ACU had its first official game against the New Mexico State Aggies on Friday.

The Wildcats are off to a great start after beating the Aggies 3-1, scoring two goals in the first half. It’s their first season opener victory since 2016. The first goal of the 2019 season came from senior midfielder Michelle Mulrooney off of a penalty kick in the 19th minute.

In the 27th minute, junior forward Christina Arteaga received a pass from redshirt sophomore forward Emily Heidman and put the second goal in the back of the net, her first of the season. 

The Aggies were unable to get a goal until later in the second half. Meanwhile, senior midfielder Shay Johnson from adding the final goal in the 65th minute off an assist from sophomore midfielder Ashley Stamps. 

Coach Wilson was pleased with Friday Night’s win against the New Mexico State Aggies. 

“It is always good to get off on the right foot and it builds confidence, winning the first game,” Coach Wilson said. “Having a good performance, you can build off of that onto Sunday’s game, especially while playing on the road.”

After Friday night’s win, the Wildcats improve to 2-0 over the New Mexico State Aggies all-time. Coach Wilson said New Mexico State was a good team that improved from last year. He expects them to be a solid team going forward in the Western Athletic Conference.

The Wildcats have 23 players returning from last year’s championship, including 16 Wildcats, who played a very important and crucial minutes last year. 

After being Southland Conference’s returning champions and being ranked number one for this upcoming 2019 season in the conference, the team has a lot to build off of.

The Wildcats will be back at it Sunday afternoon against the University of Texas at El Paso to match up with the Miners. 

Coach Wilson expects the game to be hot and both teams to be warmed-up after already playing prior to this match.