Oct. 9, 2003
| Box Score |
For the second time in school history, the University of New Mexico men’s soccer team took on the No. 1 team in the country, and for the second time, the Lobos gave their top-ranked opponent all it could handle. Unfortunately for the New Mexico, they came up just short of a major upset, falling, 1-0, to UCLA in Los Angeles, Calif. on Thursday night.
In the 2001 season, an overachieving and inexperienced group of Lobos walked onto top-ranked and undefeated SMU’s home field and gave the Mustangs fits before falling, 2-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That team was led by three first-years players in Danny Bills, Andrew Weber and Stian Eriksen. Eriksen is now a senior and Bills and Weber are both juniors. The trio was hoping the experience they gained from the SMU game two years ago would pay-off tonight, and it almost did.
The Lobos came out in the first half and withstood a flurry of Bruin shots on goal. Weber made six saves in the opening period to keep UCLA off the board. On the other side of the field, UNM had trouble getting their offense in motion, only taking three shots of their own, but the strong play of Bills, Weber and the rest of the defense kept the game tight.
The Lobos kept the game tied until the 71st minute of play when Bruin Cliff McKinley chipped a shot over Weber for the only score of the game. That was the only mark on Weber’s exceptional play, as he finished the night with 10 saves.
New Mexico was unable to even the score, despite Eriksen’s four second half shots, including a team-high two shots-on-goal.
The Lobos fall to 3-5-3 on the season and 0-5-0 against ranked teams in 2003. UNM will play its third straight game against a top-25 team when they travel to No. 20 UC Santa Barbara on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (M.D.T.). UCLA extended its winning streak to seven games and moved to 9-1-0 on the season.