Friday, October 13, 2023

NM State Aggies vs FIU Panthers Soccer 10-12-23

 

Our Seniors 


Another Aggie Soccer match, another day off.  I basically did nothing while waiting for the game other than going to 5 Guys for a hamburger.  Legend Burger in the mall is better, but it was windy outside and 5 Guys has better fries.  I’d been craving some good fries for like two weeks.  The meal was just okay.  My life wasn’t enlightened. 

 

Last night was good sports-wise.  The Diamondbacks disposed of the Dodgers and the Phillies beat the Braves.  (I’d be missing their closeout game tonight.  The Phillies won 3-1.)  My picks are looking pretty good.  Aggie Football beat Sam Houston, 27-13.  It’d be a more impressive win except it was 27-0 at the half and Sam Houston is new to D1 and hasn’t won a game against another D1 team.  Regardless, it’s a win. 

 

At the soccer field, the first thing I saw was a mom chasing a toddler around the sidelines.  So cute.  There were some girls in military uniform at the gate.  They were a high school Color Guard, who’d present the flags for the Anthem.  They looked sharp.  It was a nice night.  There was a cool breeze blowing and a beautiful sunset.  No merch tent tonight.  Too bad since there was a great crowd of over 800.  This included Aggie Volleyball and also somebody brought in a cute bulldog. 

 

On field, the refs were, I admit, handsome young men.  They were chatting in a friendly manner in front of the stands.  I noticed two of the Aggie girls were in casts (and Sydnee Johnson was still in a boot).  I unfortunately recognized one of the girls as Bianca Chacon, the Assist Queen.  That’s a big loss for the team, especially as they were playing the FIU Panthers tonight.  They’re a good team.  They played Liberty to a tie last week.  Coach Baarts had also said in an interview that goalie, Valerie Guha, still wasn’t a 100%, but would be playing.

 

Tonight was Senior Night.  There were six players honored: Bella Garcia, Megan Ormson, Gia Valenti, Hannah Draper, Xitlaly Hernandez, and Loma McNesse.  Bella hasn’t been playing this season, but was still with the team as an assistant.  A balloon with her player number on it accidently got let go.  It floated over the field and then over the football field.  That also happened with one of Xitlaly’s balloons.  Gia came out with Thalia Chaverria’s brother.   


First Half

The crowd was buzzing.  The girls were upbeat.  (There were no tears for the Senior Ceremony, only smiles.)  The Band sounded good.  The Aggies started energetic and got off the first attack.  FIU looked pretty good.  Off a downfield kick, they got a corner, but the attack was kicked out.  40’ left in the half, unfortunately the Aggies turned it over by their net.  Two good passes led to an easy goal right in front of the net by Kim Schneider.  1-0 FIU.  This quieted the crowd.

 

FIU got a couple more corners.  One was off a breakaway attack and a near defensive foul in the Aggie box.  Megan took a shot that went way high.  28’ Ariana Leamons took a great shot at the top shelf.  Panther goalie, Ithaisa Vinoly, made a great fist save to knock it over the net.  The Aggies got in another attack right after, but Vinoly fell on the ball away from the net. 

 

The Aggies and Panthers traded a couple of free kicks halfway through the period.  25’ Xitlaly tackled an attacker on a breakaway.  The ref gave her a lecture, but no card.  24’ the Aggies got a free kick on their side of the field.  They got off a couple of blocked shots in the FIU box.  21’ Gia was on a breakaway and got mugged and lost the ball.  On the counter, FIU got a shot off right in front of the Aggie goal that Valerie blocked. 

 

17’ Shila Rasoul and Brealyn Viamille were whistled for roughhousing before a throw-in.  This happened right in front of the stands.  16’ a downfield pass to Loma was broken up and there was an immediate counter.  Val had to dive for a shot in front of the Aggie goal.  13’ FIU had a near midfield free kick.  It was dead on.  Val caught it initially and then it got loose and she had to fall on it. 

 

A tall guy and his wife sat down in front of me.  I lost my footrest and my view of midfield.  There was something like a hydration break.  I’m not sure that was official, since I think only FIU got water.  Coach Baarts took the opportunity to wear out the ref.  The ref also ignored the Panthers’ coach, who had wanted to make a sub. 

