Aug. 27, 2010
Box Score
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Maybe it was fitting that the Lobos’ golden goal scored one minute and 20 seconds into sudden death came off the toe of Devon Sandoval Friday night in UNM’s 2-1 win over Fort Lewis. Sandoval’s toe was golden all night. It never missed.
Left foot, right foot, didn’t make any difference. He was perfect on the night as he took two shots and punched them both into the back of the net against the defending D-II national champs. Obviously, the golden goal was huge. It handed the Lobos the win on the grass of the UNM Soccer Complex.
Sandoval’s first goal was even bigger. He pounded in a ball at the 84:30 mark to produce a 1-1 tie and prevent what could have been an embarrassing loss for UNM.
“We couldn’t lose to Fort Lewis,” said Sandoval. “They are a good program, but a D-I program like us shouldn’t lose to a D-II program.”
The Skyhawks from Durango, Colo., almost pulled off one for the little guy. The D-II David from Durango was about five minutes away from knocking down the D-I Goliath from New Mexico.
The almost-felling blow came from one of the smallest players on the field: Fort Lewis’s 5-foot-6, 135-pound Byron Cephers, who made almost every Lobo defender look like a giant.
You could almost see Cephers’ goal coming. There was a long delay as Fort Lewis was looking at a free kick, but some shoving and positioning in front of the UNM net had the referee stop the action. Cepher was one of the Fort Lewis players jockeying for position. He finally found one he seemed to like right in front of UNM goalie Justin Holmes as the ball was bombed in by teammate Thomas Hoang.
Hoang’s kick/eventual assist came from the left side of the Lobo net just outside the box. It ended up at Cephers’ feet. Cephers was marked, but still managed to win the ball and punch it past Holmes and deep into the UNM net.
The goal at 24:08 gave Fort Lewis a 1-0 lead it carried into the halftime break. UNM and Fort Lewis both took four shots in the first half with Fort Lewis getting two shots on goal and the Lobos had one.
The Lobos came out in the second half a different team, while the Skyhawks seemed willing to burn the clock and hang on to their 1-0 lead.
“I told them to start playing and connect some passes and play like we are capable of playing,” said Lobo Coach Jeremy Fishbein. “Our guys showed a lot of heart and it’s a good win.
“We are a proud team and we showed it tonight. Coming back like this is good for our confidence. I’m proud of this team and I expect good things from them.”
A good combination for the Lobos Friday in the exhibition match was Sandoval and Lawrence Robledo, who got both assists on Sandoval’s goals. Both players hail from Albuquerque.
Robledo received a long and perfect pass on the left side and out fought a Fort Lewis defender to throw a wild shot at the Skyhawk keeper. The ball was deflected and came to the willing toe of Sandoval.
“I did the easy part. I just put the ball into the back of the net,” said Sandoval, who transferred from San Diego State to UNM. “Lawrence is the one who beat two defenders. The ball just dropped in front of me. It set right up for me.”
Robledo did the dirty work on Sandoval’s game-winner, too. He slipped behind the Skyhawk’s defense and threaded a pass in front of the net. “Somehow Lawrence got the ball and played it across,” said Sandoval. “It was far and I had to dive and barely got it with my foot and just rolled it in.”
Sandoval and Robledo were mobbed by the Lobo players in front of the 2,010 fans who sat through the warm night to watch the Lobo rally. The Lobos ended their exhibition season at 3-0. They open the regular season Wednesday, Sept. 1 against Saint Louis at the UNM Soccer Complex. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Ticket information for Lobo men’s soccer games is available by clicking the TICKETS button on www.GoLobos.com.
Sandoval said he returned to UNM for a number of reasons, but one was that his heart was a Lobo.
“I wasn’t happy there (SDSU),” he said. “This is my home. I grew up watching this program all my life. I dreamed about playing here and scoring on this field my whole life. For it to come true, even in preseason, it still feels good.”
The Lobos ended with 12 shots and four shots on goal. Fort Lewis had seven shots and four shots on goal. UNM had 11 corner kicks to six for the visitors from Colorado. Holmes played the first half in the keep for UNM and Victor Rodriquez played the second half and the sudden death.