April 30, 2012
Las Vegas, Nev. — In the end, the spring wasn’t all that much different from the fall. The Lobo men’s soccer team defeated UC Irvine 3-0 and then UNLV 1-0 to complete their 2012 spring schedule undefeated against collegiate competition, just like in the fall.
UNM’s only loss came back in March to FC Edmonton, a professional team from Canada.
The Lobos played two games in one day on their final weekend, starting with UC Irvine, and UNM put together perhaps its most complete performance of the season. With Victor Rodriguez and Javier Lane pitching a shutout in the nets, it was a matter of scoring, and James Rogers took care of that task early. He took a cross from the left side at the top of the box and slammed a near-post shot inside the frame for a quick 1-0 lead.
Michael Kafari than provided a near instant replay of Rogers’ goal, giving UNM a 2-0 halftime lead. While that was more than enough in this 90-minute regulation match, the Lobos got an insurance goal with 10 minutes left when Michael Calderon scored off a free kick. His shot took a deflected off the Irvine wall and beat the keeper to make the score 3-0.
The team then got about five hours to rest before playing a 60-minute game against UNLV, a conference rival in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The game was a tight one as UNM was a little fatigued, but halfway into the second half it was Calderon and Rogers teaming up for the winning strike. Calderon picked up a loose ball about 40 yards out and dribbled down the middle of the field. He then slipped a pass wide to James Rogers who blasted his shot past the goalkeeper to the near post. The team then closed the game out for the final minutes getting the 1-0 win.