Sept. 15, 2006
Most of the time tying the No. 1 ranked team in the country should be a good result for a team hanging around a .500 record and struggling to score goals. However, the 21st-ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team felt it let one get away in a 1-1 tie against top-ranked SMU at the UNM Soccer Complex tonight. An own goal by the Mustangs (7-0-1) evened the score in the 57th minute and the Lobos (2-2-2) failed to put home numerous chances in the second half, allowing the game to end in a draw in the opening night of the TLC Plumbing & Utility Invitational.
The Mustangs looked like the better team in the first half, outshooting UNM 7-3 and earning three corners to New Mexico’s none. SMU finally broke through right before halftime on a defensive lapse by the Lobos. Paulo da Silva and Chase Wileman strung together a couple of touches to get into the Lobo box. Wileman sent a cross from the right side that Adrian Chevannes put one past New Mexico keeper Mike Graczyk for the 1-0 lead in the 43rd minute.
The Lobos made some adjustments at halftime, including moving All-American defender Andrew Boyens into an attacking midfield position, that paid off immediately. His run down the right side in the 51st minute gave UNM its first corner of the night. Minutes later he fed freshman Justin Davis on a breakaway, but Davis’s attempt from the top of the box was blocked.
The equalizer came after Boyens and Davis hooked up again in the 57th minute, with Davis getting deep into Mustang territory before earning a throw-in from the right side. Davis’s long toss made its way to the far post where sophomore Chris Wright took a shot from 10 yards out. SMU keeper Matt Wideman made a great stop but the rebound bounced straight up in the air in front of the goal. Mustang defender Jeff Harwell tried to head the ball over the bar, but it went into the back of the net instead, evening the game at 1-1.
The Lobos continued to pressure SMU and control play throughout the second frame. New Mexico outshot the Mustangs 11-7 in the second half, tallying all four of its corners in the second 45. The Lobos best chance came in the 82nd minute when freshman Simon Ejdemyr cleared a loose ball out of the box that found its way to junior Blake Danaher. Danaher beat almost everyone down the field and was racing with a lone defender in the middle. He took a shot just inside the box that sailed high over the cross bar.
Play went back and forth in the overtime periods, with both teams taking three shots in the extra frames. Graczyk made two huge saves for the Lobos to keep SMU off the board and preserve the 1-1 tie.
“This is one that we should have won,” stated UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “We let some chances get away, but guys stepped-up and we played well tonight. We’re not happy with the result because we fell we should have won the game.”
UNM’s 17 shots were a season-high against a Mustang squad that had only allowed one goal coming into tonight’s contest. New Mexico committed 15 fouls to six by SMU, while the Mustangs had six total corners to the Lobos’ four. A total of 2,285 fans filled the stands at the UNM Soccer Complex and many found their way to the new bleachers on the south endline. The north end bleachers should be completed by Sunday’s match.
Action continues in the TLC Plumbing & Utility Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 17 when the Lobos take on Tulsa (2-4-0). Dayton (4-3-0) defeated the Golden Hurricane 3-0 in the first game on Friday.