Nov. 5, 2006
For the third year in a row the University of New Mexico men’s soccer team has won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title and clinched the league’s automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The 11th-ranked Lobos pounced on the No. 21 Denver Pioneers 3-0 at the UNM Soccer Complex today. Sophomore Chris Wright scored two goals and an assist to go with a strike from freshman Stephen Brown.
New Mexico needed a win today, as Denver held the tie-breakers in the conference race, to solidify its spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos played without 2006 Hermann Trophy Candidate Andrew Boyens who was sitting out after receiving his fifth yellow card against Air Force on Friday night. Sophomore Brandon Barklage also missed his second consecutive game with a groin injury.
Any pressure the Lobos may have felt starting seven underclassmen was quickly alleviated just over three minutes in the match. New Mexico earned a throw-in deep in the Pioneer half of the field, which was taken by freshman Justin Davis. Davis’s toss went into the box where the 6-4 Wright headed the ball over Denver keeper Matt Bredehoft for the 1-0 lead. It was Davis’s third assist on the season and the team-leading fifth goal for Wright.
“Without Boyens in the game we knew we had to step up,” stated sophomore defender Mike Porter. “Getting that first goal loosened us up and everyone in the back, Zach, Mike, Simon and Justin, all played great today.”
The Lobo defense held Denver to just three shots in the opening period, keeping its 1-0 lead at halftime. Denver did manage three corners in the opening period, but did not put any shots on goal.
New Mexico came out in the second half looking to put some space between them and the Pioneers. It took over 20 minutes in the second frame, but the Lobos were able to get another goal on the board in the 69th minute. Sophomore Jack Smithson collected a loose ball the midfield and fed Wright down the near side. Wright sent a cross to middle just outside of the box that Brown let slip past the Pioneer defense, leaving Bredehoft between him and the goal. The Denver keeper had no chance as Brown’s shot found the back of the net for the 2-0 advantage. It was the third assist of the year for Wright and Smithson and the third goal of the season for Brown.
If Lobo fans missed that play it was duplicated six minutes later. This time, Porter cleared the ball out to junior Blake Danaher, just on the Pioneer side of the field. Danaher quickly sent a long feed to the middle of the field that Wright picked up outside of the box. Once again, only Bredehoft was between Wright and the goal. Wright buried his second shot of the match, giving New Mexico a 3-0 lead and all but putting the game out of reach.
“This was a great game by our entire team,” stated Wright. “We had a game plan, stuck to it and everyone was relaxed and loose. I was just happy that I was able to contribute anyway I could, but getting a goal and two assists made it even better.”
With the win, New Mexico improves to 13-3-3 on the year and 8-1-1 in MPSF. It is the fifth title in the last six years for New Mexico who will also be making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos held Denver to just seven shots in the match and put three goals on a DU defense that had only allowed three in conference play all season.
“It was an incredible team effort for our guys today,” stated UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “After losing nine seniors and seven starters from last year, to be able to come back with a bunch of underclassmen and win the conference again was tremendous for our program. We knew what we had to do today and we finished our chances. Now we are anxious to see who we are going to play next.”
New Mexico will now focus its attention on the NCAA Selection show on Monday, Nov. 6, at 2:00 p.m. (M.S.T.) on ESPNNews. The 48-team field for the 2006 NCAA Tournament will be announced live and the Lobos will be looking for a top-16 seed for the third year in a row. The top-16 teams receive a first round bye. If UNM doesn’t get a bye, it will play in the opening round either Friday or Saturday and could host the match. Check back to GoLobos.com tomorrow for complete details.