Aug. 22, 2004
2004 Men’s Soccer Season Ticket Information
In exhibition play, sometimes coaches adjust the rules as the game goes on. With the score tied, 0-0, at the end of regulation in the University of New Mexico men’s soccer exhibition game against No. 7 SMU Saturday night, that is exactly what happened. Instead of playing the normal 10-minute, golden-goal, overtime period the NCAA rules call for in such situations, both coaches agreed to decide the game with penalty kicks.
Both teams got five shots at the goal from the penalty stripe, with the winner of the shoot-out taking the match. SMU struck first, followed by Lobo junior Jeff Rowland who evened the score at 1-1. The Mustangs converted on their second try, but Lobo senior Patrick Grange was stopped by SMU keeper T.J. Tomasso, giving the Mustangs a, 2-1, advantage.
Mustang sophomore Jay Needham’s shot sailed over the goal in SMU’s third attempt, while Lobo junior Ben Ashwill converted his kick to tie the score at 2-2. SMU took the lead back in their fourth attempt, with Lobo junior Lance Watson tying the score again at, 3-3, with his conversion.
At that point, a pair of the veterans made huge plays for the Lobos. Senior keeper Andrew Weber blocked SMU’s final attempt, opening the door for the New Mexico in its fifth and final kick. Junior Brandon Moss stepped in and beat Tomasso, giving the Lobos the, 4-3, edge.
The game did not start off looking like it was going to end in a scoreless tie. Watson hit the post for New Mexico in the third minute, while Rowland couldn’t convert on an open goal in the 15th. The Lobos were in serious trouble in the 25th minute after being called for a handball in the box. SMU’s David Chun was awarded a penalty kick that could have decided the game, but Weber made great save to keep the game scoreless.
“We played well tonight,” stated Fishbein, “but we are going to get better. We mixed four new players in and they held their own. You know they will get better because this is their first collegiate game. We also got strong play from our returning players. Ashwill, Moss and Weber had a good game, along with (junior Ricky) Francis and (senior Jeff) Krause. This was a solid showing for us in our first match.”
Since this game is an exhibition, the win doesn’t count toward the Lobos’ record and the goals for Rowland, Ashwill, Watson and Moss won’t count toward their season total. However, this was an excellent showing against at top-10 team and a strong foundation to build on for the rest of the season.
The Lobos will play another exhibition game on Saturday, August 28, against Fort Lewis at the UNM Soccer Complex. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. (M.D.T.) and there is free admission for this game. UNM will kick-off the regular season in Richmond, Va., against Delaware on September 3. Their home opener is September 18 against Columbia in the Adidas/Crescent Financial Solutions Invite.