I could sum this whole game up in one sentence, but I get
paid by the word here. (I’m just kidding
about getting paid, not about the summary.)
I will sum up why I went to this game in one sentence. It was raining at Talladega. I would have
stayed home and watched NASCAR
otherwise.
Why is it every time I swear off going to any more soccer,
I keep coming back? I have a few more
excuses. I felt I sort of owed it to Tom
to go and wear the hat he gave me at the last game. At Volleyball
yesterday, they’d promoted this game by saying that they’d give a
Gatorade bottle to the first 75 fans (no problem qualifying for that today) and
there was $1 popcorn.
Without the race on, I really had nothing better to
do. I could have gone over to dad’s and
watched the Chiefs and/or the Cowboys play, but I doubted he’d want
to get lunch and I don’t really care about the NFL. It was beautiful
outside here. I had no reason not to go. Indeed, the new roundabout to the university
was open and that cut a couple of minutes off my drive there. (I have no idea if I went around it the
correct way. Thankfully, there was no
traffic.)
I questioned my decision soon after entering the
gates. I got my $1 popcorn. The guy at the concessions complimented my
hat, which made me feel good. (I’d worn
it yesterday. Since the Volleyball team had
lost the last time Ron was there at a game, I told him it was either him or the
hat that jinxed the team yesterday.)
However at the courtesy table, there was no Gatorade. The girl there offered me a little personal
fan instead. She seemed kind of embarrassed
with the poor exchange. I took one out
of pity. (I would have rather that
they’d put disposable cups out for the barrel of water there.) [Update: the fan spins hard, but somehow
produces no breeze. I can’t explain this
phenomena.]
There was a warm sun, but not hot, so I didn’t use an
umbrella. (Also, there were people
sitting right behind me.) There was a
light breeze, which unfortunately spilled some of my popcorn and even blew
pieces out of my hand. I ended up
quickly eating the whole thing before the match started and then really needed
a drink.
I’d brought a radio with me to listen to the final Chihuahuas game of the season while I
was there. This turned out to be a good
idea, since I was there a bit early (and there wasn’t a whole lot of action in
the soccer game). The crowd at the Soccer Complex could be best described
as friends and family, assuming most of the players don’t have either. (It’s an NFL Sunday and the Cowboys were
playing.) Tom was there and asked if I was
at the volleyball game yesterday. He
thought it was great game, except for the end.
There’s a real fan for you. A
bunch of t-shirts were tossed to crowd before the game. I didn’t bother calling for one.
First Half
[Disclaimer: I may have gotten some names wrong on some of the plays. I was checking jersey numbers with the rosters on the program, but seeing across the field was difficult during the action. I gave up trying to confirm events with the official summary online.] 41’ left in the half, the Aggies started off the game on the attack, but suffered the first casualty. Corey Kizer went down hard in the California Baptist box. The ref immediately stopped play and called for the trainer. They didn’t even treat her on the field. They carried her right off. Bella Garcia came in for her. She’s the one playing with her arm in a cast. She’s had two game-winning goals this season including one in a 2-1 win over Seattle U on Friday.
38’ CBU began counter attacking. Mya
Hammock rode a Lancer into the ground on her attack run. 37’ more chippie play gave the Aggies a free
kick at midfield. This resulted in Mya
firing a slow roller at the CBU goal.
36’ Makenna Gottschalk made
her first save in Aggie goal catching a shot.
33’ she had to come out of the box to punch away an attack.
The CBU bench players were all standing during the
game. They were an enthusiastic cheering
section for the visitors. The Aggies
were making most of the attacks, but still no shots on goal. Their reserve players were seated on the bench
under the canopy. Hard to say which
strategy was better. 21’ Corey was
finally taken away on a cart and off the field.
They were treating her for quite a while. 28’ a wide shot by CBU. 27’ Makenna caught a shot. 25’ at the other end, there was an Aggie
corner kick. A little toddler was there working
as a ball kid. He was pretty good at it,
so I wonder if he’s a coach’s kid. In
any case, it was adorable. 23’ a CBU
player was hurt in the Aggie box, but she was able to walk off the field with
the trainer.
I missed the beginning of the Chihuahuas game before I
left. I kind of doubted Tim Hagerty was going to be saying
anything really profound when the broadcast started, but I felt dumb for
missing it since I knew it was coming on.
In any case, I’d been listening to the game this whole time. Not much was happening in Oklahoma City either against the OKC Dodgers. Finally at this point, somebody scored, as
the Chihuahuas accidently threw into a Dodgers baserunner, which allowed him to
score. 1-0 Dodgers in the fifth inning. I was mostly listening for updates to MLB games, since there were still playoff
races up in the air. Unfortunately, none
of those games would finish while I was listening.
