ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – It looked a bit tenuous for a while, but there was no way the University of New Mexico women’s soccer team was going to lose on this day.
Not on Senior Day and not on Lobos Love Pink Day.
Freshman Claire Lynch dribbled past hard-charging Wyoming goalkeeper Alex Boehm and connected on an open net with 4 minutes and 20 seconds left in regulation as the Lobos (8-5-2, 6-2-2 Mountain West) rallied past the Cowgirls (9-8-1, 7-3-0) for a 2-1 victory at the UNM Soccer Complex on Sunday.
The win clinched a spot for the Lobos, who have won five of their last six matches, in the Mountain West Tournament in the first week of November. UNM is all alone in third place with 20 points, one point behind Wyoming.
The top six teams from the MW advance to tournament play. The Lobos close out the season Friday night at regular-season champion San Diego State.
UNM outshot Wyoming 26-11 in the contest, had two shots bounce off the Cowgirls post and had several other near misses, but found itself down 1-0 at the half. To that point, the Lobos had outshot their opponent 12-4.
“Soccer’s a cruel game; not today, though,” jubilant Lobo coach Kit Vela said. “I just thought we played with an amazing attitude. We were down 1-0, outshooting them in the first half, and they’re a great team. They’ve had a great season. To be in that situation and be down 1-0 at the half was frustrating and disappointing, but we were playing well. At halftime, I just told the team, ‘make it happen.’
“We just came out with a little more attitude in the second half, like ‘this isn’t going to happen; not in our house.’ ”
Junior captain Madisyn Olguin was the first to make it happen off a nice cross from redshirt freshman Quincy Slora just 2:05 into the second half. Olguin got the ball on the left side inside the box and beat Boehm to the right to tie the game at 1.
Olguin nearly put UNM ahead at the 71:42 mark, but her shot hit the right post.
At one point during the second half, the Lobos had outshot Wyoming 22-7. But the Cowgirls’ liberal substitution pattern appeared as if it might pay off in the final 10 minutes as they got off four shots on goal and briefly grabbed the momentum.
But sophomore, Ruth Bruciaga seized it back for UNM when she gained control of the just inside the Wyoming zone, dribbled upfield and fired a shot from 30 yards that also hit the right post at the 84:53 mark.
The Cowgirls cleared the ball shortly thereafter, but sophomore Brooke Webster found Lynch on a long pass down the middle of the field. Lynch beat a Wyoming defender to the ball and then tipped the ball to her left as Boehm came sliding in and committed herself.
The net was wide open; Lynch did not miss for her third goal and game-winning goal of the season.
“I saw Brooke with the ball, and I was making my run that we’re always supposed to make across the back line,” Lynch said. “I screamed for the ball, and Brooke obviously and played me the ball. Then, I got a quick touch on it around the goalie and it was an easy finish.”
To an otherwise labor-intensive day for the Lobos, who sent out lone senior Alexis Leyba a winner in the final home game of her career.
“I can’t imagine anything better,” Leyba said of the way her final home game played out. “To score in the last five minutes of the game is unreal, and I will never, ever forget that.”
The Lobos now get to see how they match up against the MW champion Aztecs with a lot of momentum on their side.
“San Diego State is a tremendous team,” Vela said. “WE know them; they know us. The game is just for pride but, but it’s going to be another great game. But we’re going in with a lot of confidence. Just the attitude of the juniors and the one senior was phenomenal. They gave every last effort; I couldn’t be more proud.”
Scoring Summary
New Mexico: (47:05) Maddie Olguin (Quincy Slora); (85:40) Claire Lynch (Brooke Webster)
Wyoming: (3:58) Kayla Cryer (unassisted)
Lineups
New Mexico: Ulrich (GK), O’Connor, Guice, Leyba, Chavez, Webster, Irwin, Ferrier, Cabrales, Coonrod, Olguin
Wyoming: Boehm (GK), Hinman, Bass, Lomsnes, Meyer, Clarke, Marcheso, Burbank, Dunda, Cryer, Curtis
Notes
– The Lobos won their second game of the season after trailing at halftime. The program had won only four games in the previous 13 seasons after trailing at the half.
– The Lobos’ 26 shots were their second most this season, behind their 32-shot effort in a 4-1 win over New Mexico State.
– UNM now is 7-2-2 in its last 11 games. Six of those seven wins have been decided by one goal.
– The Lobos have scored 10 goals in MW play, coming from eight different players.
– Wyoming sophomore Anne Hinman started at forward and played 15 minutes; she is the sister of Lobo sophomore forward Katie Hinman, who played 12 minutes.
Next up
The Lobos travel to San Diego, Calif., to play league regular-season champion San Diego State (14-3-1, 9-1 MW), on Friday at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live via the Mountain West Network at GoLobos.com.