LARAMIE, Wyo. (September 25, 2019) – The Wyoming soccer team will kick off the 2019 Mountain West campaign with two home matches this weekend. The Cowgirls will host the San Diego State Aztecs on Friday followed by a contest with the New Mexico Lobos on Sunday. Friday's match is scheduled for 4 p.m. MT while Sunday's contest is set for a 1 p.m. start at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex. There will be a petting zoo on Friday and UW Athletics plus the team will also be hosting a Pups on the Pitch promotion on Sunday. Fans are encouraged to bring their furry friends for the day.  
 
The Cowgirls are 3-2-3 on the season after a tough 3-2 double overtime loss against South Dakota last Thursday night in Gillette. They currently sit in seventh place in the Mountain West standings.  Against the Coyotes, redshirt freshman Jamie Tatum had a match-high five shots with all of them on goal in her 88 minutes of action. Sophomore Indianna Asimus and senior Michaela Stark each had four shots along with each scoring a goal. Junior Elle Webber and sophomore Savannah Warner both logged 104 minutes. Wyoming had 18 shots compared to 14 by South Dakota.
 
Asimus currently leads the team with four goals plus 16 shots on the year, while Stark follows with three goals and 18 shots. Tatum, Warner and freshman Keelie Wortmann, each have two goals apiece. Tatum has a team-high 25 shots with 18 of them on goal.  
 
The Cowgirl offense is averaging 13.1 shot per game and 1.88 goals per game. They have a 61.9 shots on goal percentage and have taken 38 corner kicks.
 
Sophomore goalie Hannah Lee has played in all eight games in net, has 25 saves and a 1.19 goals against average. Fellow sophomore Riley Furbush has played in four games and has 11 saves. Warner has logged a team-high 789 minutes followed by Wortmann with 717 minutes played.
 
"Heading into conference play it's important that our team realizes that we essentially are starting over.  Everyone is at 0-0 for their record, and we need to have a good opening weekend," head coach Pete Cuadrado said.  "It's all about getting results, and we need to continue to play hard to do so.  From our last match, we need to be better in both boxes. Our finishing and defending need to be better.  Both teams coming to Laramie play us hard every year, so they should be tight matches."
 
San Diego State enters the weekend with a 1-5-1 overall record. Their lone victory came against LIU with a 1-0 win in San Diego. Last time out, the Aztecs dropped a 2-0 contest against Pepperdine.
 
The Aztecs return eight starters and 13 letterwinners to a team that went 6-10-3 overall and 4-4-3 in the Mountain West a year ago. They were picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West preseason coaches' poll. San Diego State is coached by Mike Friesen who is in his 13th season with the program.
 
Kiera Utush leads the team with two goals, one assist and five points. Chloe Frisch is the other Aztec with a goal plus a team-high 15 shots.
 
This is the 24th meeting between the two teams. SDSU leads the series 17-4-2. The last time the two teams met was September 21, 2018 with the Aztecs coming away with a 2-1 victory.
 
New Mexico comes in to the week with a 4-3 overall record and will play Colorado State prior to the Cowgirls.  Last time out, the Lobos defeated New Mexico State 1-0 in Las Cruces
 
The Lobos return six starters and 18 letterwinners to a team that went 13-6-2 overall and 7-2-2 in the league play a year ago. They were picked to finish third in the Mountain West preseason coaches' poll. UNM is coached by Heather Dyche who is in her fifth season with the program.
 
Alesia Garcia and Leilani Baker each have two goals and one assist apiece to lead the way. Jadyn Edwards has a team-high two assists.
 
This is the 31st meeting between the two teams. New Mexico leads the series 16-9-5. The last time the two teams met was November 1, 2018 in the quarterfinals of the MW tournament. The Lobos defeated UW 2-1 in double overtime.     
 
Live stats and video will be available at GoWyo.com, along with live stats. Follow @Wyo_soccer on twitter for updates throughout the game.