“We want a goal!” Tom was yelling and banging on a drum
higher up in the stands. Either he
wasn’t cheering as much as usual or I wasn’t hearing him as much with my
earbuds in (or I was mentally tuning him out).
19’ CBU attempted a two-header shot on goal, but the second header
whiffed. 18’ the Aggies got a great
chance on a pass deep in the CBU box, but the header by Blanca Chacon (I think) popped up over the net. 14’ CBU got a corner kick, but it was headed
out. 13’ Makenna fielded a long popup
shot.
More fans trickled in as the game progressed. It wasn’t a bad crowd after all. 11’ Makenna made a good catch on a CBU free
kick liner. 9’ on a CBU corner, Makeena
tipped the shot over the goal. Back to
baseball, the Chihuahuas scored to make it 2-1 OKC in the sixth. 7’ back to soccer, the Aggies bounced one
towards the CBU goal where it was caught.
4’ I finally got all of the popcorn out my teeth. GD! I
think I nearly sprained my tongue trying to get this one fragment out. This is most significant moment of the game
for me personally. 2’ Aggie Khari Price made some good moves
getting to the CBU net, but the attack was broken up. (Always save your best moves for when you’re
playing near the stands.) That was it
for half.
Halftime
It’s nil-nil.
0-0. Zero-Zero. Oh-oh.
I hope this isn’t too deep a statistical analysis. According to the scoreboard, the Aggies had 1
shot on goal and 2 corners, while the Lancers had 3 SOG and 3 corners. I think there was a contest on field with
some little kids, but I needed to run to the bathroom and missed it.
At baseball, an OKC sac fly had increased their lead to
3-1. During the coverage, they mentioned
that the Miners Football team had
won last night to go to 4-1. However,
they were angry that there were only 11,000 fans at the game. The Aggie
Football team had lost on the road at San
Jose State, 37-31. I listened to some of that game. The Aggies made a furious second half
comeback, but just fell short.
On field, CBU had gone to the locker room, while the
Aggies remained on field. Coach Baarts was instructing the team
for the whole halftime in a very demonstrative manner. Some little Pepsi labeled towels were tossed
to the crowd right before play started.
A guy who looked like a basketball player almost fell down the grandstand
steps trying to get one. Sun-News headline the next day: Aggie star basketball player injured on
soccer field. Season ruined over
souvenir. This is too like the Women Basketballers yesterday at
Volleyball fighting over a little souvenir ball. Does NMSU put their players up in a kennel
when they’re not playing?
Second Half
I apologize for that last paragraph (but not enough to
remove it). This is what happens when
there isn’t enough action on the field to report on. The Aggies mounted a couple of attacks at the
start of the half, however CBU got a free kick outside the box that went
straight to Makenna. She had to push it
out. The toddler was still behind the
goal and tossed her a new ball. (It was
so cute.)
39’ left in the half, Aggie Loma McNeese made a solo attack that went wide. 38’ Lancer Faith Lee came in on right wing unopposed on the Aggie goal. Makenna and two defenders scrambled to
collapse on her and kick the ball away.
37’ I am suddenly part of the action.
A ball bounced away from a guy working the sidelines and into the
stands. I handed it back to him. More on him later.
4-1 OKC in the eighth.
I missed a run somewhere. 29’ Thalia Chaverria stripped a Lancer and
sent her to the turf. Xitlaly Hernandez took a shot afterward
that went over the CBU goal. 26’ Lancer Cora Jacoby ran Loma into the ground on
the Aggie end. 23’ Blanca took a long
shot on goal that was caught.
“Go Aggies!” The
sideline ball guy was now yelling some encouragement to the players. 21’ Makenna had to run down a loose ball
outside the box and nearly kicked it into the stands. 20’ Amy
Kirk in the CBU goal had to do the same, but kicked it into her bench. These teams were mirroring each other. 19’ Loma made a sweet slide tackle on a CBU
defender. The Aggie offense was starting
to get frantic. 17’ CBU almost broke the
seal. A free kick outside the goal hit
the crossbar.
Tim Hagerty on radio finally told me what I’ve suspected
about the Chihuahuas this season. They
had the lowest home run and hit total in the league this season. Given where they play their home games, you’d
think they’d have to be trying not to hit home runs to be last in that
category. They’ve also got to be at the
bottom in pitching. But at least they
didn’t have any positive cold tests this season. Well, that’s certainly something to be very,
very proud of.
13’ Emma Smith
got clobbered on the Aggie end, but a CBU player (that I couldn’t identify) got
it worse. I don’t think they injured
each other, since they weren’t together. The other players took a water break. Emma was able to continue, but the other girl
had to be carried off. No cards were
issued.
