LAS CRUCES, N.M. — New Mexico State women's soccer prepares for a pivotal early-season test as it meets Liberty for the fifth time in program history on Sunday. The Aggies and Flames enter the matchup tied in the Conference USA standings after each opened league play with a pair of draws, while Liberty arrives as the reigning CUSA champion and an NCAA tournament qualifier from a season ago.

WHO: NM State (1-9-2) vs. Liberty (5-3-4)
WHERE: NM State Soccer Athletic Complex
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. MT

Last Year's Record…
The Aggies finished third in the CUSA regular season standings with a record of five wins, two losses, and two ties. They also went 1-for-2 in the CUSA tournament held at FIU in Miami, Fla., after defeating Jax State in the first round to qualify for the CUSA semifinals where they fell to Liberty in the final minutes of play.
 
Last Game...
The Aggies finished the match against Deleware with a 1-1 draw. A goal by Ariana Leamons, who has now scored twice for NM State this season, off of a pass from Andrea Alvarenga would give the Aggies a scoring advantage at the 61 minute mark. Though NM state was able to find the back of the net first, the team was unable to hold the Blue Hens off from scoring as Constanze Viehmann would shoot the equalizer to bring delaware back into the match.
 
Preseason Watchlist…
Jena Johannes was named to the 2025 Preseason All-Conference team after her spectacular defensive performance last season. With a strong outing against Gonzaga on Sept. 12 and Middle Tennessee on Sept. 29, she was able to pick up two Defensive Player of the Week honors for the Aggies. Last year, Johannes ranked also second in minutes among all Aggie field players.
 
Guess Who's Back, Back Again…
The Aggies were able to return 22 players from last year's roster and tacked on nine newcomers. Returning in the box is Valerie Guha, who had an incredible season last year as she picked up a Goalie of the Week award against Gonzaga on Sept. 12. Coming back from a severe injury which kept her off the field last year is Bianca Chacon. Chacon previously led the Aggies in season assists before Alum, Loma McNeese. The El Paso midfielder is a strong asset off the ball. This also includes four other individuals who earned a spot in the starting lineup in more than half of the team's contests last season as Marlee Cavitt, Jena Johannes, Meredith Scott and Ariana Ellison make their return. The Aggies bring back a total of 60.6% (11,941/19,706) of the team's minutes from a season ago.
 
One of Us…
NM State includes just one transfer athlete, Amaya Simoni-Walters, from Saint Mary's College. She competed in three seasons for them and played in eight matches last year. The team also consists of eight freshmen to fill out the rest of this year's roster. These players include Ainsleigh Thomson, Evelyn Grossman, Doriela Norzagaray, Esme Arenas, Arleth Arroya, Sophie Rush, Tessa O'Neill, and Yayu Wu who is from Taichung, Taiwan.
 
Bianca is Back...
Bianca Chacon, who missed all of last year due to injury, last played a major role for the CUSA Champion Aggies during the 2023 season. In 2023, she led the Aggies in assists (seven) and currently ranks second in program history in career assists (16). After a year long recovery, she enters the field for the Crimson and White once again.
 
Stacking Up Against the Nation...
The Aggies currently rank 30th in the nation in shot accuracy (.528), highlighted by Amaya Simoni-Walters who boasts an .833 shot on goal percentage to pace all Aggies with at least five shot attempts.
 
Protecting Our Turf...
Heading into their third conference home game this week, NM State hasn't lost at home to a conference opponent since 2021, and holds a home record of 9-0-6 across the last three seasons. This includes a 6-0-4 record since joining CUSA. To find the Aggies' last home loss, you would have to go back to Oct. 28, 2021, when they fell to Utah Valley.
 
THATS OUR KEEPER! ...
Valerie Guha was named CUSA Goalkeeper of the Week after her 10th career shutout during the first week of play. With this performance, she became only the second Aggie in program history with double-digit shutouts (Makenna Gottschalk, 14). Last week, Guha moved into fourth in all-time saves in program history (153), passing former Aggies goalie Jessica Schutter. She is now 58 saves away from surpassing Gottschalk and moving into third all-time.
 
Guha is also tied with former Aggie, Loma McNeese, for most weekly awards won by NM State as a member of CUSA. In the first seven games of the season, the German has had three or more saves in the Aggies' matches. Guha sits in second within CUSA in total saves this season. She also leads the conference in minutes played by a goalie and ranks 5th among the nation.  Her 50 total saves this year also ranks 31st in the nation.
 
Outstanding Freshman...
Tessa O'Neill has marked her first career goal as an Aggie, punched in the final minutes of play against the Colorado Buffs. She had also recorded her first career assist earlier in the season against Colorado College, swiping away the ball from the Tigers to give a Meredith Scott an open look in the Aggies' season opener.
 
Against the Flames...
Liberty will enter the match with a tied conference record to NM State as both squads have finished the first two matches without a loss. In the head-to-head series against the two opponents, the Flames currently hold the advantage to the Aggies as they lead with two wins and just one loss. The last time the Aggies met the Flames was in the Semifinal round of the CUSA Championships just last year.
 
The Flames' leading player in goals is Ivy Garner. She has recorded seven goals thus far this year and is currently sitting in second within the conference for most goals scored.
 
Feels good to be home...
The match will be played on the Aggies' turf as they look to host Liberty at the NM State Soccer Athletic Complex. Broadcasting for the game will be Scott Galetti for play-by-play with Heidi Moccia alongside as analyst. Fans can tune in on the ESPN+ network at 1 p.m. MT.
 
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 (NM State Women's Soccer).