Sept. 27, 2003
| Box Score |
The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team battled the Gonzaga Bulldogs to a 1-1 tie Friday night in Las Vegas, Nev. Lobo senior Stian Eriksen blasted home a pass from junior Patrick Grange to give UNM a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute. The Lobos were unable to hold on to the lead as the Bulldogs evened the score in the 76th minute. The tie moves UNM’s record to 3-3-3 on the season while Gonzaga stands at 4-3-1.
UNM controlled the game for most of the night, firing a total of 26 shots and a season-high 11 shots on goal. The Lobos also had nine corner kicks, while the Bulldogs had none. Despite the advantages on the stat sheet, UNM was not able to score a goal in the first half. It wasn’t until the 52nd minute of play when Eriksen put home his second goal in as many games off Grange’s first assist as a Lobo.
The Lobos have had trouble holding on to leads in recent games and the same was true against Gonzaga. In the 76th minute Bulldog midfielder Arni Pjeturrson found Kari Arnason for the game-tying score. It was the fourth time this season that the Lobos surrendered a second half lead, something they did not do in 22 games in 2002. The defense did dig in and kept the game a tie, only allowing one more shot for the rest of the game.
“We played well again,” said UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “We’re still having trouble finishing. We pretty much dominated the game, but we couldn’t finish our opportunities.”
Sophomore Ricky Francis led UNM with five shots, but only one of those was on-goal. Grange, Eriksen, and sophomore Jeff Rowland took four shots each.
The Lobos will face 25th ranked Cal State Northridge on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (M.D.T.) in Las Vegas, Nev. The Lobos begin a three-game stretch against ranked teams that include the Matadors, a trip to Los Angeles, Calif. to face No. 2 and defending national champion ULCA on October 9, and a trip to No. 14 UC Santa Barbara on October 12.