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SAN JOSE, CALIF. – The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team set a new all-time season win total with its 15th victory of the year this afternoon at San Jose State. Lobo freshman Ricky Francis headed in a direct kick from senior Junro Narita with one second left in the first overtime to give New Mexico (15-2-0, 5-0-0 MPSF) a 1-0 win over the Spartans (10-8-0, 4-1-0 MPSF). With the win, the Lobos clinch at least a share of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season title.
On paper, the Lobos were out-played by the Spartans who out-shot UNM 15-9. Lobo goalkeeper Andrew Weber had to make four saves on the day while Spartan keeper Eddie Dominguez made two. With the game scoreless at the end of regulation, the Lobos headed into an extra frame for the third time this season. New Mexico had not lost and OT game this year.
With nine seconds left, Lobo freshman Ben Ashwill was fouled in the corner, outside of the box. A Spartan player threw the ball away, trying to run the remaining time off, however the referee stopped the clock and allowed UNM one final chance. Narita took the direct kick with four ticks left on the clock and sent the ball in like a corner kick. Francis was able to get his head on the ball and beat Dominguez with just one second left in the overtime period.
The win is the Lobos seventh straight and their third overtime win. Most importantly, it secures at least a tie with San Jose State and UNLV (10-6-0, 3-1-0 MPSF) for the MPSF regular season title. The Spartans travel to Sacramento State (4-7-4, 1-2-1 MPSF) next Sunday while New Mexico travels to UNLV on Sunday, November 10 for a 12:00 p.m. (M.S.T.) match against the Rebels.
|Score by Period|1st|2nd|OT|OT|Total| |New Mexico|0|0|1|-|1| |San Jose St.|0|0|0|-|0|
Scoring Summary:UNM – 99:59 Ricky Francis (1), Assist Junro Narita (8)
Statistical Summary|Statistic|UNM|SJS| |Overall Shots|9|15| |Shots on Goal|3|4| |Offsides|2|2||Corner Kicks|4|4||Fouls|30|18|
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