By Dan Studley, for GoLobos.com
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The No. 15 New Mexico Lobos outshot and outplayed a constricted Marshall Thundering Herd but decisively came up a goal short falling 2-1 on a breezy fall evening at the UNM Soccer Complex. It brought to an end the Lobos’ five-game home winning streak.
The Lobos tallied an amazing 31 shots to just seven for Marshall. It was the highest number of shots for 25 years for New Mexico and the third highest in program history. The Lobos also dominated the Thundering Herd 15-0 on corners, forcing seven saves to Marshall’s two.
“It’s pretty shocking,” UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “It’s a game we felt in control of, but we didn’t take our chances against a team that’s very committed to defending. … There’s nothing you can really say. It’s very disappointing.”
New Mexico started the stronger and forced the first opportunity of the encounter in the sixth minute. Junior Josh Dye pounced on a loosely cleared header from a Lobo corner and drove low at the Thundering Herd net. Marshall shot-stopper Bijan Gloston could only parry to safety with his sliding leg.
Midway through the first half midfield’s Chris Wehan came tantalizingly close to finding the game’s opener. His free-kick just right of center on the edge of the area was acutely curled goalwards, but it rattled against the post and away.
The Lobos continued to press and attempt to break down a stringent Thundering Herd defense in the openings of the second half, with Niko Hansen and Josh Goss both coming close, but finding the hands of Marshall’s Gloston on both occasions.
The deadlock was finally broken on 62 minutes as James Rogers and Chris Gurule combined to find Hansen, who controlled close to the by-line and powered home past a helpless Gloston for his fifth goal of the season.
Marshall’s consistent defensive counter-attacking style paid dividends in the 66th minute. The Lobos committed men forward in attack and left the Thundering Herd’s Daniel Jodah space to pick his spot on the left hand side and fire home the equalizer with just their third shot on goal.
Despite an onslaught of Lobo pressure, Marshall found the game’s winning goal on 83 minutes. A loose bouncing long ball ran kindly into the path of Trevor Starcher, who timed his header to perfection to bounce over goalkeeper Patrick Poblete and roll into the empty net.
The Lobos continued to force the issue, with Wehan, Ben McKendry and Oniel Fisher seeing efforts fly over in the final ten minutes as Marshall stood firm to take the victory.
“It’s very disappointing,” Fishbein said. “We put ourselves in a very difficult position where we probably have to win the conference tournament to make the NCAAs. We are definitely capable of doing that, but we have to recover well and come out prepared and focused next Friday night.”
Scoring Summary
New Mexico (62:42): Hansen (Rogers, Gurule)
Marshall (66:39): Jodah (Forde, Lovern)
Marshall (83:33): Starcher (Kershaw)
Cautions
Marshall: Starcher, yellow (67:48); Doney, yellow (76:28)
Lineups
New Mexico: Poblete (GK), Gibbons, McGovern, Miele, McKendry, Rogers, Fisher, Hansen, Wehan, Gurule, Dye
Marshall: Gloston (GK), Trupo, Freeman, Forde, Abraham, Kershaw, Jodah, Hopkins, Klueh, Starcher, Edginton
Notes
- The school record for shots in a match is 44, set back on Sept. 24, 1989, against Colorado Christian College.
- Wehan led the fray with seven shots, while Goss had six and McKendry had five
Next up
The Lobos’ final match of the regular season is Senior Night against South Carolina on Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at the UNM Soccer Complex.