Match Fourteen
NM State (7-5-1, 4-0 CUSA) vs. Middle Tennessee (6-5-2, 1-1-2 CUSA)
Sunday, Oct. 8 | Noon (MT) | Jax State Sports Complex | Jacksonville, Ala.
 
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Time flies when you're having fun. Since beginning the 2023 season with an exhibition win over Cochise College, the Aggies have played in 13 contests, with just four regular season contests remaining. On Sunday, NM State (7-5-1, 4-0 CUSA) begins the back half of their CUSA schedule with a Sunday matchup against Jax State (6-5-2, 1-1-2 CUSA). The Crimson & White will look to continue their current four-game winning streak, while playing in their last road game before the season finale on Oct. 27 against Western Kentucky. In total, the Aggies will play just four games in the last month of the regular season, a far cry from the month of September when NM State played eight games – including a stretch where they played six contests in fourteen days.
 
After Sunday's match, NM State has just three remaining games on the schedule – a Senior Night meeting with FIU on Oct. 12, an Oct. 22 date with Sam Houston, and the season finale on the road against Western Kentucky on Oct. 27.
 
Beginning Nov. 1, the top six teams in the CUSA standings will play in the CUSA Tournament, held in Ruston, La. and hosted by LA Tech. Currently, the Aggies sit alone at the top of the conference with a 4-0 record and 12 points, with FIU in second place sporting a 2-0-1 record and seven points. Currently, Jax State is in position to qualify for the postseason with a 1-1-2 CUSA record and five total points.
 
First kick between the Aggies and Gamecocks is scheduled for Noon MT. Fans can stream the action on ESPN+ or follow along thanks to StatBroadcast.
 
Tallying 12 points after a 4-0 start, the Aggies look to secure a spot in the CUSA Tournament, held November 1-5 in Ruston, La. – home of LA Tech. The top six teams in the standings will qualify, with NM State currently joined by FIU, Liberty, Sam Houston, Western Kentucky and Jax State in the top six positions.
 
Match Recap | NM State 2, Liberty 0 | 9.29.23
 

• Bianca Chacon lined up near the Aggie bench to take a free kick in the 26^th minute, firing the ball into a bevy of Aggies and Flames, finding the head of Megan Ormson, who put the ball on the far left post. This strike put it in position for Brooke Schultz to knock it through the back of the goal with her knee, giving NM State a 1-0 edge. The goal also ended Liberty's five-match streak of shutouts, which started following the teams' 2-0 victory over Marshall on September 10.
• NM State played with a slowed pace in the second half, aiming to take care of the ball and keep their 1-0 advantage on the road. In an already physical matchup, the Aggies ratcheted up the defensive intensity in the second half, using their size and strength to overpower the Flames and stymy an offense that has been among the best in CUSA. 
• Receiving a throw-in from Ariana Leamons, Loma McNeese extended the NM State lead in the 58^th minute with a shot from a few yards inside the box, using a flurry of dribble moves to create separation before firing a right-footed shot that rocketed past the Liberty goalie. Coming into the contest, Liberty allowed just three goals all season, with no more than one allowed in any contest.

 
Scouting the Gamecocks
 
Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer leads the Gamecocks and is currently in his first season with the team. With seven seasons as a head coach under his belt, Wedemeyer sports a career record of 73-49-8. This season, Jax State is 6-5-2, with a 1-1-2 mark in CUSA play. Beginning with a 3-3 draw in a contest with LA Tech on Sept. 21, the Gamecocks have been on a three-match unbeaten streak, most recently winning a 1-0 road matchup with UTEP. Naroa Domenech notched her seventh goal of the season in the 34^th minute to give the Gamecocks their first conference win as members of Conference USA.
 
Laleh Lonteen joins Domenech with seven goals scored this season, while also leading the team in assists (5) and points (19).
 
