Aggies tally shutout victory in Abilene
ABILENE, Texas – NM State returned to action on Thursday night, visiting the Abilene Christian Wildcats for its second consecutive road match. A tense and defensive opening half turned into a chaotic and offensive second half that saw three penalty kicks taken in the final 26 minutes of action. Esme Arenas sank her attempt in the 65th minute, while Karolanne Lafortune rejected a pair of ACU attempts, including one with just six ticks left in the eventual 1-0 win for the Aggies.
Thursday’s contest served as the home opener for Abilene Christian, using the crowd at Elmer Gray Stadium to find some offensive success in the first half, peppering 10 shots in total. Up to the challenge, senior goalkeeper Karolanne Lafortune tallied six saves and allowed zero goals in the first 45 minutes of play.
The Aggies’ best offensive chance came in the 18th minute following a Rachel Haan shot – the lone for the Crimson & White in half one.
As the sun set in west Texas, the NM State offense started heating up in the second half, collecting a pair of shots and corner kicks in the opening 10 minutes. This pressure would continue throughout the half, until a foul in the box by the home side would give the Aggies their first penalty kick situation of the season.
Sophomore Esme Arenas immediately stepped into action, calmly sinking a ball to the right side of the net for her first career PK goal, and her first goal of the season.
The Wildcats kept battling, earning a penalty kick opportunity of their own in the 81st minute. Scoring in the same scenario during ACU’s season-opening win over Jackson State, Mikayla Abrenica stepped up to face Lafortune, who rejected the shot with a diving stop to the left-hand side of the net.
With just six seconds left in the contest, a foul in the box called on the Aggies gave ACU one final chance and their second penalty kick of the night. Shifting their hopes to senior midfielder Baylie Simon, the Wildcats found the same result – Karolanne Lafortune getting a hand on the ball and denying the goal-scoring opportunity.
The Aggies collected their first win of 2026, 1-0 in Abilene. This became the first shutout win for NM State since these two teams met in Las Cruces on Aug. 17, 2025, and the first road shutout for the NM State squad since Oct. 27, 2023 – a 1-0 win over Western Kentucky that secured the Aggies’ first-ever regular season conference title.
Karolanne Lafortune notched a new career high in saves (11), becoming the first Aggie with at least 11 saves since Dmitri Fong in 2021. Sophomore defender Dolce Escorza made her first appearance for the Crimson & White, tallying 11 minutes.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rob Baarts, on the road shutout victory in Abilene: “I was really proud of our second half. We started a little lethargic in the first half, but we turned the game around. Esme [Arenas’] PK was super clutch for us, they are much harder to make than people think with the pressure and the game on the line.
Our back line was super special tonight. Every time they tried to use their wide players and go after Marlee [Cavitt], she was shutting it down. Good team win.”
Senior Karolanne Lafortune, on the team’s defensive performance tonight, including two penalty kick saves: “Today was the culmination of so many things we have worked on this season. I am incredibly proud of our team, especially the defense. They work so hard to support me the best they can. I am still speechless about how I saved those PK’s, but I was able to read them and dive with full confidence!”
Sophomore Esme Arenas, on her game-winning penalty-kick goal: “Once the ball hit the back of the net, it was super surreal for me. I shut out all the noise and made it about myself.”
Sophomore Esme Arenas, on the team’s performance in the road win: “Although we didn’t have the first half we wanted, I think we came out a lot stronger in the second half. Lots of grit and determination to get that dub!”
UP NEXT
The Aggies head back to the friendly confines of the NM State Soccer Complex, playing host to Long Beach State on Sunday, Aug. 23. This will be the Aggies’ ‘Purple Out’ Game. First kick is slated for 7:00 p.m. MT, streamed live on ESPN+, with stats available at nmstatesports.com/stats.
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).
