Las Vegas, New Mexico - The New Mexico Highlands soccer team, 2-3-1 this season, opens Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play this weekend with a pair of road matches.Â
On Friday evening the Cowgirls are in Grand Junction for a 7:00 pm match with Colorado Mesa. Then, on Sunday afternoon, they move to Salt Lake City for a 12:00 pm match against Westminster.
EVANS TIME:
Amanda Evans was named the NMHU head coach on March 14th of this year and she earned her first win at the helm of the Cowgirls on September 5th 1-0 over Sul Ross State. Prior to coming to Las Vegas Evans was the head coach at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia. She has 46 career coaching victories in her tenure at the collegiate level.
LAST WEEK: NMHU dropped a pair of matches last week in Texas. Wednesday afternoon Lubbock Christian defeated the Cowgirls 3-1 as
Acacia Rodriguez put the Cowgirls on the scoreboard in the second half when she converted a penalty kick. On Friday night, West Texas A&M defeated NMHU 1-0 in the final non-conference match of the year.
Friday's match was the fifth consecutive match away from Las Vegas, equaling the longest stretch of consecutive road games since 2016. This weekend's contests will mark the sixth and seventh matches in a row away from Las Vegas, likely the longest stretch in program history.
When asked about the string of matches away from home earlier in the season, Coach Evans said, "Our players have really embraced the road warrior mentality. We will use this to our advantage once RMAC play starts."
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION: The Cowgirls open play this week at Colorado Mesa on Friday at 7:00 pm. In the week's United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II poll the Mavs were listed among the teams receiving votes. The Mavs are 2-1-2 on the season after losing to St. Edward's 2-0 in Austin Saturday morning. Jody Lingafeldt, a Sonoma State graduate, is in her first season leading the soccer program at Colorado Mesa.
On Sunday the Cowgirls travel to Salt Lake City to face Westminster in a 12:00 pm match. The Griffins are 2-1-1 this season after beating visiting Northwest Nazarene 2-0 on Saturday. Tony LeBlanc is in his 18th year as head coach at Westminster. The Griffins host Adams State on Friday night before hosting the Cowgirls.
"Colorado Mesa has a new coach, but they returned a lot of very strong players from last year's team," said Coach Evans. "And Saturday is a kind of homecoming for us. Tony (Assistant Coach
Anthony Evans) grew up a couple of minutes from the Westminster campus. They are a very consistent program and we look forward to getting to know them."
When asked about the returning players from last year's team as the RMAC season unfolds, Evans said, "
Paige Gowen has been very consistent for us this year. I look forward to her continued leadership. All of our returnees have to lead our new players as we transition to play in the RMAC"
FOLLOW NMHU SOCCER:Â LiveStats and the RMAC Network will offer full coverage of both matches this weekend, you can find the links on the
NMHU 2024 Soccer Schedule.
2024 ROSTER: Coach Evans has assembled a roster that features 11 returning players and 13 newcomers to the NMHU programs. Â
Roster breakdown:
By Class         By Home State
Freshman 8 Â Â Â Â New Mexico 8
Sophomore 2Â Â Â California 7
Junior 8Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Colorado 3
Senior 6Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Arizona 1
                            Hawaii 1
                            Mississippi 1
                            Nevada 1
                            Canada 1
                            United Kingdom 1
A YEAR AGO: The Cowgirls were 0-14-2 overall and 0-11-1 in 2023. They earned ties on the road at Northwestern Oklahoma State and in Las Vegas against Black Hills State.
RMAC PRESEASON POLL: New Mexico Highlands University earned 13 points to finish just behind Black Hills State in the balloting completed by the 13 conference coaches.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Cowgirls return home for the first time in a month to play Fort Lewis on October 4th. Match time is 1:00 pm.
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