March 16, 2011
Casa Grande, Ariz. – The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team split a pair of matches on Saturday, March 12, with the squad dropping a morning match 4-1 to Edmonton of the NASL before rebounding with a solid 2-0 victory of a rested Grand Canyon University squad in the nightcap. The results put the Lobos at 1-1-1 for the spring season.
The morning started with a second meeting with Edmonton FC, a member of the NASL, a second division professional team team from Edmonton, Canada. The two teams drew on Thursday, but the pros had the better of play on Saturday. Coach Jeremy Fishbein tinkered with the line-up to see some of his younger players in a big game. That proved costly on the scoreboard when Edmonton went up 2-0 after 40 minutes on a pair of set-piece goals on a 19-yard free kick and a corner.
The Lobos halved it when Giovanni Rollie drew a penalty in the 42nd minute and Michael Green slotted in home to make it 2-1 into the break. However, Edmonton took advantage of a pair of mistakes to make it 4-1, which was the final score.
“We didn’t defend well on set pieces,” said Fishbein, who nonetheless learned a great deal about his young club during the match. “(Edmonton’s) professionalism showed. We were very good in the run of play, but didn’t take our chances. Maturity was the difference, but we gained tremendous experience from this game. It might have ended 4-1, but we played well at times. No one likes to lose and lose big, but this result will prove to be very valuable down the road”
New Mexico then traveled a short distance to play Grand Canyon University, a Division II school that made it all the way to the NCAA II Quarterfinals in 2010, and hadn’t played a full 90 minute game just hours earlier. While some might question playing two soccer matches in one day (especially when European professional leagues usually only play one match a week), there is a method to Fishbein’s scheduling madness.
“The purpose of this match was to test our players mentally as Grand Canyon is a quality team. This was a test to see how the guys responded, and I couldn’t have been happier.”
The Lobos played two keepers who saw their first collegiate action: Patrick Poblete and Javier Lane. Michael Green had his second goal of the day top open the scoring 30 minutes in when he cracked a direct kick to the back post. Green hit the ball on frame and Lance Rozeboom dummied a flick, fooling everyone for GCU, and the ball hit net far post. Patrick Pacheco clinched it with a brilliant individual effort to make it 2-0 Lobos, which is how it ended.
Said Fishbein, “It was a great opening weekend going 1-1-1. You never want to lose or tie, but we grew as a team and learned more about ourselves and what we need to work on. Many of our players aspire to be professionals and the matches against Edmonton showed them where they need to be”
The Lobos return to the pitch on April 3 when New Mexico hosts a pair of Division II powerhouses at the UNM Soccer Complex. The Lobos take on Fort Lewis at 10 a.m. before hosting CSU-Pueblo at 3:30 p.m.