Angeline Montoya scores her first goal in her first appearance for the Crimson & White.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Story and Photos By Emilio Garcia for NMSU (Courtesy)
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – For the third time in the past four seasons, NM State opened its home schedule hosting a ‘Power Four’ opponent, taking on the Arizona State Sun Devils on Wednesday night. While the Aggies scored first and kept ASU scoreless for most of the first half, late goals saw the Aggies fall by a final score of 3-1.
Returning just two of 11 starters from a season ago, five Aggies made their first starts for the Crimson & White. Sydnee Johnson played 69 minutes as a starting forward in her first action since October 2024. In all, 11 players saw made their NM State debut.
Despite Arizona State recording five corner kicks and a pair of shots on goal in the opening 40 minutes of play, it was the Aggies who tallied the first goal. Subbing in at the 41st minute, true freshman and Rio Rancho native Angeline Montoya collected a ricocheted corner kick from senior Azalie Floriano, finding the back of the net from the right side of the field. This marked the first Aggie goal since Oct. 16, 2025.
“I saw the opportunity to reroute my run, come back and when the ball came to my feet, I just took a hit at it.”
~Freshman Angeline Montoya, on scoring a goal in her first career game for NM State.
However, just under a minute later, Miki Hayashi of Arizona State answered with a goal of her own, sending the game to halftime tied 1-1.
A defensive battle played out for much of the second half, until a pair of late-game scores by the Sun Devils saw the final buzzer sound with a 3-1 decision in favor of the visitors.
“Honestly, that was 75 minutes of tremendous performance. Two of the goals were fouls that kind of caught us off guard, little mental errors we can correct.”
~Head Coach Rob Baarts, on the season-opening match with Arizona State
All three of the Aggies’ shots on Wednesday night went down as shots on goal for the first time since Sept. 4, 2025 – a home bout with Big 12 member Texas Tech.
UP NEXT
NM State embarks on its first road game of the season, visiting the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson on Saturday, Aug. 15. This will be the third team the Aggies face from the Copper State in the first 10 days of competition (Aug. 6, v. GCU – Exhibition).
For complete coverage of NM State Soccer, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of Aggie athletics – and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateWSOC), Instagram (@NMStateWSOC), and like us on Facebook (NMStateWSOC).
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