Oct. 6, 2006
The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team dropped San Jose State 2-0 tonight at the UNM Soccer Complex. The 17th-ranked Lobos (7-3-2, 2-1-0 MPSF) got a pair of goals from sophomore Chris Wright in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation win.
New Mexico put on a dominating performance tonight in front of 1,126 fans at the UNM Soccer Complex. The Lobos put six of nine shots on-goal in the opening half, while completely snuffing out the Spartan attack. San Jose State (4-5-1, 1-1-0 MPSF) did not get off a shot until just after halftime, and didn’t put one on frame until well into the second half.
UNM struck first in the ninth minute after getting a throw-in from the right side, deep in San Jose State territory. Freshman Zach Tierney tossed the ball into the box that was flicked to the middle by senior Hermann Trophy Candidate Andrew Boyens. Wright took another header from 10 yards out in the middle that found its way past Spartan keeper Richard Mann for the 1-0 lead. It was the third assist of the year for Boyens and the team-leading fourth for Tierney. The Lobos should have had a bigger lead going into halftime, but Mann made five great saves and fought off six corner kicks in the first period to hold the UNM to just one goal.
The Lobos continued to press coming out of the locker room, however they were fighting a headwind in the second frame. UNM’s second strike came in the 53rd minute when junior Joey Vitagliano took a cross from the top of the box and fired it into the SJSU defense. The shot was blocked but Wright picked up the rebound and put it in the back of the net from 15 yards out. It was Vitagliano’s first assist of the year and the second goal of the night for Wright. Wright now leads the team in scoring with four goals and two assists on the season. It was also the second multi-goal game of his career.
“The last two games it seems like things are starting to click,” stated Wright. “Guys are working hard and everyone is stepping up, not just one person. It is easy to score goals when we work as hard as we did tonight.”
Junior keeper Mike Graczyk recorded his sixth shutout of the season and the 19th of his career. He still needs six shutouts to tie Andrew Weber’s (2001-04) Lobo career record of 25. The defensive performance was even more surprising considering the Lobos played without starting left back Lars Loeseth. Loeseth had to return to his home in Norway to attend to a family illness.
“We turned up the intensity this week,” stated Fishbein. “The pressure is on us now and we have a very small margin of error, especially since we are missing one of our starters. Guys are starting to step it up and play to their potential and I think it showed tonight.”
New Mexico outshot San Jose State tonight 17-4, putting eight shots on-goal to the Spartans two. The Lobos spread their 17 shots among 11 players with freshman Stephen Brown coming off the bench to lead the team with three.
UNM continues conference play on Sunday when Sacramento State visits the UNM Soccer Complex. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. (M.D.T.) and all of the action can be followed on GameTracker and live video on All Access on www.GoLobos.com.