 

12’ Ari made a great pass to Loma in the FIU box, but it was blocked.  Loma did get a shot right after.  Vinoly fell on it.  Valerie caught a shot on her end right after.  8’ off an Aggie corner, there was a riot in front of the FIU net.  Gia took a shot that hit the crossbar and went straight down.  Loma followed up the shot with a header that went in.  1-1.  The crowd exploded.  We all felt a little better. 

 

7’ Val made a dive block on a shot.  An FIU corner went out.  That was the last significant action for the half.  Freshman Azalie Floriano subbed in for the Aggies late.  I had not seen her play before.  I got a chuckle while the Band was playing Tank, the theme song from Cowboy Bebop.  Nicely done.  The half ended with a tie.  FIU was up 3 to 1 in Shots on Goal and 4 to 0 in Corners.  The Outlaw Band performed for halftime.  The drumline wasn’t all there tonight for a performance.    

 

Second Half

FIU took a couple of shots to start the half.  40’ the ref called a turnover on the Aggies.  The crowd let off a big boo.  It was good to get them involved (except for the guy next to me, who kept using profanity).  39’ Mya Hammack put a massive hip check on an attacker on the wing.  The crowd loved it.  (That’s my girl!) 

 

37’ FIU took a long free kick.  The ball danced around the front of the Aggie goal before Ari kicked it out.  The Panthers and Aggies traded a couple of shots.  33’ an Aggie popup shot forced Vinoly to backpedal to punch it away.  She fell backward and might have hit her head on the post.  Vinoly was okay and waved off the ref. 

 

The Aggies had a couple more corners.  They had one wide shot.  On the other end, a slow roller went between a defender’s legs, but Val scooped it up.  24’ FIU had a solo breakaway that led to a heavy attack.  It was broken up without a shot. 

 

I think Volleyball was seated by the net at the north end.  (It was on the far end of the field from me.)  I saw the group dancing around like they were putting a hex on the Panthers.  I thought I saw Morgan Stewart later pick up a loose out-of-bounds ball.  Meanwhile at the rail of the stands, a little girls team had rolled up their posters and was using them to cheer on the Aggies for the rest of the game.

 

19’ Shila took a good pass from Brooke Schultz and had an open shot.  Vinoly caught it straight in the gut.  18’ Loma chased after a loose ball in the FIU box.  Vinoly just got to it before she did. 

17’ FIU got a free kick outside of the Aggie box.  It was broken up.  15’ Mya was carded for a trip, which gave the Panthers another free kick near the box.  It was a designed play with a misdirection that got a shot off next to the net that went wide.  It nearly worked.  The crowd was actually impressed. 

 

13’ Ari took a wide long shot.  The Aggies were playing rough and knocked down two Panthers within a minute.  9’ an Aggie corner kick ended up on top of the FIU net.  7’ Val fell on a roller.  The ball went right back downfield.  Loma was taken down and a Panther was carded for it.  The free kick near the box resulted in a header that was caught.

 

6’ FIU had another corner, but no shots.  3’ both teams were showing tired legs.  In the last minute, Loma and Shila had a breakaway.  The crowd was standing and cheering as Gia took a pair of shots that were blocked.  Megan took the final shot at the top of the box.  Vinoly fell on it to end the game in a 1-1 draw.

 

Both goalies, Valerie Guha and Ithaisa Vinoly, get a nods tonight for their great play.  It was a defensive struggle on both sides.  Credit to Loma McNeese for getting the clutch equalizer before the half.  (I think she’s been Offensive Player of the Week in C-USA twice.)  That was a bad goal that the Aggies let in.  (Credit to FIU for taking advantage of the opportunity given to them.)  I’ve seen them do that several times this season.  They’ve got to clean up those little mental lapses.  Shots on goal were 6 to 4 Aggies, while FIU had a 6 to 3 advantage in corners. 

 

I admit, even with the draw, I enjoyed the match.  It was pretty lively.  Without that flurry of Aggie attacks at the end and the crowd so into it, I might have left with a different opinion.  I did sort of run into some members of Aggie Volleyball leaving.  I was not feeling charming enough to greet them.  It was an embarrassing time to get all shy.  They’ll need all the encouragement they can get for their match tomorrow night.

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