Sept. 4, 2004
The 28th-ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team survived some early miscues to take a, 3-2, win over Delaware (0-2-0) in the opening night of the Nike/ALLTELL Classic at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. Junior Jeff Rowland brought the Lobos (1-0-0) back from a 2-0 deficit with his first career hat-trick.
Delaware freshman Sobhan Tadjalli scored off an assist from Tal Blau and Richard Zeller in the seventh minute of play to give the Blue Hens a 1-0 lead. Just over a minute later, the Lobos were trying to clear a ball out of their own box, but the attempt went straight into the goal, giving Delaware a 2-0 lead with less than eight minutes played in the game.
New Mexico did not let the errant play rattle their confidence. In the minute before half time, Rowland connected off a pass from senior Hans Bevers to cut the Blue Hen lead to 2-1. Rowland struck again in the 78th minute when he hooked-up with junior Ben Ashwill for the game tying score.
The decisive goal came in the 85th minute of play when Bevers broke into the box and was fouled. Rowland stepped in and completed his hat-trick on the ensuing penalty kick. It was the first hat-trick by a Lobos since Ty Hibbert scored three goals in a 4-0 win over Loyola Marymount on Sept. 6, 1999.
Despite giving up two goals, the Lobos dominated most of the game. They outshot the Blue Hens, 25-5, and had the advantage in corner kicks, 11-5. UNM was forced to play without two starters, juniors Lance Watson and Ricky Francis. Both players received red cards in the final game of the 2003 season and had to sit out the first game of 2004. Since Francis received his card for fighting, he will not be eligible to play against VCU (1-0-0).
The Lobos will take on host VCU on Sunday, Sept. 5, at 11:00 a.m. (M.D.T.) in the final day of the Nike/ALLTELL Classic. The 13th-ranked Rams defeated LaSalle, 2-0, on Friday in the season opener for both teams. VCU will broadcast their match with the Lobos over the Internet. To listen to the game, visit VCU’s multimedia page at VCURams.VCU.edu.