Oct. 22, 2004
Better late than never. That phrase rang true for the second-ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team tonight against UNLV. For the second consecutive game, the Lobos were held scoreless in the first half and did not get their offense going until well into the second period. Junior Jeff Rowland scored twice late in the game to spark UNM (11-1-0, 5-1-0 MPSF) to a 3-0, win over the Rebels (4-9-0, 3-4-0 MPSF).
After dropping their first match of the season to Denver on Sunday, the Lobos were anxious to get back on the field and return to their winning ways. UNLV, however, was not interested in being a gracious host, firing five shots at the Lobo defense in the first half.
“UNLV came to play tonight,” stated UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “They played us tight in the first half and had a good chance to score. (Senior keeper Andrew) Weber made some great plays in goal for us and fortunately we were able to get things going in the second half.”
Senior keeper Andrew Weber now has seven shutouts on the year. |
The Lobos came out in the second half determined to get on the board. Rowland finally put UNM ahead in the 65th minute after collecting a shot from junior Brandon Moss that bounced around inside the Rebel defense. Rowland found the back of the next for his 14th goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
New Mexico scored again in the 86th minute when Rowland fired a shot that hit the post. UNLV’s defense was unable to clear the ball, allowing senior Hans Bevers to score UNM’s second goal of the game. Bevers is the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation leader with six assists, but that was his first goal of the season. Going into the week, Rowland led the nation with a 1.18 goals-per-game average, but that was his first assist of the season.
The Lobos came right back in the 88th minute when Bevers fed Rowland a pass into the box. Rowland beat a pair of defenders and placed a perfect shot past Rebel keeper Matt Johnson for his second score of the game. It was Rowland’s fourth multi-goal game of the season and his 15th score in 2004.
Rowland’s 15 goals on the year ties him with Alan Robertson (1983) and Mike Strati (1994) for the fourth highest single season goal total in UNM history. He is four goals behind the Lobo single season record of 19 set by Edmundo Rodriguez in 1992. He now has 25 career goals and passes Mario Picazo (1983-85) for fourth place on UNM’s all-time list.
“This was a big win for us,” continued Fishbein. “We got the monkey off our back after our first loss of the season and were able to put that behind us. I like the way we bounced back in a tough game.”
This was the first win for New Mexico at UNLV since the 1998 season. It was also the second time UNM defeated the Rebels this season, repeating a 3-0, win in Albuquerue on October 3. Weber, along with the rest of the Lobo defense, recorded the eighth shutout of the season for the Lobos. UNM has only allowed seven goals in the team’s 12 games this year.
The Lobos will next travel to San Diego State (2-9-1, 1-4-0 MPSF) on Sunday, October 24, for a 2:00 p.m. (M.D.T.) match against the Aztecs. UNM will look to avenge its only loss of the season in the next home match on Thursday, October 28, at 7:00 p.m. (M.D.T.) against Denver (7-3-1, 4-1-0 MPSF) at the UNM Soccer Complex.