Aug. 21, 2009
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team defeated No. 12 Tulsa tonight, besting the Golden Hurricane 3-2 on the road. Senior Stephen Brown highlighted the Lobos’ outing, pacing the team with two goals in UNM’s first exhibition game at Hurricane Stadium. UNM is now 1-0 in exhibition play.
“It was a good offensive performance,” said Lobo head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “We played seven guys off the bench, and six of these guys got their first taste of college soccer. It was great to have [those] six guys play good minutes against a team that’s ranked 12th in the nation.”
The Lobos set the tone early. Brown scored first from the left side five yards out just over three minutes into the game. Brown’s goal was the lone score until the 40th minute, when sophomore Dominique Romero went top-shelf with an unassisted goal to put New Mexico up 2-0 going into halftime.
Tulsa came out aggressively in the second half, creeping back into striking range in the 46th minute. Senior Joe Salem took the assist from Corey Albertson at the top of the box on the left side, and then put the ball into the right corner past Lobo keeper Victor Rodriguez.
Stephen Brown came through for the pack yet again in the 63rd minute with a rip from the midfield that reached goalkeeper Mason Gist’s hands and was deflected into the net. Though Tulsa’s Kyle Cumings struck again 11 minutes later, Brown’s second goal proved to be the Lobo’s final margin of victory.
In an interesting side note, Brown scored his first career goal for the Lobos against Tulsa in 2006, the last time the two teams met.
The Lobos play again this Sunday, taking on the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at 11 a.m. (MT) in Tulsa, Okla. UNM will also play Southern Colorado on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. at the UNM Soccer Complex for the team’s last exhibition match.
UNM will open the regular season on the road at Saint Louis at 6 p.m. MT Tuesday, Sept. 1, and take on San Francisco at 7 p.m. MT on Sept. 5 in the home opener. For more information, please visit GoLobos.com.