Sophomore Bailey Dean has spent all but one half in the net for the Gamecocks this season, recording 51 saves (most in Conference USA), while allowing 19 goals for a 1.52 GAA. On Tuesday Dean was named the CUSA Goalkeeper of the Week following a weekend that saw her record five total saves in a 1-1 draw with Western Kentucky and a 1-0 win over UTEP in El Paso. In total, Dean has posted six shutouts this season – five solo, and one combined shutout with freshman Kacey Powell in the team's 13-0 win over South Carolina State.
 
As a team Jax State records first or second in the conference in nearly every offensive category – shots, points, goals, assists – though these numbers dip in CUSA action, where the Gamecocks rank fifth, sixth, fifth and fifth respectively. Since Conference USA play began, Salome Kerguillec has notched five points (two goals, one assist) which ties her with the Aggies' Brooke Schultz for third most points by an individual.
 
Heading into the season Jax State was predicted to finish ninth in the CUSA preseason poll, behind fellow newcomers NM State, Liberty and Sam Houston, while having zero selections on the Preseason CUSA team. Now at the halfway mark of conference play, the Gamecocks are 1-1-2, three points clear of UTEP for sixth place – the top six teams in the CUSA standings will make the CUSA Tournament, held Nov. 1-5 in Ruston, La.
 
History vs. Jax State
 
This is the third meeting all-time between the Aggies and Gamecocks, though their first in over a decade. The two teams met on the field for the first time on Aug. 27, 2010 – a 2-1 victory for NM State inside Aggie Memorial Stadium. The teams would play a return game the following year, with the Aggies traveling to Jacksonville, Ala. for a September 2, 2011 game the Crimson & White would also win 2-1.
 
1, 2, 3 and to the, 4…
 
Since starting their CUSA season on Sept. 17 against LA Tech, NM State has been on a four-game winning streak – their first such streak of the season. This is the longest unbeaten streak in the conference, with Western Kentucky going 2-0-2 in their last four contests. In a three-game stretch from Aug.31-Sept.7 the Aggies went 2-0-1 with wins over Cal State Fullerton and Pacific, the only unbeaten streak for the Aggies this season.
 
Back-2-Back
 
Heading in the deciding goal in a 3-2 victory over Middle Tennessee, Brooke Schultz recorded her first goal of the season. In the Aggies' next contest, she struck again, using her knee to put in NM State's first goal of the night against Liberty. This became the first time the junior posted back-to-back goals in her career, while joining Bianca Chacon as the only members of the Crimson & White to tally goals in consecutive contests this season.
 
Queen B
 
Following a five-goal, nine-assist seaon in her sophomore campaign, junior Bianca Chacon continues to provide NM State with instant offense in the attacking half of the field. Recording three assists through her first eight games of the season, junior Bianca Chacon entered a tie with Hannah Leitner for the most in program history with 12. In the 85^th minute of last Sunday's match against LA Tech, Chacon fired a shot from just inside the box on the right side of the field, banging the top of the crossbar. Shila Rasoul followed the ball, easily heading it in off the rebound to give the Aggies a 4-2 edge.
 
Adding another assist on a free kick in the 26^th of last Saturday's road contest against RV Liberty, Chacon lined up for a free kick in the 26^th minute, Chacon increased her season total to four goals and seven assists – leading the Crimson & White in both categories.
 
With 16 career assists, Bianca Chacon now stands alone in the NM State record books.
 
Help Is On the Way
 
Bianca Chacon became the first Aggie to record assists in back-to-back matches this season against Pacific and UNLV, besting herself with a current streak that extends over the past four matches. The El Paso native is the first Aggie to record an assist in four straight games since at least 2014. Sophomore and first-year Aggie Meredith Scott joined Chacon as the only player with back-to-back assists after recording the first of her NM State career against LA Tech (9/17) and a second-half helper against the Miners (9/21). Loma McNeese is the only other Aggie with multiple assists, recording a pair in a 4-3 home win over the LA Tech Bulldogs.
 
Let's Get Physical
 
Led by Head Coach Rob Baarts', the Aggies are not afraid of a little contact and physical contests. Through 13 games this season, NM State leads CUSA in fouls per game, picking up 11.85 per contest. This is the preferred method of play for the Crimson & White, sporting a 6-3-1 (.650) record in games where they record more fouls and a 1-2 (.333) mark in contests where fouls are tied or worse.
 
Super SAC
 
Last season, the Aggies posted the first undefeated home record in program history, going 7-0-2 from the friendly confines of the NM State Soccer Athletic Complex. Since opening in 2012, NM State has recorded 41 victories from their home field. Numerous improvements have been made to the place Aggie soccer calls home, including a shaded home base for the game operations crew, flood lights, and an upgraded, customizable lighting system. New for this season, the area behind the team benches has been completely relandscaped, giving the Soccer Athletic Complex a facelift ahead of the five home contests streaming on ESPN+.
 
NM State now has just two contests remaining from the NM State Soccer Complex – an Oct. 12 Senior Day matchup with FIU, and the final home match of the season Oct. 22 against fellow CUSA newcomer Sam Houston.
 
Watch the Throne
 
While leading the Aggies to their first WAC title in program history is the crowning jewel of her time at NM State, Loma McNeese has provided outstanding offensive impact throughout her time in Las Cruces. Through thirteen games, the Sherwood, Ore. native has totaled three goals and four assists, vaulting herself up the Aggie record book.

• Scoring for the first time since the season opener against Portland State, Loma McNeese currently holds sole possession of sixth place with 16 career goals. Using a flurry of dribbles to free herself from Liberty defenders, McNeese connected on a right footed strike for her third goal of the season, giving her ten points. Now boasting 43 career points (16 goals, 11 assists) the senior forward is sixth in program history, and just two points behind Devin Hart (17 G, 11 A) and three behind Audriana Chavez (19 G, 8 A).
• After securing the game-winning goal in the season opener against Portland State, McNeese moved into a four-way tie for second place, sporting five career game-winning goals. Tied for the team lead with 21 shots through thirteen contests, she now sits seventh all-time in career shots, totaling 103 through four seasons with the Crimson & White, just three shots behind teammate Xitlaly Hernandez's 106 career attempts.
• Narrowly outside the top ten in career assists entering the season, McNeese's four helpers on the year have propelled her upwards, now sitting in a tie with Devin Hart (2013-2017) and Crystal Burns (2009-2010) for third all-time with 11 assists. Hannah Leitner (2019-2021) is second on the career list with 12, and Bianca Chacon sits atop the throne with 16 assists and counting.

Leading the Way
Every team depends on the leadership of its veterans, relying on their experience and preparation for the game-defining moments. This season, the Aggies have called upon their upperclassmen when needed most, and they have produced. Of the 59 points the Aggie offense has produced this season, 16 goals and 14 assists have come from student-athletes who are juniors and above. Junior Bianca Chacon leads NM State in both goals and assists, tallying four goals and seven assists.
Gia Valenti and Loma McNeese are tied for second in goal scored with three, while McNeese is second on the team in assists with four. Brooke Schultz has recorded two goals and an assist in the past two games, Megan Ormson and Ariana Leamons have both tallied an assist and a goal, Tati Jerman punched in her first goal of the season against UTEP, and Xitlaly Hernandez recorded the game-winning goal against Cal State Fullerton.
 
Missed But Not Forgotten
 
Just a short time ago, the NM State soccer program lost an important member of its family. On July 11, junior defender Thalia Chaverria suddenly passed away at the age of 20. Thalia was entering her third season with the program.
 
Head Coach Rob Baarts said "T was an inspiration and rock to this team. She will be missed but not forgotten. Her spirit will be with us every day, on and off the pitch."
 
True to Coach Baarts' word, Thalia will not be forgotten as the team will honor her with a patch worn on the shoulder of each Aggie this season. The patch will feature Thalia's number on the field (2) and her initials (TC) in white text surrounded by a black circle.
 
For complete coverage of NM State Soccer, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateWSOC), Instagram (@NMStateWSOC), and like us on Facebook (NMStateWSOC).