Oct. 2, 2012
Lobo Faithful:
Same old story line: regardless of the opposition, throw out the records and the rankings. Rarely is there an easy match in collegiate soccer! We opened MPSF Conference play this past weekend in Houston versus conference newcomer, Houston Baptist University. My previous experiences in Houston, have involved wonderful people, humidity and a lot of rain! This trip was wet, wet and more wet! We were scheduled to play Saturday night at 7:00 PM, things were looking good right up until 4:00 when the rain really started to come down. We had been warned that HBU’s field had poor drainage and a downpour could cause serious issues. It was not our night. We warmed up for the match, but as the rain continued to come down, the officials deemed the field unplayable. Game postponed! A good thing, as a sloppy field would have been an equalizer. Fortunately, we had a mid-day departure and HBU was able to secure a site with artificial turf for Sunday… at 8:00 AM. Not the preferred time for a collegiate match, but our boys stayed positive and spirits were high to get the game in.
NEW MEXICO VS HOUSTON BAPTIST UNIVERSITY. SEPTEMBER 30th, 8:00 AM. HOUSTON, TEXAS
5:00 AM (4:00 New Mexico time) wake up and energy levels were good. We opened the match with some tremendous soccer… everything but putting the ball in the net. In the 15th minute, against the run of play, HBU scored a great goal against our defense. Wake up call! The boys remained calm and quickly got back in sync and got a hold of the match. We didn’t finish our chances, but optimism was high going into halftime.
18 minutes into the second half, Devon Sandoval played a great ball to Nik Robson at the top of the box and the Kiwi blasted the ball to the left of the GK to even the match 1-1. We continued to put the heat on HBU, and 14 minutes later we scored a beautiful goal! Blake Smith found the ball on the right flank and played a central ball to Robson…. Nik back-heeled the ball to the far post to James Rogers, and James calmly slotted the ball across the GK for our second and winning goal. 2-1 Lobos. We closed the game out and felt good about the result. 16-8 advantage in shots, 12-1 advantage in corner kicks and Vic with four routine saves. Not the prettiest game, but we dealt with adversity and came out on top versus a hungry team. We are 8-1-0 on the season (1-0-0 in conference), and I am proud of the boys! Link to match re-cap.
We are back home this weekend for matches versus the Air Force Academy on Friday night at 7:00 PM and Denver University Sunday at 1:00 PM. Great rivalries and both games will be action-packed.
Thanks for your continued support. GO LOBOS!
Coach
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