New Mexico Lobo Women’s Soccer – at the UNM Soccer Complex
Friday: Lobos 4, Loyola University Chicago 2
Sunday: 11 a.m., Lobos vs. No. 6 Florida.
Albuquerque, N.M. — The University of New Mexico women’s soccer team discovered a cure for opening-night jitters in front of the home fans.
Go on the attack.
Redshirt freshman Emily Chavez scored a header off assists from juniors Alyssa Coonrod and Dylann O’Connor just eight minutes into the game, igniting the Lobo offense in a 4-2 victory over Loyola University Chicago on Friday night.
“In our first three games, we’ve had the challenge of playing three different lineups,” UNM coach Kit Vela said. “We had a lot of energy and a lot of youth, but it wasn’t working very well for us in the first 15 minutes. “But we came back from that really well. We found our rhythm, found our game.”
The crowd of 1,066 at the UNM Soccer Complex watch four Lobos score their first career goals – three coming in the first half.
Sophomore Cassie Hanson and true freshman Claire Lynch scored in the final 15 minutes of the first half to give the home team a 3-0 lead. Redshirt freshman Quincy Slora added a second-half goal in the 64th minute after Loyola Chicago made it interesting on Valerie Gonyo’s unassisted blast from 20 yards out in the 51st minute to cut the lead to 3-1.
“Playing the home opener is every athlete dream,” said Slora, making her first career appearance at home and finishing with a goal and an assist. “You want to get out there and show what you’ve been working toward during the preseason practice. You just want to get out there, have the best show for fans, your family your coaches. You want to prove your skills to yourself and be successful.”
Mission accomplished.
A close offsides penalty on the Lobos in the second half prevented a fifth goal, which would have given the Lobos their biggest scoring outburst since 2011 when they defeated TCU 7-1. UNM last scored four goals in a 4-1 win over SMU at the UNM Soccer Complex in 2012.
“Loyola Chicago is big, strong and athletic and moves direct,” Vela said. “I didn’t expect us to be able to find a rhythm so quickly to counter that as well as we did.”
It was a big momentum boost for the team that was champing at the bit to play a home game.
“This whole week has been leading to tonight,” Chavez said. “We needed tonight to really come out with energy, a positive attitude and a win. And that’s what we did; we did our thing.”
The Lobos are hoping to take that momentum and carry it over into Sunday’s match against No. 6 Florida.
“Tonight should be a big morale boost for us,” Vela said, “but playing Florida is a whole different animal than playing Loyola – not just because of the rankings, but they have a different style. We’ll have a full team on Sunday, and we’ll have nothing to lose. They’re a great team but I think we’re a great team.”
Scoring Summary
New Mexico: (7:32) Emily Chavez (Alyssa Coonrod, Dylann, O’Connor); (32:09) Cassie Hanson (Quincy Slora); (39:22) Claire Lynch (Maddie Irwin); (63:12) Quincy Slora (unassisted)
Loyola Chicago: (50:51) Valerie Gonyo (unassisted); (84:41) Ashley Bovee (Monica Gonyo)
Lineups
New Mexico: Ulrich (GK), Hinman, O’Connor, Chavez, Webster, Irwin, Ferrier, Cabrales, Coonrod, Olguin, Ballantyne
Loyola Chicago: M. Gonyo (GK), Gage, Rodriguez, Bovee, Shimer, Schwarz, Lee, Koch, Senn-Raemont, Heys, Merrill
Notes
– The Lobos outshot the Ramblers 21-7.
– UNM has six goals in three games this season. The team didn’t score its sixth goal until the eighth game in 2013.
– The temperature at game time was a chilly 63 degrees with winds of nearly 20 miles per hour.
Next up
The Lobos entertain No. Florida on Sunday at 11 a.m. at the UNM Soccer Complex.