NM State Aggies vs NM Highlands Cowgirls Soccer 8-13-22

It’s our first NM State Sports report of the season.  I’ll be honest; I’m not sure if I’m enthusiastic or not yet.  I still haven’t decided if I’m going to get a Country Pass (season ticket for Soccer, Volleyball, Softball, Baseball, and Women’s Basketball).  Ron, who was with me today, is also undecided.  He’s waiting to see about his next job.  If he gets it, we probably won’t be going to many games together, if at all.  I’m wondering how much I’m going to want to go to games by myself.  I’m also concerned there’s going to be another lockdown and other restrictions, but those fears are starting to recede.  I still haven’t forgotten Ron getting screwed on his mostly unused Pass in 2020.

 

It was pleasantly overcast in the morning, but from experience I expected it would clear off before the game, which it did.  The sun would be fairly merciless on the field and in the stands.  The parking lot at the complex was taped off.  Half of it was allocated for the fans.  This was a change.  Today’s game against the NM Highlands Cowgirls was an exhibition, so there was no admission charged.  I skipped the concessions trailer, as Ron brought in a couple of water bottles.  

The souvenir table had some new posters and a single printed program, which I snatched.  (I needed it for this report.)  There was a merch tent set up just inside the field.  They were selling those black and white Aggie Baseball hats.  I wanted one, but I already own a crate full of hats!

 

The playing field itself was in lousy shape with a lot of yellowed worn patches.  This was unexpected given all the rain we’ve received here in Las Cruces over the last couple of weeks, including last night.  The crowd for the match was really good, especially considering the heat.  The Cowgirls brought quite a few of those fans all the way from Las Vegas, New Mexico up north.  They’re in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, which is a Division II conference.  I’m sure that I remember their basketball teams playing the Aggies (Men and Women), but I can’t find any evidence.

 

There were a bunch of hot girls in the stands.  It felt like it had been a while since they’d come out.  Also present was Volleyball Assistant Coach Hertel.  I said, “Hi,” to him and told him I was looking forward to seeing the girls next week.  (I hope I didn’t run him off.  He left like five minutes later.)

 

First Half

As both teams came out on field, the Aggies seemed to have a definite height advantage over the Cowgirls.  The notable exception was, Xitlaly Hernandez, but even then, the diminutive Aggie midfielder was named to the WAC Preseason All-Conference team.  (I don’t understand these preseason awards.)  The umbrella came out as the match started to shade from the sun.  I wasn’t the only one.  I was really jealous of a Six Flags umbrella that had DC characters on it with the classic 70’s designs. 

 

It was hard not to notice Monique Nevarez on the Cowgirls with her dark hair, but bright red ponytail and . . .  And its 1-0 Aggies.  That was quick, right in the first few seconds.  It was so sudden, there was no call as to who scored it.  The Aggies just all rushed the opposing net and the ball high-bounced in.   

 

Anyway, I also noticed Jenny Mueller for the Cowgirls, since she was playing on the near side of the field.  She was really cute (no picture available, sorry) and . . . And its 2-0 Aggies.  42’ left in the half, after Cowgirl goalie, Isabella Ortiz, deflected a shot, Xitlaly came in for an easy shot.  The game seemed a little rough as a couple of girls went down to the grass.  There was . . . And its 3-0.  41’ Mya Hammack attacked on a breakaway and beat the goalie.

 

There was a dad and young son sitting behind us.  They were doing some expert scouting.  I appreciated the commentary.  (I hope they didn’t leave because of the embarrassingly large umbrella I was using that I’d borrowed from Ron.)  And its 4-0.  39’ there was an easy pass in the box to an open Bianca Chacon for the goal. 

 

Okay, now we have a game.  38’ the Cowboys mount a one-girl attack.  She’s harassed all the way into the Aggie box and goalie, Makenna Gottschalk, kicked the ball away.  34’ Ortiz made a good save in the Cowgirl goal.  37’ we have a #2 player breaking up an attack by another #2, as Aggie Thalia Chaverria thwarted a strike by Nitza Rodriguez.  32’ the Aggies countered, but made too many passes in the box and didn’t score. 

