Oct. 14, 2005
The second-ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team survived a scare in their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation home opener against Sacramento State tonight. The Lobos (10-0-1, 2-0-1 MPSF) needed overtime to swat away the Hornets, 1-0, at the UNM Soccer Complex. Senior Lance Watson fired a free-kick that was redirected by junior Lars Loeseth in the 96th minute to keep UNM undefeated on the season.
The Lobos were looking for a big night in front of the 4,356 fans in attendance, the second largest crowd in UNM Soccer Complex history. UNM attacked early with senior Hermann Trophy Candidate Jeff Rowland putting two headers on-goal in the opening minutes. New Mexico outshot Sac State 13-3 in the opening frame, but Hornet keeper Matt McDougal made seven of his 10 saves in the first half.
New Mexico continued to control play and create opportunities in the second half. In the 60th minute Rowland took a pass in the middle that he sent to the left side where Loeseth seemed to have an open net. However, McDougal made a great play on the ball, keeping the game scoreless. Minutes later, sophomore Blake Danaher sent in a long ball that senior Josh Brown headed towards the net. McDougal stopped the shot but couldn’t control the rebound. Senior Cody Hanna had an easy put away inside the box, but his shot sailed high.
UNM kept pressuring the Hornet defense (5-4-1, 0-2-0 MPSF) and looked to grab the lead in the 74th minute. Danaher hit a bomb from 30 yards out that banged off the left post. The rebound came out to freshman Chris Wright who one-timed it past McDougal. The ball went sailing into the net but was deflected out of the goal at the last moment by a Sac State defender and the game remained scoreless. Neither team could find the winning goal in regulation and the Lobos went to overtime for the fourth time this season and the third in their last four games.
New Mexico kept knocking on the door and continued to fail to capitalize on golden opportunities. Less than four minutes into extra play, Danaher made a great run down the right side, drawing the defense. He played the ball back to Loeseth who had another wide-open net. His touch hit the cross bar and the game continued on.
The decisive score came following a yellow card issued to Hornet midfielder Marco Ramirez on the left side, 20 yards out. Watson fired a shot towards the net that Loeseth slightly redirected. McDougal was unable to get a hand on the ball as it bounced in for the win. It was Watson’s team-leading fifth assist of the season and Loeseth’s first collegiate goal.
“We got a free kick and Lance took it,” stated Loeseth, who is also an All-American member of the Lobo Ski Team. “It was just one of those kicks that was straight on net with a lot of people around it.”
New Mexico dominated the stats in every category except the score. The Lobos outshot Sac State, 27-5, and sophomore keeper Mike Graczyk only had to make one save in his eighth shutout of the season. New Mexico managed eight corner kicks to the Hornets two.
UNM had a big hole to fill tonight on the sidelines with Jeremy Fishbein not in attendance due to a family illness. Assistant coaches Carl Junot and Jamie Clark took the reigns of the team and led the Lobos to their 10th win of the season. UNM has now won 14-straight at home and has not dropped at match at the UNM Soccer Complex since falling to UNLV, 2-0, on October 18, 2003.
“I thought as long as we kept our patience and our heads about us the whole game we were going to score,” stated Clark. “We came into the locker room and halftime and said that if it going to take 90 minutes, that’s what we will do. We certainly didn’t plan on it taking 100 minutes. We weren’t going to take dumb chances and we found a way to win. We’re creating chances and that’s what we tell our strikers. If we can get five chances out of those guys each game, then we will start scoring goals. A win is a win and it is nice to do it in front of a big crowd.”
The Lobos continue MPSF action on Sunday in another double-header with the women’s team. The Lobo women take on UNLV on Sunday, October 16, at noon (M.D.T.) with the men’s match against San Jose State immediately following. The Spartans (6-3-2, 2-0-0 MPSF) scored three goals in the final 16 minutes to defeat UNLV in Las Vegas, Nev., earlier in the evening. The women (4-4-4, 1-1-1 MWC) tied San Diego State, 0-0, in double-overtime in the opening game tonight.