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Women soccer players celebrate their only goal versus TCU on Aug. 17. UNM hosts rival NMSU in the Rio Grande Rivalry on Sunday.

Home game is renewal of Rio Grande rivalry

sports@dailylobo.com

The women’s soccer team returns home for the first time in a month to take on rival New Mexico State on Sunday.

This will be the third-ever match between the Lobos and Aggies in women’s soccer. UNM is unscathed versus NMSU, having beaten them 1-0 in 2010 and 4-0 last season.

Head coach Kit Vela said the Rio Grande Rivalry in women’s soccer is just as ferocious as in any other sport.

“It’s intense; it’s a contact sport so it’s a lot of fun,” she said. “A lot of the girls are from Albuquerque that play at New Mexico State, so we see them growing up; it’s a great rivalry, it’s a great game.”

Vela said NMSU still poses a threat despite their record of 1-5-1 this season.

“They’re a good team, they’ve got good players and it’s a rival game,” she said. “It’s going to be a great game and we’re just trying to feel ourselves out and continue the rhythm we’ve found the last couple of weeks. It’s going to be a tough game but the girls are ready to play.”

The Aggies’ only victory of the season came against Southern Utah 1-0 on Sept. 2. NMSU has recorded four goals this season and is on a three-game losing streak.

The Lobos are coming off a 3-2 defeat at No. 22 Florida. UNM was ahead 2-1 when a 45-minute lightning delay hit, and after the teams returned to the field the momentum shifted toward the Gators, who scored two goals to snag the win.

Senior Rachel Montoya, who scored three goals last week — two against Georgia and one versus Florida — said officials told the team that if the game had continued six minutes longer before the lightning delay, the Lobos would have clinched their first win over a ranked opponent this season.

“Right before the delay, we scored an amazing goal,” Montoya said. “We had a lot of adrenaline and momentum going and unfortunately we had a lightning delay, but I honestly think if we didn’t have the delay, we would have won that game. They had 45 minutes to regroup to think it out, and when they came out, they came out pretty hard.”

UNM ranked fourth nationally in attendance for the second year in a row with a 2,032 fans-per-game average, and Vela said it will be nice to see the home fans again.

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“We’re happy to be home, but we’ve traveled well,” she said. “We’ve competed with some of the best teams in the country, but we love playing in front of our home crowd.”

Montoya said the team is ready to play in Albuquerque again.
“I don’t think anyone knows how excited we are to be home and to play in front of our fans again against NMSU,” she said. “It’s really exciting.”

Women’s Soccer vs. NMSU
Sunday
4 p.m.
UNM Soccer Complex

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