Sept. 5, 2009
FINAL STATS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M — The No. 37 University of New Mexico men’s soccer team dropped a tough 1-0 decision to No. 22 San Francisco at the UNM Soccer Complex tonight in the Lobos’ home opener. After holding San Francisco scoreless for the majority of the match, the Lobos allowed the gamewinner by senior forward Conor Chinn in the 86th minute.
“It’s not a case of last goals, it was a game where we had numerous chances,” said Lobo head coach . “We played pretty well, dominated the game, and we didn’t finish in the final third. I think the telling figure was, for the amount of shots we had, the lack of having them on frame. Our guys are pretty good attacking players and there’s no excuse because they’re a quality team. If you don’t score goals, you give teams openings.”
Chinn, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2008, snuck behind the Lobo defense and took the ball from teammate Bryan Burke to beat Lobo keeper one-on-one for the lone goal of the match.
New Mexico played tough on both ends of the ball. The Lobos outshot the Dons significantly, posting 17 shots to the Dons’ 9. New Mexico also topped San Francisco in the corner kicks category, notching five while the Dons only took one. Both teams were exceptionally organized on defense, keeping the ball out of the box and forcing turnovers in the defensive half.
Neither team settled into their preferred style of play during the match. While the Lobos traditionally employ an attacking, run ‘n gun style, the Dons fought to control the tempo of the game by continually slowing the ball down.
Lobo keeper played well in the loss, notching four big saves against an offense that took six shots in the second half. took five of the Lobos’ 17 shots, while chipped in with three. True freshman logged impressive minutes for the Lobos, taking two shots and playing a large part in some promising attacking sequences.
The Lobos hit the road for the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament hosted by Notre Dame next week where they’ll face No. 6 Indiana and No. 12 Notre Dame. New Mexico takes on Indiana at 3 p.m. MT Friday, Sept. 11 and will face Notre Dame on their home field at Noon on Sunday, Sept. 13. New Mexico returns home for the Nike/TLC Plumbing and Utilities Invitational where they’ll face No. 24 UC-Davis at 7 p.m. MT on Friday, Sept. 18 and go up against Gonzaga at 1:30 p.m. MT on Sunday, Sept. 20. The Nike Invitational will be played at the UNM Soccer Complex. Please check GoLobos.com for more information.
