In an evening that saw the Lobos come close to scoring on several occasions, it was Aggie senior forward Devin Hart’s decisive pass and junior forward Audriana Chavez’s clinical finish that decided this year’s Rio Grande rivalry.
On a two on one counter attack only moments before the final whistle, Hart barreled down the UNM left-hand side, forcing UNM senior defender Emily Chavez to leave Audriana Chavez unmarked at the top of the box, and when the pass came to her, she coolly collected the ball and slotted it into the bottom left corner.
The Lobos (1-2) dominated the game in possession and outshot their opponents 18-6 but were unable to find a way past freshman goalkeeper Dmitri Fong. UNM senior forward Quincy Slora and freshman forward Leilani Baker had a combined ten shots between them, and junior defender Bailey Webster came close to scoring in the 84th minute. Fong, a UNM transfer, recorded seven saves on the night.
The Lobos continued to push for a goal late into the second half, and 46 seconds from the final whistle, NMSU punished the Lobos on a counter attack. Chavez’s late strike is only the second goal the Aggies have managed to put past the Lobos in the last seven years.
"NMSU gets credit for starting the game with great energy,” UNM head coach Heather Dyche said. “But in the second half we created more than enough to win the game, and we were really disappointed to give up a late goal."
NMSU head coach Freddy Delgado attributed his squad’s performance to self-motivation.
“The motivation is there,” Delgado said. "Some of our players had some extra motivation, like Dmitri. She was a transfer from UNM, so she had something to prove. We had a couple of our other girls on our team that have ties with some of the other players, so there was something to prove."
The Aggies (2-0-1) will look to extend their three game unbeaten run at Grambling State on Saturday and then at Alcorn State on Monday. The Aggies are undefeated and have only conceded one goal thus far this season.
While it is still early into the 2017 campaign, the Lobos will hope that their early season form does not carry over into the next few games. UNM’s energetic style of play bodes well for the future, but the team will have to figure out a way to break down well-organized and compact teams like NMSU.
The Lobos will play again on the road on Sunday, where they will take on UTEP (0-2) in El Paso Texas. Before taking on the Lobos, the Miners will host CSU Bakersfield on Friday night. Both UNM and UTEP will be desperate for a win on Sunday to reverse their recent form. Kickoff between the Lobos and the Miners is on Sunday at 1 p.m. M.T. in El Paso, Texas.
Matthieu Cartron is a freelance sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women’s soccer. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cartron_matt.
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