NM State Aggies vs WKU Hilltoppers Soccer 9-26-24

I almost didn’t make it to this one and it would have been all my fault.  I was listening to the Rangers game during the day against the A’s, which was the final MLB game in the Coliseum and perhaps in Oakland ever.  (It was a sad affair, but a full house and the fans there made the best of it.)  I’d held off on eating until it was over and then went to Raising Canes and had a big cookie with it.  It was too much food all at once on a completely empty stomach.  Getting out of the shower before going to tonight’s Aggie Soccer match, I almost barfed and sort of wished I had.

 

I put on my pants with the biggest waistline and staggered out the door with a swelled belly and some severe gastric distress.  Somehow, I made it to the Soccer Complex.  I think there was a rally going on in the Football parking lot.  I saw the full Band there, and there was a NM State hot-air balloon lit up.  It was visible from the soccer stands.  The soccer parking lot was full when I got there.   

 

I was given an Aggie bucket hat upon entering.  I didn’t really want one, since I had a similar one from last year, but I couldn’t resist the lovely, happy young woman who gave it to me.  Inside, I ran into Ramy (if I’m getting that name right), the Aggie weight trainer, who I’d met at Volleyball.  I asked him about his trip to Fresno State for Football.  He said it was great, except for the result.  His main concern was the offensive line that was missing several players, not just Shiyazh Pete.  He was looking forward to this weekend’s game against UNM to turn the season around. 

 

It was a beautiful night.  It was pleasant and cloudless.  A good crowd turned out.  (The Dallas Cowboys were playing tonight, but on Amazon Prime.  I don’t know if anybody’s watching those games.)  A couple of fans were on Kill Hill with a dog, but left after the sun went down.  (Probably because it was as dark as outer space up there.) 

 

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers were out practicing.  Admittedly, they were a nice-looking group, though they had a poor record.  One of the girls was salsa dancing to the PA music at one point.  The Aggies won their final non-conference match versus Gonzaga, 1-0, but lost their first conference match to Sam Houston, 3-2, last week. 

 

I should apologize for a comment on the last Aggie home match.  I said it looked like they were “throwing it” in the second half down 3-0.  I meant to edit that out.  I wasn’t being an angry fan about a bad loss.  It just didn’t look like the best players were being sent out to play.  I wasn’t questioning their effort.  Seeing the starting lineup tonight, it’s not the same team that tied USC and beat Oregon.  There was that one big injury to Ariana Leamons and the team still seems to be scrambling to find the best lineup and subs.

 

I rang my cowbell for the team coming on to the field and got some dirty looks from the people around me.  There was couple there that maybe hadn’t been to a game before that asked me some questions later.  Thankfully, I knew the answers.  (No offsides call came up.  I’m sure I would have had to have explained that.)  Black players, Jaiden McClellan and Marlee Cavitt, started and took a knee together during the Anthem.  Sydnee Johnson, also black, did not.  (God bless her.)  None of the other players did either.

 

First Half

44’ left in the half and Ariana Ellison was knocked down in the WKU box.  This gave the Aggies a corner kick that was stopped.  Several minutes of listless play followed.  Even the Aggie Outlaw Pep Band, which was providing musical accompaniment, sounded it a little slow.  Jena Johannes yelled out, “High energy!” at her teammates.  36’ Janae Shaklee took a long shot that was way off.

 

Back the other way, Janae deflected a long shot with a header.  WKU fired another shot right after that went out.  33’ Ariana made a good attempt outside of the WKU box that was just off.  29’ Ari took another long shot that went into the scoreboard.  WKU came back and Mya Hammack deflected a shot with another header.  (The team must be practicing those.)

 

27’ Mya Gonzales (Gonzo) tackled a WKU player.  They got a free kick, but no shot.  The Aggies got a free kick soon after.  Brooke Schultz fired directly on goal.  Maddie Davis, the WKU keeper, caught it.  24’ Gonzo made an attack.  Davis fell on it.  The other way, Valerie Guha, the Aggie goalie, caught a long shot by WKU.

 

Paydirt!  16’ Andrea Alvarenga took a shot well outside the WKU box.  Loma McNeese took it from there directly in front of the net and headed it in.  1-0 Aggies.  Andrea is the shortest player on either team but came up big there with the assist.  The Hilltoppers held a quick team meeting.  Davis read them the riot act in the huddle. 

 

On the other end, Val fell on a couple of loose balls that bounced into the Aggie box.  I noticed the Football team had come in (including Shiyazh), probably after the rally.  Pistol Pete suddenly appeared and strolled in front of the stands to get the crowd cheering.  Ryleigh Whitekettle from the Volleyball team came in briefly with some friends.  I think the rest of the team is probably on the road.  9’ Brooke took a long free kick.  There was a big scrum in front of the WKU net, but the ball was kicked out.  Brooke also took the last shot of the half, which Davis caught.  1-0 Aggies at the half.

