Sept. 20, 2009
Final Stats
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.–The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team closed out the weekend in exceptional fashion, confidently rolling over the visiting Gonzaga Bulldogs 3-0 in this afternoon’s matchup. Patrick Pacheco, Michael Green, and James Urbany scored their first goals of the season for New Mexico. Freshman goalkeeper Victor Rodriguez saw his first action as Lobo, starting between the pipes and picking up the win while posting three impressive saves in just over 68 minutes.
“[Today] was great, I grew up here in New Mexico and I finally got to start at the University of New Mexico,” said Pacheco. “I’m ecstatic. I’ve been looking forward to this since I was 11 years old, and I’ve been coming down here to play club soccer [since then]. I got a good touch as the defender was backing up, I did a step-over, got an open look and scored.”
Pacheco, a freshman from Taos, N.M., put the Lobos on the board first, firing a shot from the right side, 30 yards out, that found the back left corner of the net at 18:46. Rodriguez made three saves in the first 45 to preserve New Mexico’s 1-0 lead going into the half.
Sophomore Michael Green came out firing in the second half, taking an assist from junior Michael Reed and shooting inside the box for a goal in the right corner of the net. Junior James Urbany notched his second career goal in the 51st minute of play, taking the rebound off Gonzaga keeper Scott Barnum to net the third and final goal for New Mexico
Prior to today’s start, Pacheco had come off the bench in four games for New Mexico. Green has started in five of the Lobos’ six games. Today’s goal was his first of the season though his three assists top the category for the Lobos.
Lobo head coach Jeremy Fishbein wasn’t afraid to mix up his starting lineup or to utilize the bench this afternoon. Fishbein took advantage of the 3-0 lead to get nine substitutes in the game and the Lobos didn’t miss a step.
“I’m really happy, this was just a mature performance from our team,” said FIshbein. “The guys knew it was going to be a different environment with different weather — we focused and I thought we were well prepared. This was a great team effort, and it was good to see some young guys playing significant minutes. They were sharp, and we had good goalkeeping. It was just a very good performance all around.”
In addition to Rodriguez, freshmen Justin Holmes and Gary Weisbaum took the field as Lobos for the first time in their careers. Holmes combined with Rodriguez for the shutout, logging 21:36 in goal. Sophomore Masashi Shibuya looked strong, coming off injury to take the field for the first time this season.
Green was named the Offensive MVP of the tourney, while Lobo David Murphy racked up Defensive MVP honors. Junior Ryan Farquharson and sophomore Lance Rozeboom joined them on the all-tournament team.
New Mexico takes a break from action until Friday, Sept. 25 when they take on No. 7 California at 7 p.m. MT at the Stanford Nike Classic in Palo Alto, Calif. The Lobos take on the host No. 32 Cardinal at 1:30 p.m. MT Sunday, Sept. 27. GameTracker will be available on GoLobos.com for both matches.