LAS CRUCES, NM – NM State defeated Oregon 2-1 in their second ever meeting and first in Las Cruces on August 22 at the NM State Soccer Complex. Goals by Ariana Leamon And Brooke Schultz helped the Aggies to their first-ever victory over a Power Four opponent.
“They are a team that puts a lot of pressure on and really likes to disrupt the rhythm. I think they did that really well in the first 20 to 25 minutes of the game,” said the head coach Rob Baarts. “We made a few adjustments that allowed us to create gaps in the midfield to score goals. When we scored, I felt we were well positioned. With a team like that, you’re always capable of scoring goals, we knew that. When they did, we dominated the game and scored a great goal.”
In the 28thth Minute the Aggies were on the attack with the second striker Shila Rasoul dribbled the ball just outside the 16-yard box and shot it to the Preseason All-CUSA selection Loma McNeesewho passed the ball past Leamons, who was also selected to the Preseason All-CUSA team. The senior from Buckeye, Arizona, fired a left-footed shot to open the scoring. It was Leamons’ second goal of the season.
Oregon didn’t trail for long, as just two minutes after the Aggies scored, they scored their only goal to tie the game at 1-1.
In the 37thth Minute of the game, the Ducks committed a foul, which gave the Crimson & White a free kick. The former Oregon Duck Brooke Schultz was the one who took the shot. Five Ducks were ready to block Schultz’s shot, but she managed to fire the ball just over the heads of the defenders into the bottom right corner of the goal, giving her a one-goal lead over the Ducks.
In the first half of the game, NM State and Oregon were tied with six shots on goal each, each having one save. NM State led the Ducks with one corner kick, and the Ducks had five fouls in the first half to the Aggies’ three.
The score remained unchanged in the second half. Goalkeeper Valerie Guha recorded her second save of the year and 55th save of her career on the night. Leamon’s goal in the first half was her second of the season and her third of her career. Schultz’s goal was her first of the season and her sixth of her career.
The Aggies took 15 total shots on the night, including five on goal, compared to nine shots and just two on goal for Oregon. Rasoul was the team’s best player with three shots and one on goal and dished out the Aggies’ only assist of the night, her first of the year and second of her career.
McNeese, Schultz and Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week Meredith Scott all fired two shots that night. Guha, Mya Hammack, Jena JohannesBrook Schultz and Marlee Cavitt everyone played the full 90 minutes of the game.
With the win, the Aggies are now unbeaten in an 11-game regular season streak and are seven games unbeaten at home. The Aggies are 12-2-6 since 2022.
The Aggies host Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday, August 24th at 7 p.m. For complete coverage of NM State Women’s Soccer, visit NMStateSports.com – the official website of Aggie Athletics – and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateWSOC), Instagram (@nmstatewsoc) and like us on Facebook (NM State Women’s Soccer).
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