Nov. 19, 2009
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Lobo senior Simon Ejdemyr called it “surreal” and that pretty much summed up the 2-1 overtime loss to Portland that ended the University of New Mexico’s season and the Lobos’ NCAA run.
It seemed like on a chilly Thursday evening at the UNM Soccer Complex that time froze and so did a number of Lobos, but not two Portland Pilots.
“It just feels so surreal,” said Ejdemyr. “It’s unbelievable that it happened like that.”
The surreal ending was like that old Twilight Zone episode where everyone freezes into stone – well, not quite everyone. Portland’s Logan Emory hammered UNM’s Michael Green to the turf, won the ball, and did what any good soccer player does: He kept “playing on” because there was no whistle, therefore no foul.
Emory dribbled the ball down the West sidelines, spotted a streaking Collen Warner in a full sprint near midfield, and lofted a long, high and perfect pass to his teammate.
Warner gathered the ball down into his quick feet and flew hard at Lobo goalie Justin Holmes, who also was unaffected by this Twilight Zone stoppage of time.
Holmes did what he could. He slid hard and bold at the ball in front of the talented Warner, but didn’t make contact. Warner punched the ball to Holmes’ left and deep into the open net.
Game over. Warner threw his arms into the air, ripped off his jersey and disappeared into the arms of his hysterical teammates.
“It’s a tough loss,” said Lobo coach Jeremy Fishbein. “I feel the most sorry for our five seniors. This definitely wasn’t the way I envisioned them ending their career here.
“I can’t believe the season is over. It’s hard to fathom that we lost that game. We had numerous chances to put that game away with a second goal. With seven minutes left, they tied it up. Somehow, our line got caught a little high at the end (in overtime) and they scored a counter-attack goal.”
For most of the game, but particularly the first half, the Lobos looked like the better team. The Lobos struck net first and carried a 1-0 lead into the half. Portland came back with a Warner goal at 83:18 and the two teams marched into overtime locked at 1-1.
That created a “golden goal,” sudden-death situation where games and seasons can come to an end because of the tiniest of errors.
The Pilots ended UNM’s season with Warner’s goal at the 97:09 mark of overtime. Portland advances to a second NCAA battle Sunday in Raleigh, N.C. against the North Carolina Wolfpack.
The goal stunned the Lobos and also the crowd of 2,114, which seemed to be waiting for a whistle on the contact that left Green on the turf. Then it appeared that Warner might be whistled for being off-sides on the pass. But those things never happened.
The bang-bang aspect of the goal also was compounded by Portland losing its goalie two minutes and 11 seconds into the extra period. Pilot Austin Guerrero was given a quick red card, and ejected, for rough contact just prior to a New Mexico corner kick.
The Pilots had to continue a man down. That’s a tough blow playing Lobos on their home turf, but it didn’t hurt the visitors from Portland.
Warner also scored the Pilots’ first goal at the 83:18 mark of the first half. A ball deflected off the foot of teammate Ryan Luke ended up at Warner’s feet, which were directly in front of the Lobos’ net. Warner drilled a low shot to the right of UNM’s Holmes, who had no chance on the shot.
New Mexico struck first in the contest after dominating play in the first half. UNM’s Green beat a Pilot defender on the left side of the Lobos’ attack and centered a ball toward two Lobos streaking to the net. UNM’s Lance Rozeboom got the touch and the goal at 34:14 to put the home team up 1-0.
UNM controlled the ball most of the first 45 minutes as Portland failed to put much pressure on the UNM defense. UNM held a 1-0 halftime lead.
New Mexico got off 12 shots in the first half with four of them on goal. Portland had two shots with none of them challenging UNM’s keeper. The Lobos also had three corner kicks in the first half and Portland had none.
“We did everything right in the first half,” said Ejdemyr. “In the second half, they came after us a little bit and started dumping balls in the box.”
The play did even out in the second half. New Mexico had eight shots on goal to Portland’s seven, but there was a shift in Pilot aggression and the game also began to be played in front of the UNM net. Warner made the Lobos pay at 83:18.
In overtime, UNM had two corner kicks to none for Portland. Both teams took one shot in overtime. UNM ended the game with 21 shots to 10 for Portland. The Pilots’ Guerrero had six saves in his 92:11 seconds of play. Justin Baarts replaced him in the net.
Portland advances into NCAA play with an 11-5-5 record. This is the Pilots’ 14th trip into the NCAA postseason. UNM ends its season at 12-7-1. The Pilots and the Lobos reached the NCAA bracket with at-large bids.