There was now a little toddler girl in a dress shagging
balls behind the Aggie goal. These little
kids are pretty good at it. 12’ Aggie Kaitlynn Melton took a long shot on the
CBU goal that was caught. 10’ a CBU
player in the Aggie box threw her whole body to deflect a pass at the
goal. Makenna stopped the shot.
The Chihuahuas weren’t done yet. In the ninth with a hard breeze blowing, two
short popups on the infield dropped in for hits. Unfortunately, both runners were left
stranded and the Chihuahuas lost 4-1.
4’ fans got on to the ref for a call in the CBU box that
caused a turnover. This was the only
complaint I heard during the match. The
crowd was getting tense anticipating a couple of pointless (pun) overtime
periods (or at least I was). 3’ Emma to Megan Ormson for a header that was
caught.
2’ Bella found Loma the goalie’s left wing
undefended. Taking the pass, Loma buried
one past the diving Amy Kirk for a goal.
There was a bit of a delay on my part in cheering. Loma was so open, I assumed there’d be a
whimsical offisides call. (The call only
seems to exist to keep fans from enjoying the game.) It stood.
1-0 Aggies. (Mya also got
an assist on the play making it even more amazing that after two passes, Loma
was still open.) CBU made one last
attack with under a minute left. They
rushed a corner kick that Makenna pushed out.
Aggies win, 1-0!
Little kids stormed the field cheering. The new hat was not a jinx; it was Ron that
caused yesterday’s volleyball loss.
Autographs were announced. It was
good timing for that. The final stats
only had the Aggies with 2 SOG and the Lancers with 4. CBU sort of dominated the stats, but it never
felt like they dominated since they didn’t score. They only had a couple of real chances. The Aggies never seemed terribly effective in
attacking at all. Both teams were
defending well. Needless to say, Loma McNeese and Makenna Gottschalk get the gameballs. One for the shutout and one for ending a
shutout.
Autographs
I was glad the Soccer team was doing autographs. I really doubt there’s going to be an
autograph session with the Volleyball team.
They don’t even shake hands with the opposing team, so they’re not going
to want anything to do the fans. I
loitered at the back of the line without getting in it, because I was waiting
for Tim’s season farewell message on the radio.
There were also some players still talking to friends and parents and
not ready to sign. Finally, I had to
turn the radio off and get in line before they finished, so I didn’t get to
hear Tim’s goodbye.
The ball guy was ahead of me with a friend. He seemed like an athlete. He told his friend that he was nervous about
getting autographs. He got over it. After he went through the line with his
poster, he held it up and said, “Hey, $20 for an autographed poster!”
Khari
Price was first up first.
I wasn’t quite sure about pronouncing her name, but I complemented her
moves on field. She seemed to know what
play I was talking about. Lyric Baker was next to her. She wasn’t playing and was out of uniform,
but I mention her because she was interesting-looking compared to most of the
other girls. (She’s in the picture on
the left end, second row.) Cool
name. I said “Hello,” to Shea O’Connor. She seemed frustrated. She didn’t get much in the way of
opportunities during the match.
Xitlaly
Hernandez has enormous eyelashes.
Clearly she wants to look good on field.
As long as she can play good, it’s okay.
I was happy that I got to complement Makeena Gottschalk on her goaltending. She seemed happy and pleasant. I get the impression she’s like that win or
lose. Ah, our hero was next. No doubt Loma
McNeese was showered with praise from the fans today. She got my congratulations and I thanked her
from saving us from a nil-nil double overtime match. (I needlessly said I’d never come back if
that ever happened.) Even watching her
on field and especially up close, Loma was either wearing really good
foundation or has a tremendously clear complexion. She was shiny and radiant.
I didn’t get an autograph from Emma Smith, though I was standing by her at the end of the
line. These autograph sessions tend to
get disorganized. Bella Garcia wasn’t there at all (along with a few other
girls). I wanted to gush on her for a
moment for her good play the last couple of weeks. She also looked pretty in her interview on
Friday after making the winning shot. As
a practical matter, she might not be able to write with that cast on her
arm. (She’s #5 on the front row next to
Makeena #43.)
Shamefully, I went to . . . mutter . . . for lunch. What was that, J? Ahem, Subway. I went to Subway. I’m sorry.
It’s on the way back from the field and they sell ice cream next door at
PQ Treats. At least, it all tasted good. The NASCAR coverage was still going on, but
they’d already announced that the race would be postponed to Monday. (I didn’t see the race, but given the result
I’m questioning watching any more NASCAR this season.) Okay, so Aggie Soccer has momentarily won me
back over. The rest of their home
schedule is at night. I’d like to see
the field at night. Ron wants to go too,
so we’ll have to coordinate something later this month.
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