour.
So, this made everything better after that disappointing volleyball loss. No, no not really. Still stings. So I’m now a dedicated soccer. No, I still intrinsic problems with the sport, and I’ve even found a new reason to dislike it: the fans. I’d been warned about soccer fans, but I thought that kind of bad behavior was just limited to international matches (in particular Mexicans at US vs Mexico matches). I never dreamed that’d be an issue at a small college affair. The ubiquitous old man and his annoying cheering seemed positively quaint compared to the rest of the crowd. At least he was cheering for the girls, not yelling at them.
But, I admit, I’ve generally enjoyed the experience of watching these games in-person. This may mostly have something to not being able to change channels there at the stadium. Having a few cute girls on the field hasn’t hurt either. This brings me directly to Aileen Galicia, who has been a definite selling point for the program for me. She has a very slight build, but plays with the relentless determination of a star player. This isn’t the only time I’ve take over in a match. I would not be surprised to see Aileen continue playing at a higher level when her college days are done. If NMSU can recruit and develop a couple more girls with her attitude and ability to play with her, this program would be a winner.
Okay, they won today. I’ll be back for some more next year. You guys earned it.
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