 

Back to the massacre.  32’ the Aggies attacked again and Loma McNeese got the goal this time to make it 5-0.  Ortiz took the initial attack off her head, and Loma tapped in the loose ball.  Ortiz seemed hurt, but none of the trainers came out and she stayed in.  27’ 6-0, Sofia Beerworth (pictured at the top) stole the ball, ran it into the Highlands’ box, and beat Ortiz for the goal.  Sofia, freshman from Montreal, is pretty tall.  She had her hair piled up in a big top bun, which made her look towering. 

 

24’ there was a shot deflected by a Cowgirl that almost went in.  Oritz fell on it.  A guy carrying an adorable little dog came in.  It was listed as a service animal.  I’ve seen this before at games.  I think some students are claiming their pets as emotional support animals.  (I wonder if I could get away with that at work.  I’d actually have to get a pet first.)  Over on the far sideline, you could hear Coach Baarts was yelling his head off at the Aggies.  He was taking this seriously for now. 

 

18’ the Cowgirls got a corner kick.  Makenna caught a soft liner.  That was Highlands’ first shot on goal.  17’ 7-0 Xitlaly beat Ortiz and scored again.  The PA for the match had lots of work to do announcing these goals, but was enthusiastic each time.  15’ Ortiz blocked a point blank shot.

 

13’ there are mass subs on both sides.  Jenny was still in, but moved to play on the other side of the field.  Sigh.  11’ one of new Aggies subs straight whiffed on a kick in the Cowgirl box.  Ouch!  (I’ll leave her unnamed.)  9’ 8-0, Mya Gonzales (the other Mya on the team) made a great harassed kick in the box just over the goalie.  This was probably the best goal of the match (and there’s still a lot more still coming).

 

Ron was very pleased with the team’s performance.  Not the goals, but that he said they were passing the ball and matriculating it downfield, instead of just booting it downfield and hoping for the best.  (I know that I didn’t use the word, “matriculate,” correctly here.  That’s not what the word means.  This being the case, why do I keep hearing it used in football coverage?  Athletic “scholarship” graduates perhaps?  Did I use the word here just to do that rant?  Yes.)  In any case, the Aggies showed they are moving the ball better on offense in this match. 

 

8’ Megan Sheehan goaled for the Aggies, 9-0.  Ortiz fell down on the shot, possibly from exhaustion.  Megan had her own personal cheering section behind us screaming for her.  7’ Ortiz took one in the face to stop a shot.  She still stayed in.  There was a comment from somewhere behind us that the refs hadn’t allowed a hydration break for the match.  That was a good point.  It was plenty hot enough to merit one. 

5’ Bella Garcia, one of the subs, beat Ortiz in the box, but missed the shot.  All of the players looked like they were flagging a bit.  Bella stood out last year, as she’d been playing with a cast on her arm (also, she’s pretty good looking).  I noticed she was playing with one of her thighs wrapped this time. 

 

In the final minute, Makenna caught a free kick from the Cowgirls.  While the PA was giving the 10-second countdown, the Aggies scored for a final time in the half.  Again, it happened so quickly, there was no announcement on the scorer.  I didn’t see who did it either.  We’re 10-0 Aggies at the half.

   

Second Half

During halftime, tall, blonde German, #0 Valerie Ghua warmed up in the Aggie goal.  Good thing I had a program, because she’s not on the Aggies’ online roster.  I think one of the girls warming her up was the other goalie, who would come in later.

 

The second half started with the reserves still in for both teams.  41’ 11-0, and the onslaught continued, as Bella got an easy tap in.  Meanwhile, another player had their own fans.  A guy down front whisper/shouted, “We love you, Hailey!” to Hailey Denman on the near side of the field.  35’ Highlands makes an attack.  The shot rolled across the goal.  Valerie let it go out.  Back to the other end, 34’ Ortiz tackled a solo attack.  29’ she snatched the ball on another solo attack. 

