Sept. 12, 2008
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What: Nike Invitational (men)
Where: UNM Soccer Complex
Friday: Lobos 1, Akron 0; Missouri State 1, Cal Poly 0 (1OT)
Sunday: Lobos vs. Cal Poly, 5:30 p.m.; Akron vs. Missouri State, 12:30 p.m.
Tickets: $5 adults, $4 seniors (55+), Youth (18-under)
By Richard Stevens Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
It wasn’t exactly a ho-hum win for the University of New Mexico Lobos, but bringing the No. 2-ranked Akron Zips to their knees 1-0 was a little bit of the Lobos just doing what the Lobos believe they can do all the time.
Win, baby, win.
Of course, it has to go down as an upset on paper: No. 23 beating No. 2. But in the Lobos’ minds, the best team won Friday night in the Nike Invitational held at the UNM Soccer Complex
“Honestly, it’s no surprise,” said UNM’s James Urbany, a 5-foot-9 sophomore. “We’re one of the best teams in the nation. We studied hard for this game. We knew each one of their players. We knew their names. Where they are from.”
“It was a lot of working our butts off on the field and preparing off the field. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a great feeling to beat them because they are a national contender. But it also was something we expected.”
The Lobos’ winning goal was a beauty at the 67:16 mark of the second half.
UNM’s Michael Green took a ball cleared from in front of the UNM goal and neatly flicked the ball past a closing Zip. Green then raced down the left side to spot teammate Justin Davis crossing open down the middle.
“I was yelling his (Green’s) name the whole time, just hoping he’d find me,” said Davis. “Their guy got a lot of pressure on me and I was just trying to get it off. To be honest, I just shot it.”
The 6-foot junior outraced an Akron defender to power the ball high and hard to the left side of Zip keeper Evan Bush.
“We were talking in the lockerroom, saying this wasn’t going to be an upset,” said Davis. “To us, we’re the best team in the country. It’s nice to beat a team up there in the rankings, so maybe we’ll get some respect now in the rankings.”
The win pushes UNM to 3-1-1 on the season. Akron falls to 3-1-1. The game was attended by 2,709 fans.
“It was a great win,” said Lobos coach Jeremy Fishbein. “But we felt if we played to our potential, we were going to win. We had been making mistakes, but the guys came out focused.
“Our backs were against the wall a bit and we knew this was a good opportunity. We played real well tonight. It was a good team performance, but the guys expected to win today and they took care of business.”
Editor’s note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner.