JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State's three-match unbeaten streak came to a halt after Conference USA leader New Mexico State tallied a pair of second half goals to claim a 2-0 decision on Sunday afternoon at the Jax State Soccer Complex.
Coming down the final stretch of the regular season and battling for a spot in the six-team CUSA postseason tournament, Jax State dropped to 6-6-2 overall and 1-2-2 in the league. The Aggies maintained their spot atop the CUSA standings after posting their fifth conference win (5-0) of the season and improved to 8-5-1 on the season.
It took less than two minutes for NMSU to score both goals in the second half – both by Loma McNeese. After a dominant first half by Jax State, the Aggies went more direst on offense coming out of the halftime break. A handball inside the box on the Gamecocks in the 50th minute gifted the Aggies the go-ahead penalty kick goal from McNeese. NMSU extended the lead shortly after with McNeese's second goal of the contest in the 51st minute. She finished with six-of-the-seven shots by the Aggies on Sunday.
"I thought it was our best performance of the season. In the first half, most of the game was in their half of the field and we came out in the second half and there was about a five-minute spell when the intensity dropped and that is when they go their two goals," said head coach Sean Fraser. "The penalty dropped us a little bit and it is something that we have to learn from."
Jax State controlled the match from the opening whistle with a strong effort in the opening 45 minutes to get on the scoreboard first. The Gamecocks were credited with nine shots in the first half and were limited to three in the second half. Sophomore
Naroa Domenech led the offensive attack with four shots in the contest, while freshman
Emma Oubrik added three shots.
Reigning CUSA Goalkeeper of the Week,
Bailey Dean collected a pair of saves in the setback.
The Gamecocks will hit the road this week with a Thursday night showdown with Liberty in Lynchburg, Virginia and then wrap up the week in Miami, Florida on Sunday against FIU. The LU match is slated to start at 5 p.m. CT. Both matches will be available on ESPN+.
