The New Mexico State women’s soccer teams faced off against the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals in an emotion filled but scoreless game.
The NM State Soccer Complex was painted purple in remembrance of Thalia Chaverria, a former player who passed away in early July. The women’s soccer team wore hints of purple, Chaverria’s favorite color, with their black uniform to honor her. They encouraged spectators to also wear the color, leading to a stadium filled with beautiful shades of purple all around.
As the match began, the Aggies focused on their offensive strategies as they pushed up high on the field. Senior Gianna Valenti and sophomore Meredith Scott led these efforts getting in two shots that missed just slightly.
While the Cardinals had a slow start to the match, they quickly improved both their defense and offense, allowing them to produce on-goal shots and two corner kicks.
Meanwhile, the Aggies struggled to keep possession and connect passes throughout the second part of the half. Upon reflection, head coach Rob Baarts associated the team’s weak energy to the passing of Chaverria impacting his players.
“This team is such a loving, caring family that you know, losing someone like T [team’s nickname for Chaverria] has been painful and harsh as it is,” Baarts stated. “It’s hard to come and perform in an environment like this where there’s so much emotion.”
With the first half closing in a tie of 0-0, Baarts talked to his players on what they could improve for the second half.
“I asked them at half-time to do me a favor and put that emotion aside for a moment and just engulf yourself in the game,” Baarts said. “And when the game is over we can go right back to that feeling we had.”
Baarts’ advice worked perfectly as the Aggies brought an entirely different energy to the second half. NM State drew their energy from the crowd as they cheered and clapped at their close shots and set plays.
Senior Loma McNeese and freshmen Shila Rasoul and Azalie Floriano all had several on-goal shots throughout the second half but were deflected by UIW’s Erica Defferding. Within the last few minutes, the Aggies showcasesd impressive passing that gave McNeese an ideal opportunity to score, but her shot just missed the back of the net as it went high and hit the crossbar.
The match ultimately ended with a 0-0 tie. Despite this, Baarts found a lot of noteworthy takeaways to improve on.
“It’s never over till it’s over, you know?” Baarts said. “I think we wore a lot of purple around our hearts in the first half. And I think once we kind of accepted the fact that we have to move that aside for the second half and really move forward, I was super proud of them to do that.”