 

28’ both teams brought in mass subs, which brought back in most of the starters.  27’ 12-0, an unidentified Aggie, standing in front of the goal with her back to the net, back-tapped the ball in.  It was a confusing goal.  An injured Highlands girl was helped off the field.  Before play resumed at midfield, a guy down front shouted to Mya Hammack and she blew him a kiss.  The girls were playing loose with a 12-goal lead.  Even the coach had stopped yelling.

 

23’ 13-0, as Xitlaly received a great pass and chipped it in.  On one end of the stands, a drum was being beaten, though not rhythmically.  Most of the athletes (seemed like mostly Football guys), were over there.  The PA had repeatedly warned people not to hang out in front of the stands.  Other Aggie athletes were the only ones who ever lounged there.  On the other end, some fans were relaxing under the trees.

 

22’ a header shot into the Highlands net was wave off by the ref.  Nobody seemed upset about it.  Another injured Highlands girl had to come off as a result of the play.  21’ Ortiz was still there between the pipes and had good stop.  I noticed some of the lights on the scoreboard were out.  Some of those digits aren’t usually used, as games seldom hit double digits in certain categories. 

 

18’ 14-0, Sydnee Johnson fired one at point blank through the goalie for the score.  16’ there’s a scrum and save in the Highlands box.  One girl from each team went down briefly, but both continued to play.  10’ Macey Henderson came into goal for the Aggies.  8’ 15-0, Bianca scored again by beating the goalie in front of the box.  Jenny was back in and tried to run after the ball to stop the shot.  A fan shouted, “Offsides!” on the goal.  I can’t tell you when it’s offsides.  It’s whatever the ref says. 

 

7’ the ref intervened here and issued a Green card to an offending player.  A Green card?  No, I’m not making an immigration joke.  It looked green.  There was a Hand ball call earlier in the game, but otherwise the refs weren’t too involved in inserting themselves into the game.  3’ 16-0, Loma chipped in another goal.  2’ 17-0, off a corner kick, Loma completed the hat trick and is our Player of Game.  1’ another Cowgirl came off limping.  This one might have been a cramp.  The last shot of the match was by Highlands.  Macey caught it in front of the net. 

 

Our final was 17-0 Aggies.  Ron had a great time talking about how close the game was.  The scoreboard had it at 21 Shots on Goal to 1, which is a pretty remarkable conversion rate by the Aggies.  Unless that last shot was after the buzzer, I’m pretty sure that should have counted as another SOG for the Cowgirls.  Thank goodness that didn’t go in.  I’ll bet Coach Baarts told the team that he’d have them running laps until they all puked if this wasn’t a shutout.  And no ice cream! 

 

I don’t know if this game was especially good for either team.  The Aggies had an inter-squad scrimmage on Friday that was probably more competitive.  (I don’t think it was open to the public, but there were pictures of some football players there.)  Highlands doesn’t have to worry about getting thrashed worse this season at least.  I didn’t see any animosity on field, even with a few injuries.  The good news was that I didn’t see the Aggies play unfocused, lazy, or nonchalant regardless of the score.  Any errors were likely a little preseason rust or jitters.  The Cowgirls also played hard throughout.  At worse, the heat might have dulled both teams a bit in places.  (There probably should have been hydration breaks.)        

 

The Aggie girls came out to midfield and waved to crowd.  They almost seemed a little reluctant or embarrassed.  They’ll be more enthusiastic after beating UTEP in their first official home in a couple of weeks.  (I’m calling it here.)  In the meantime, they’re probably going to be getting the same treatment out on the road that they handed out here today, as they face Oregon, Cal State Fullerton, and Texas A&M.   

 

Ron and I were reasonably pleased with the start of Aggie Athletics this school year.  For dinner, Ron requested, “Somewhere with fountain drinks and free refills.”  I picked Jimmie Johns, because a cold sub sounded better than something hot and greasy.  Blasts at Sonic provided the desserts.  We plan on going to the Volleyball Scrimmage next week and who knows what after that.