Oct. 16, 2005
The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team dropped its first match of the season today against the visiting San Jose State Spartans, 3-2, in overtime at the UNM Soccer Complex. Senior Brandon Moss and junior Andrew Boyens scored goals for the Lobos, but it wasn’t enough as SJSU snapped New Mexico’s 19-game unbeaten streak.
The first half went back and forth with each team controlling the ball for short stretches. New Mexico put nine shots on the board with three on-goal. The Spartans managed five shots of their own, but did not force Lobo keeper Mike Graczyk to make a save.
The pace picked up dramatically in the second frame that included four goals on 21 shots between the two teams. New Mexico got going just over three minutes into the second half when Boyens fired a rocket from 35 yards out that hit the left post. Moss was there with the rebound and put home his first goal of the season, giving the Lobos a 1-0 lead.
San Jose State came back immediately with a pair of shots on-goal within the next two minutes. The Spartans got the equalizer in the 54th minute on a free kick from Dan Oka. His shot from 25 yards went low-right and past Graczyk, tying the score at 1-1.
On the ensuing possession, the Lobos struck back when sophomore Joey Vitagliano made a run down the right side. He sent in a cross and SJSU was called for a hand-ball in the box giving New Mexico a penalty-kick. Boyens went high and right past Spartan keeper Richard Mann for his third goal of the year to take the 2-1 lead at the 54:54 mark.
Continuing with the flurry of goals, San Jose State came back less than four minutes later. After earning a corner-kick on the near side, Gavin Wenyon sent in a cross that was headed by Ismael Ibarra. Graczyk stopped the initial header, but Dylan Pender was there to head in the rebound, tying the score again at 2-2.
New Mexico had opportunities in regulation to take the lead. Senior Cody Hanna missed on a shot from freshman Chris Wright on the right side with 15:00 left on the clock. Two minutes later, junior Lars Loeseth sent a cross that senior Jeff Rowland slid in for, just missing to the left. The game remained dead locked and UNM went into its fifth overtime game of the season and the fourth in the last five games.
The game-winner came in the 98th minute when Ibarra made a run down the left side. Nelson Diaz took Ibarrra’s cross in the middle and beat Gracyzk for the 3-2 win. The loss is the first for the Lobos since falling 2-1, to Denver on October 17, 2004. It was UNM’s first home loss since falling to UNLV, 2-0, on October 18, 2003, snapping a 13-game home winning streak. New Mexico has only lost twice in Albuquerque in head coach Jeremy Fishbein’s tenure, posting a 26-2-2 record at home. Fishbein missed his second-straight game, attending to a family illness out of town.
“Any time you lose at home it is tough,” stated assistant coach Jamie Clark, who along with assistant Carl Junot, have run the team over the last two games. “They are a good team and have got some strong players who can hurt you as we saw today.”
UNM falls to 10-1-1 (2-1-1 MPSF) while San Jose State takes the MPSF lead with a 3-0-0 conference record. The Spartans improved to 7-3-2 overall. After drawing 3,023 fans for today’s game, UNM will be looking for another big crowd when they take on UNLV (2-11-0, 0-4-0 MPSF) on Saturday, October 22, at 7:00 p.m. at the UNM Soccer Complex.