After a painful last-second defeat to the Sam Houston State University Bearkats last week, the Aggies were able to get back to their winning ways against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at home on Thursday evening. By playing lockdown defense and making plays when they needed it, the Aggies cooked up another win and are back on track to defending their Conference USA title.
Both defenses came to play in the first half– specifically the Hilltoppers, who had to respond to the offensive attack of the Aggies, putting up six shots in the first half. But even with plenty of shot attempts and winning the possession battle, the Aggies just could not crack the code to the safe that was the Western Kentucky defense, whether it was a cross into the penalty box that was just out of reach, a shot that flew just outside of the goal, or even a corner kick that was snatched by the goalie or knocked away by the defender.
But by the 28th minute of the game, Loma McNeese and Andrea Alvarenga were running downfield, setting up their attack aggressively. Alvarenga put the ball in the air, and everyone watched as it drifted into the box, waiting for something great to happen – which is exactly what transpired. At this point, McNeese heads the ball into the net, the fight song is playing, the crowd is excited, she celebrates with her teammates, the stadium lights flicker on and off, and the Aggies are up 1-0.
There was another reason for celebration; McNeese officially passed Aileen Galicia as the NMSU Women’s Soccer all-time scorer, with the 63rd point of her career. With time still left in the first half, the Aggies kept the ball out of danger and went into halftime with the lead. In the second half, the Aggies kept up their aggressive play with eight more shots — something that head coach Rob Baarts believes is important this time of the season.
“In conference play, you can never let down, and you just got to keep that high– energy, high-octane tempo,” Baarts said.
It was that high-octane play that proved effective out of halftime, with a ball in the 48th minute bouncing off players like a pinball until getting to Sydnee Johnson to score her second goal of the season, which the defender was feeling good about after the game.
“It felt amazing, definitely, to come back after such a tough loss that we should have won,” Johnson said. “So, I was excited to finally put one in the back of the net and bring us back up to 2-0.”
It would have been a shutout if not for a late goal by Western Kentucky’s Rebecca Roth in the 72nd minute, but a thank you card should be in order, since it was the misplaced foot of an Aggie center back that tapped in the ball — a tough blemish on an otherwise great night.
“It was rough, but I knew that we could stay with it and not let them come back in,” Johnson said.
This team has shown something special to coach Baarts, so much so that he was willing to make a bold claim for the rest of their season.
“There’s zero reason we can’t win the conference,” Baarts said. “I actually believe we can win out. That may be cocky or arrogant, but it’s actually true. I think we have the talent and the ability to do that.”
Time will tell if the coach has the powers of Nostradamus, but Aggie fans can see for themselves tomorrow at 1 p.m., when the team takes on Middle Tennessee State at the Aggie Soccer Complex.
