Oct. 3, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.–Great teams find a way to win, and that’s exactly what happened at the UNM Soccer Complex tonight. The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team notched a 2-0 victory over visiting Cal-State Northridge, due largely to an exceptional offensive performance by sophomore Michael Green. Green took the ball from Ryan Farquharson in the 10th minute and fired a rocket from 20 yards out to put the Lobos on the board first and ignite the crowd of 3,250 at the Complex. Farquharson employed one-touch passing to find Green, who deftly put the ball away from outside the box.
“We came out and scored a great goal initially,” said Lobo head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “I think we had chances to put the game away early on. We didn’t, and Northridge stayed in the game with little runs here and there. We had two special goals by an excellent attacking player, and Northridge’s style really played into [Green’s] strengths. It was an interesting game because we weren’t at our best for the whole game. I think the mark of a good team is if you can win big games when you don’t play your best. I would say that was the case tonight.”
Green’s strike stood up for the majority of the match, as keeper Justin Fite and the New Mexico defense collectively put together a tough performance to shut out the Matadors. Green beat Northridge keeper Michael Abalos one-on-one at 84:48 to give the Lobos some padding and set the final score at 2-0. Abalos came off his line and Green took the opportunity to beat him on the left side, taking a great angle that allowed him to net the ball in the far right corner. New Mexico had several quality shots on goal, creating numerous opportunities and utilizing six corner kicks to put continual pressure on the Cal-State defense.
With tonight’s performance, Green has three goals on the season and five in his career. He currently leads the Lobos in the assist category with three.
The Lobo defense held the Matador offense to only three shots on goal, and junior Justin Fite picked up his fifth win. Fite had three big saves on the night.
New Mexico returns to the pitch on Wednesday, Oct. 7 when they take on No. 23 UC-Irvine. The game will be played at 7 p.m., and will be New Mexico’s last non-conference matchup before opening up league play at home against Seattle on Friday, Oct. 16. Please visit GoLobos.com for additional information.