Lobo Faithful:
Tough trip to the “Bluegrass State”. We’re four days out from our match vs the Kentucky Wildcats and we’re only now coming to grips with our performance. Not the mature way to handle a challenging result, but the honest truth. Coming off four straight convincing victories, spirits and confidence were high leading into the trip east. Our preparation was good, we were healthy and focused. The trip Friday went without a hitch. We arrived in Lexington and trained at a nearby high school at 7:30. Excellent session and the boys were sharp. Saturday morning was our first chance to have a look at the game field and stadium. Impressive! Probably the best stadium we have seen in my tenure. Soccer specific and every detail first class and efficient. Better than many professional venues. The game was being televised by the SEC Network and our team appeared ready. Fast forward through the day and we arrived back at the stadium 75 minutes prior to the 7:00 pm kickoff. Warmups went well and everything was in place for a tremendous performance. The first 45 minutes of the match were very disappointing. We lacked energy, focus and purpose. Not sure what to make of things? As anticipated, Kentucky was very organized, hard working, defensive minded and direct. Nothing that we hadn’t planned for. Our team was a step off and allowed Kentucky to dictate play early and see a lot of the ball in our half. Instead of dealing with the situation maturely, keeping our heads and defending intelligently, we got frustrated and lost composure. This was the opening Kentucky needed. Our distress, gave them confidence. Despite our shortcomings, we defended well and created several quality chances from wide areas. In the 30th minute, we gave away service from our left flank, lost a mark on the far post and their center forward hit a “world class” first-time finish into the corner of the far post. 0-1 Kentucky as the first period ran its course. We re-grouped at the half and came out on-fire! The entire second half was played in the Kentucky half. We connected passes, created numerous opportunities and kept them pinned in. 11-4 shot advantage and 8-0 corners. To Kentucky’s credit, they defended well and made it tough on us. We were unable to find the net and painfully watched time tick off the clock. Very disappointing 0-1 loss to a good, but not great team. Our inability to play 90 minutes of focused soccer and take our chances was the storyline.
New Mexico Soccer is about winning big games. Our players and staff are accustomed to winning. Losing is painful and we don’t want to make a habit of it. This week’s episode of “Fish Off the Pitch” featured junior midfielder Ben McKendry. Our next game is this Saturday night and you will see an energized Lobo team!
“Fish Off the Pitch” Episode #9 with Ben McKendry: Click here to watch
LOBOS VS OLD DOMINION AT THE LOBO SOCCER COMPLEX
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25TH 7:00 PM
Thanks for your continued support and see you Saturday night. GO LOBOS!
FISH
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