 

Halftime

To this point, the Aggies had 1 goal, 2 SOG, and 4 corners.  The Hilltoppers had nothing.  A group of ASNMSU students came in wearing sharp football jerseys with number 88 on them.  The school doesn’t sell the best merch, like those kinds of jerseys and those hockey sweaters the Roadrunner Revue wears.  Meanwhile, the Pep Band and Drumline gave a short performance.  Across the field, Coach Baarts was running around demonstrating stuff for the team, who were seated on the bench in front of him.

 

Second Half

Lucia Yenes from the Women’s Basketball team came in.  I hope she’s healed up and ready for a great season.  The girl is pretty good at finding the basket.  Back to play.  43’ left in the game, Marlee was totally faked out on defense.  After a pass, there was a shot in front of the Aggie goal that went just wide.  41’ right back down field, there was a serious attack in front of the WKU goal.  There were a couple of misses, but Sydnee stayed with it and squeezed the ball inside the post.  2-0 Aggies.

 

And then the pain.  39’ Loma was double teamed and took a running shot on the WKU goal and got kicked hard in the shin.  She went down in a heap.  Davis went over to check on her, as the trainers came out.  The trainers helped Loma off.  Pistol Pete walked by the stands in the break and tried to get the crowd cheering.  That wasn’t great timing.  

 

35’ Hilltopper Aspen Seaich took the first good-looking shot on the Aggie goal that just went over the crossbar.  (Admittedly, with Aspen’s silver blonde hair and good-looks, she’s not going to take a bad-looking shot either.)  Syd took a low shot that was caught.  Val caught a long shot.  31’ WKU got their first SOG.  Val jumped and caught a long shot.  We were getting lots of action on both ends here.

 

Brooke hit Syd with a pass and the shot was deflected out.  27’ Brooke took a free kick away from the box that was caught.  The crowd was laughing, though.  A guy in the Band was making a horrible screeching noise trying to cheer.  26’ WKU got their first corner.  A header shot was put into the scoreboard. 

 

25’ Janae took a hard tackle outside the WKU box.  Off a free kick, the ball pinballed around the box before coming out to Mya.  She kicked it high and over the net.  Into the Aggie end, off a free kick, there was a shot inside the box.  Val made a dive stop.  Off some nice passing by the Aggies, Meredith Scott took a shot that went just wide.

 

Catastrophe!  (It’s soccer.  I’m required to use hyperbole.)  17’ Hilltopper Rebecca Roth got inside the Aggie box and kicked the ball into the top shelf.  It was a heady play.  2-1 Aggies.  Inspired, Val had to block another shot by WKU a minute later.

 

15’ Shila Rasoul ran into Davis, who was out of the goalie box.  That brought out an immediate yellow card.  10’ Jaiden took a long shot that was caught.  Milana Eyrich also took a long shot that was caught.  Syd caused a turnover at the top of the WKU box right after.  Her shot went high. 

 

7’ Val fell on a loose ball that bounced into the Aggie box.  She laid on the ground for a moment and looked exhausted.  A loose ball was kicked into the stands . . . at Lucia!  Hey, guys!  Watch it!  (She was okay, but I wouldn’t expect her to come back to anymore soccer games here.)  5’ Kennedy Herrera ran over a WKU player to stop an odd man rush at the Aggie goal.  Off a free kick on the wing, Aspen took another shot that just went over the goal. 

 

1’ an out-of-bounds ball was flipped into an Aggie player’s face.  (That’s the second time I’ve seen that this season.  The girls aren’t making friends on out there on the pitch.)  The ref wagged her finger at the rude player and gave her a quick lecture.  The Aggies held on and won 2-1.

 

The Aggies were up 5 to 4 on SOG and 5 to 1 in corners.  They seemed like the better team but had a hard time proving it.  This match really did go back-and-forth a lot.  Valerie Guha did a good job of stopping shots, and likewise, Maddie Davis did a good job of keeping her team in it.  Nice job by Sydnee Johnson and Loma McNeese for cashing in their opportunities tonight.  Still, like I said earlier, this isn’t the same team I saw earlier this season.    

 

Loma was thankfully walking around after the game.  Her ankle was wrapped and might have had a slight limp.  I don’t think she’ll be playing Sunday, but hopefully she’ll be okay later next week.  Meanwhile, I was doing better but limited my postgame snacking when I got home to a handful of grapes and a vow to moderate my pregame eating.