LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 26)-With two goals in the second half, the New Mexico State soccer team defeated Wyoming, 2-1, in its final non-conference match of the year. The Aggies improved to 6-2-2 while the Cowgirls fell to 6-6-0. 

With only 10 minutes left in regulation, sophomore forward/midfielder Crystal Burns gave the Aggies a 2-1 lead with a 30-yard strike. The goal was her sixth of the season, and she now has a team-high three game-winning goals in 2010.

“We played really well in the second half,” head coach Michael Needham said. “They (Wyoming) played pretty direct in the first 20 minutes, but after that we played the way we wanted.

“It was very important to get a win to take momentum into conference play. We finished how we wanted to going into conference on a positive note. After Friday night, the team came together and really competed, and it was nice to get a couple really good goals going into conference.”

The Aggies tied the match, 1-1, in the 63rd minute on sophomore midfielder/forward Lauren Cope’s first goal of the season. She blasted the ball into the top right corner of the net when Burns found her behind the defense.

At halftime, the Aggies trailed Wyoming, 1-0, after forward Carmen Blume scored for the Cowgirls in the 19th minute.

The Aggies open their second season in the WAC at Nevada, Friday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m., before they host Utah State, Sunday, Oct. 3 at noon in Las Cruces.