Nov. 1, 2009
Lobos Put Three On ESPN Academic All-District Team
Final Stats
Box Score 
SAN JOSE, Calif.–The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team rose to the challenge today, putting away San Jose State 1-0 in a pivotal conference matchup that went into overtime. Lobo senior Stephen Brown found himself in the right place at the right time to net the game-winner with 3:35 on the clock. Brown took a ball that landed at his feet in the box and deftly found the right corner of the goal to give the Lobos the victory. Freshman goalkeeper Justin Holmes made his first career start as a Lobo and was stellar in between the pipes for New Mexico.
The Lobos are now in a flat-footed tie with San Jose State in conference points. New Mexico holds an edge over the Spartans in head-to-head play, and still has a chance to earn an important first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament. The Lobos improve to 10-6 on the season and 4-2 in MPSF play, while the Spartans drop to 9-8-1 and 4-2.
“This is probably the most difficult stadium that you ever have to play at on the road,” said Lobo head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “I think it took us awhile to get in snych during the first half. We weren’t at our best, but I think we took hold of the game in the second half. We had a great goal to win it in overtime, and I’m real proud of our guys.”
Crisp passing and strong play in the midfield allowed the Lobos to control the pace of the game early on, but there weren’t many offensive opportunities for either team in the first half. Justin Davis and the Lobo front line made a few pushes into the box, while the Spartans tested Lobo keeper Justin Holmes twice. Holmes got impressive air on a monster shot by Dan Addiego, punching the ball out and over the top of the goal, and then came up big on a shot by Nick Cukar at point-blank range just before the half.
The Lobos picked up the attack considerably in the second half. Simon Ejdemyr challenged Spartan keeper Jonathan Lester with a solid header off a New Mexico corner kick early on in the second period, but Lester was quick on the save. Lance Rozeboom and Michael Green also pounded Lester with shots in quick succession at the 20 minute mark, but Rozeboom’s shot just missed the left post. Green found the back of the net with a tap-in on an empty goal with less than five minutes to go, but he was flagged offside and the goal was called back.
Justin Castro took a low shot for the Spartans in the overtime period, but Holmes came up huge with a scissor-kick save. The Lobos pushed intently for an overtime goal and found their opportunity at the foot of Brown, who once again came through in the clutch for New Mexico. He took the shot from the left side of the penalty box off the flick from Davis. Ejdemyr was credited with a second assist. In addition to tonight’s game-winner, Brown single-handedly sent the Lobos into overtime against Cal-State Bakersfield with 30 seconds left on the clock at the UNM Soccer Complex. New Mexico beat CSUB 2-1 in that game.
A San Jose win today would have cemented a first-round bye for the Spartans in the upcoming Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, but the New Mexico victory gives the Lobos a chance to control their own destiny. New Mexico still has a chance to earn a first-round conference tournament bye with a win against UNLV next Saturday. The bye is crucial, as it will allow the Lobos to bypass a back-to-back Thursday and Friday schedule in the MPSF Tournament. The championship game will be played on Sunday, with the winner receiving the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Sacramento State currently leads the conference, and seeding for the tournament largely depends on the results of their last two regular season games. Sacramento State took on UNLV today in a match that ended up knotted at a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods. Sac State will take on San Jose State next Saturday in the final MPSF game for both teams.
The Lobos close out their regular season schedule against UNLV at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7 in a game that will double as Senior Night at the UNM Soccer Complex. Please visit GoLobos.com for additional information.